Tag Archives: Baha’i

The Road to Diamond, Day 239: Open Hearts

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Posted by on in Assistance, Community, impediments, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving

July 25,2025- I have often wondered if a young friend, who is seemingly in perpetual good cheer, ever experiences a downside. It’s a ridiculous musing, as no one escapes periods of downheartedness or disappointment. This morning, she had something of a disagreement with another person, while I was present, and thus my musings were answered. With steady support from a few of us, she shortly thereafter bounced back. Her underlying emotional foundation is solid, the signs of open-heartedness.

In my own experiences, over the past fifteen years or so, the same principle has kept me afloat. I can hardly say that life has been letter-perfect, but even the loss of my wife in 2011 did not result in a severe tailspin that might have ended my own well-being. We can see that there is another level of existence, beyond this one, and I still feel guidance from her spirit, as well as those of many others.

There were two Baha’i gatherings today: A small study session, this afternoon, focused on the purpose of prayer. It is clear that the main purpose is to open one’s heart to the Divine, and thus make possible the means to continued spiritual growth. The second session, this evening, looked at what is meant by “The Kingdom of God on Earth”. Likewise, that state of affairs will come gradually, and will be more realized when the majority of humanity turns to the Divine, and away from the trappings of ego. This may be a long process or one of intermediate length, but I sense that our species is on its way.

There will, no doubt, be shocks and setbacks ahead; however, the hearts of more people are increasingly being opened-either by their own choice or by dint of life taking hold of them, and imparting deep lessons.

The Road to Diamond, Day 233: The Raven Feather

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Posted by on in animal and plant life, collaborating, Community, impediments, Inspiration, Matters of Faith, Personal goals, Personal Values, Service Activities, Social, Spiritual, Travel

July 19, 2025- The feather lay on the asphalt, as I left Sportage and went towards Rafter 11, this evening. Remembering the significance, to First Nations people, of a feather lying on the ground, I glanced back and saw that the wind was carrying it towards the edge of the lot. Figuring it would not be run over and therefore safe, I went across the road to indulge in some hummus with pita and vegetable sticks and to enjoy a cover artist’s collection of country and folk rock tunes. Once I took my seat, glancing down, I saw the same feather that had been across in the parking lot. The breeze had picked up during the time it had taken me to cross the street and get situated, so this did not surprise me.

Dineh, Hopi, Apache (Inde) and other First Nations peoples regard a feather on the ground as a gift from the sky, establishing a connection between the receiver and the bird from which the feather came, by extension another link to the Creator. We live in a time when there is an increasingly tenuous connection between Man and the Nature of which he is a part. I have been in various natural settings, from sandy desert to deciduous urban parks; from Ponderosa and Douglas fir forests to high grasslands and desolate peat bogs; from the middle of the ocean to a Vietnamese rain forest. In each, there is a sign of nature.

Usually, that is something like a heart-shaped rock, of which I have encountered many. So have thousands of other people who are observant. Many of us have also seen animals that appear real, only to not be visible in a photograph, when they were present in the view finder, even as the shutter was pressed. I have been gifted with bird feathers by First Nations friends, over the years, and have carefully placed them in a web, attached to a dowsing stick that was given me by a Dineh friend, twenty years ago. The stick itself has two falcon feathers and a wild turkey feather attached. I also have an eagle feather that was given me by another Dineh friend, and which is attached to a wicker heart that Penny devised, in the early 2000s. I placed the raven feather opposite and slightly underneath the eagle feather.

Whilst sitting and enjoying hummus and strumming, I placed the raven feather in a planter next to my table. I found myself considering the matter of Labor Day weekend, six weeks away. I recently received an invitation to attend a Baha’i school in Colorado Springs. Having attended it three times in the past, it was on my mind this evening. With spiritual energy that I can only sense as coming from the feather, I pondered what is happening here at Home Base I, that weekend. I was reminded that my friends at Farmers Market will be busy preparing for the Farm-to-Table Dinner, a week later and that there may be only three of us who can work the market breakdown on August 30. I was also reminded, earlier this afternoon, that a Peace Day will likely take place on August 31. Then, too, after the Farm to Table Dinner, it’ll be off to Europe, and possibly east Africa ( safety permitting), during September and October.

At the risk of overthinking, I am staying put here, over Labor Day. I love the eastern Colorado friends and will pray fervently for their school’s success. I love the friends here, too.

