I haven’t spent much time working on my blog in the last few months, but for the last few days I was feeling like some small changes were needed.

1. I now have gravatar functionality set up. Go to this post…you can see pictures by some of the comments. Those individuals have set it up (very easy!) so that their picture shows up on sites when they comment.

2. I’ve also added the ability to subscribe to specific comment threads, so you can receive emails when someone adds a comment after yours. It is at the bottom of the comment box.

3. There is now a little badge in the sidebar that indicates that I’ve joined the Baha’i Web Development Network. As stated on the site: “The Baha’i Web Development Network is a social network for Baha’is to encourage and learn from each other about using communications technology to serve the Baha’i Faith.”

4. At the bottom of each post is now a button that allows people to share the post on a variety of sites.

5. Finally, I’ve updated my links page, About me page, and cleaned up the sidebar a little bit.

Any suggestions? I’m always looking for new ideas, so feel free to comment.

(Thanks to Ramin for helping iron out some of the bugs for me.)

Posted in Technology | Comments (0)

(i never said i wouldn’t write, only that i might not
but this requires hidden words
to record the moments, and i am not the type that forgets.)

the most perfect times
are when the rain is pouring down in the middle of the night
and we are smiling
or the sunlight falling in on our faces
in the middle of an absolutely beautiful day

I looked up at the light gray
as the sky came falling down on me
in delicious little pieces
to be able to laugh and laugh
and there comes my sideways smile

a storefront with small windows:
crammed with a million little joys
hats and umbrellas and wooden boxes
and an old book with the corners bent

there will be bright flashes of color
taking over the green of trees
and the smell of the sea
there are endless roads.

Posted in Poetry | Comments (0)

O ye that dwell on earth! The religion of God is for love and unity; make it not the cause of enmity or dissension. In the eyes of men of insight and the beholders of the Most Sublime Vision, whatsoever are the effective means for safeguarding and promoting the happiness and welfare of the children of men have already been revealed by the Pen of Glory. But the foolish ones of the earth, being nurtured in evil passions and desires, have remained heedless of the consummate wisdom of Him Who is, in truth, the All-Wise, while their words and deeds are prompted by idle fancies and vain imaginings.

-Baha’u'llah, Kitab-i-Ahd (Book of the Covenant)

Posted in Baha'i | Comments (0)

As a departure from the last few rather serious posts, I’m going to write a bit about my recent adventures.

I stopped in Madison, Wisconsin on my way home from Minnesota a few days ago to visit a childhood friend.  She was kind enough to let me stay at her apartment, and we had a lovely time exploring the town (I got to pretend like I was in college again!) and catching up on life.

We were preparing breakfast that morning, and I may have been a little bit sleep-deprived (and had not had caffeine yet).  As I reached for the eggs, I slammed my forehead directly onto the refrigerator handle.

At the same time, I was having an allergy attack and was sneezing uncontrollably.  Holding my aching head in my hands, I went to the living room to get a tissue…and walked right into the sharp edge of the coffee table, scratching and bruising my leg at the same time.

I sat quietly for a while after that. 

Today, I spilled half a container of vanilla on the counter while making gluten-free