The Road to Diamond, Day 213: Triage

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Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, Community, distraction issues, Matters of Faith, Personal Values, service, Social, Spiritual, Striving

June 29,2025- As I was about to leave for a long-scheduled Baha’i gathering of youth and other community members, at a local Clubhouse, the phone rang with an urgent message from the Red Cross, requesting immediate action. As I had been told my presence at the gathering was needed a half hour prior to the start time, I let the caller know that I could tend to the other matter in two hours’ time. The caller said the matter would be handled by others, in the meantime.

As it happened, the matter, which was a contingency plan in case a wildfire evacuation gets more intense and needs Red Cross intervention, was handled by the caller. A standby team was assembled and I was able to connect digitally with all concerned, after the gathering ended. The wildfire evacuation is being handled by other agencies at this point, anyway. I will keep watch on the situation, over the next few days.

This week is likely to be full of several synchronous events, as we segue into the second half of this riotous calendar year. We mere mortals will have to prioritize, and use triage. Matters which are brought to my attention, with great fanfare, hubris and warnings will get a careful hearing, but if they come in the face of prior commitments to more vulnerable people, I will ask, as I did today, for the matter to fall to someone else. It’ll be amazing how well the matters are handled. I am just past the point in my life where anything, other than family emergencies, will rattle my cage.

The gathering at the clubhouse was spirited, uplifting and well worth the two hours. I can say the same for every other activity that has been fulfilled, even in the face of competing or synchronous demands for my attention. Commitment brings rewards.

The Road to Diamond, Day 209: Not One Dimensional

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Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, Community, Education, Family, impediments, Inner Struggles, Inspiration, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving

June 25, 2025- The day saw me in three states of being. Morning started, foggy-headed and with an appeal for help, from a family that was in a situation similar to the one in which we found ourselves in the late 2000s. I am eternally grateful to family members who helped out, back then. The best way I can still re-pay them is to help this present destitute family, while maintaining the expectation that they make their own case, as we had to after a fashion. So, food was put on the table and a road map was given towards it not becoming a constant appeal.

When I was younger, say, in my twenties, it was easy to look upon people in a one or two dimensional manner. No matter how often Mom said to not judge a book by its cover, the boy saw girls as potential mates and little else. (Thankfully, the decent part of me never pushed the physical aspect of that mindset. “No” was woe, but never was confused with “go”.) The student had a tinge of condescension towards the worker, until a working man turned the tables one day. I took a hard line towards those who did not toe society’s line-even as I had several motes in my own eyes. On the other hand, there was self-loathing.

By mid-day, I had regained equilibrium. The family’s needs were met and I caught up with a few lingering Red Cross tasks from yesterday. I was not feeling fog-headed and was thus able to plan for the rest of the day, and for tomorrow’s work day. I remembered that the fog was mainly from having had an overactive mind, in the middle of the night, mainly dreaming about lightning and rain, neither of which will get here until the middle of next week.

Evening came, with a Baha’i planning session and light supper. A brief afternoon nap had dispelled the fog and my attention was where it need to be-noting important points on the document being studied.

Any given day can bring energy phases, especially in the heat. Any given day can also bring reminder that no person is one or even two dimensional. Each of us is therefore entitled to some grace, when stumbling or when pretending that hubris will solve problems. Each of us is allowed to learn from mistakes and to grow. The only thing that doesn’t get a pass for very long is standing still.

The Road to Diamond, Day 207: Stalwart

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Posted by on in collaborating, Community, Inspiration, Matters of Faith, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving

June 23, 2025- My Mondays have predictable bookends-a morning coffee group and a late afternoon in the serving line at a Soup Kitchen. More fluid is being part of a leadership group in the Red Cross’s Sheltering Team. We were prepared to open a shelter in a remote area of the Navajo Nation, fortunately being able to call this off, this morning. Taking its place are several administrative tasks and completion of documents, which will occupy this week and part of next. There are also faith-related activities, again fluid-with some activities being on the wish lists of some friends-in-faith and others fairly regular on our community’s schedule. The former group sometimes can be brought to success; sometimes not-especially if they conflict with prior commitments.

I continue to live for making a difference in whatever community I happen to live. It is also important to cultivate those who can continue the work that has been started. Besides my age, 74, there are also familial and other matters of the heart that might take me from this Home Base, as early as next year.Thus, building Red Cross Sheltering Survey and Staffing teams is a priority. So is recruiting and orienting a camp manager for our area Baha’i retreat property, at Bellemont.

It is not so much my “legacy” that matters, as the fact that life goes on for others, once one leaves a particular place. If that life is not better for those people, when one has left, then how can there be any true feeling of satisfaction? A wise woman, well northeast of here, made a remark that people in her life are not friends, but family. This was in light of a significant recent event in her life. She sees them as stalwart; steadfast.

It is crucial to me, that my large family, both biological and social, know that I am stalwart-as they are to me.

The Road to Diamond, Day 188: Soaked

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Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, Community, Personal Values, service, Social, Spiritual, Striving

June 4, 2025- The rain came down three times today. This is not usual for June, one of the driest months in our area. We have now had three days of healthy showers, with the prospect of three weeks of dry weather to follow, before the start of the monsoon season. It’s fine by me, as those of us charged with helping the communities of northern Arizona through wildfire season can use whatever help nature wants to offer.

The roads were a bit on the saturated side, though flowing shallowly enough that those of us with errands to run could manage. I got a print job done, despite my own HP being dry of ink. Thanks, Office Max, for the flash drives and copier. It was in-between showers, when I went across town to co-host Baha’i Feast, and not too bad when I had to run to a provider, to give necessary information before tomorrow’s co-pay is due.

By the time I was up for a walk downtown, this evening, the sun was back out. It will likely stay that way until after July 4. That gives us the imperative to organize teams that can gather to set up shelters, in the event of wildfires, both before and during monsoon season. The rains also bring the challenge of flooding. Thankfully, the soil was too dry to repel the moisture of the past three days.

Our second such meeting, relative to sheltering plans, will be tomorrow-in the Verde Valley, which trends 15 degrees warmer than here in Prescott. There will be several other gatherings, over the next week or so, as well as online communication and logistical stockpiling. I hope that this model will persist, for many years to come.

The Road to Diamond, Day 176: Equanimity

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Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, Community, impediments, Matters of Faith, Personal Values, service, Social, Spiritual, Striving

May 23, 2025- Today was a day of celebration for us Baha’is, as on this day, 182 years ago, al-Bab revealed Himself as the Forerunner of a Messenger Who would unite the human race. This all may sound abstract, but one need only read the Baha’i teachings for self, and determine whether they are truth or not. https://www.bahai.org/

What has always appealed to me about this Faith is that everyone on Earth matters, regardless of ethnicity, nationality, gender or social group. Everyone is seen as essentially a spiritual being and as long as that spiritual essence is recognized, a person will grow in the sight of the Divine.

I have been led to be discerning, regarding both social and spiritual matters. In both cases, I see myself not as in any way superior or inferior to others, but regard the needs of each of us as equally valid with those of others. That leads me to take a long view of certain developments. A recent example is the funding of veterans’ health care. There are many military veterans who are disabled and deserve full medical care from our government. Others, like myself, are in relatively robust health and don’t require as much.

The present government is re-assessing each veteran’s case, and from what I can see, in a surprisingly efficient and judicious manner. There is a reasonable question as to over-reduction of staff, given that there are so many veterans in legitimate need. That imbalance, between recognized need and the desire to save money, will bottom out soon. Many healthy veterans, myself included, would take supplementary insurance, if it means that our medically needy comrades in arms can get more help. The assessors, though, have a duty as well-to not permanently cut off those who have suffered injury or disease as a result of their military service.

Equanimity, a foul word to some, is nonetheless an essential word-whether one believes in “everyone for self” or in common care for one another.

The Road to Diamond, Day 174: Heaviness

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Posted by on in collaborating, Community, distraction issues, impediments, Inner Struggles, Inspiration, Matters of Faith, Personal Values, service, Social, Spiritual, Striving

May 21, 2025- One by one, the four people with whom I met on a Zoom call, this afternoon, described the heaviness of their situations. Much had to do with the circumstances of their domiciles. Some concerned the presence of unruly or insensitive people in their lives.

I have had my share of heaviness, in the past. The 2000s and the first year or so, of the 2010s, were full of lead balloons. It prepared me to be here for other people’s heaviness, just as those who suffered in the Twentieth Century were able to help me get through the intensity and loss of my own time of travail.

The message I was able to offer, after hearing my friends describe their traumas, was one of hope. Much has gone on in this life, and still more is coming to pass, as this seminal year progresses. After I described the past two months since I last met with these friends, and mused about what the rest of 2025 might bring, the friends’ spirits were lifted, and they began to make plans of their own.

Therein lies the main value in sharing positive experiences. Those listening are given to inspiration, so long as there is no hook to their misery. The people on this call are not inclined to enjoy suffering. Neither are the Red Cross colleagues with whom I met earlier in the day, nor my fellow members of the Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of Prescott, who I joined for an online meeting tonight. Certainly, my beloved friend whose birthday was today is no wet blanket, either.

As it happened, today also saw a new set of window blinds installed, to take the place of those that gave me fits last night and Sportage got a wash, a thorough vacuuming and full maintenance, after seeing me safely to the East Coast and back.

Even momentary darkness is followed by light.

The Road to Diamond, Day 173: Home Lands

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Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, Community, Family, impediments, Inspiration, Matters of Faith, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving

May 20, 2025- Coming down the mountain from Strawberry Junction to Camp Verde, my main concern was putting my energy into the safety of the large load of logs being hauled in front of me, and staying in the slow line, regardless of my wanting to get back to Prescott. The truck was fine, even when an antsy driver behind us pulled his pick-up and drove around the line, crossing double yellow lines, when he spotted a minute or two. There is one in every crowd.

I arrived back at Home Base I around 3 p.m., picked up my mail and sorted out the junk from magazines and legitimate bills that still come through snail mail. The VA stuff is always among the latter. I also had to deal with a broken blind mount, for which duct-taping the blinds to the side window will allow privacy for a day or so, until I can get a new set of mounts. (I rarely have opened said blinds, in eleven years, so it must have been one of the workmen who are installing my apartment’s AC unit, who messed with the blinds.)

Home Base I is only one of my Home Lands, as readers have no doubt figured out, over the years. It is where those who believe in me the most happen to be, and I would say that this confidence in my skill sets comes from my having engaged in community activities here. My little family and others would feel the same, if I were to spend more time with them. For now, though, I am grateful for what time I do have in Home Bases II (Grapevine), III (North Shore), IV (Southeast Pennsylvania) and V( Makati). I know some of you will say “What about our area?” I appreciate all the love I get from friends, wherever I go.

What makes a place home, though, is not the mutual love and support that I get, as well as give. It is a deeper feeling, that is often hard to put into words. There is likely to be a time, in the not-too-distant future, when the Home Bases will get shifted around a bit. One scenario has me living closer to my son and daughter-in-law. Another has me in Metro Manila, or a place fairly close to it. Those situations will work themselves out, with Divine Energy in play, much as so many issues and problems have gotten resolved, especially since 2014.

For now, though, I need to give my trusty steed a wash, interior cleaning and routine maintenance, before week’s end. Tomorrow is my dearest’s birthday. I am glad to have been able to get gift and proper greetings sent. The Baha’i Spiritual Assembly and Red Cross need some time tomorrow, as well. So, too, does Bellemont, on Saturday, for a fire wise clean-up. There will be time to relax and ruminate on Sunday and Monday, being Memorial Day weekend.

The Road to Diamond, Day 157: Phalanxes

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Posted by on in animal and plant life, Assistance, collaborating, Community, impediments, Matters of Faith, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving, Travel

May 4, 2025, Socorro, NM- All along my drive through the Gila Mountains of eastern Arizona and western New Mexico- and into the grassy foothills, they stood, alternately grazing and watching me, from the safety of the road’s edge. They were veritable phalanxes of elk, probably four dozen in all, from just outside Alpine, AZ to just south of Datil, NM.

The last pair, between Datil and Magdalena, were an adult cow and a juvenile bull, the latter of which tentatively decided to challenge Sportage for the road. As I turned the car to the left and gave him space, he decided that two tons of metal and fiberglass was more formidable, and moved backwards, sparing us both the grief of a collision.

There were near phalanxes of rabbits, also. Most of them scattered at the approach of the SUV. Only one ran under the car, and sadly met death. Rabbits being fodder for coyotes, I was pleasantly surprised to not see the canines out and about. Deer were also nowhere to be seen, though they tend to not compete with elk for forage.

This all took place after the second day of our Baha’i conference in Phoenix. We have discussed the matter of forming strong communities. The idea of a separate group of people setting the tone for the wider community only works to a limited extent. The community as a whole must be, and feel, included in decision-making-whether it be a matter of spiritual growth or material well-being. Further, there can be no separation, no us and them, in the process of community growth. The phalanx must be one.

It was thus a very full day, and I am most happy, relieved, at being in this comfortable room at Economy Inn. Socorro has had its struggles, but it is a nice town. I will rest well tonight.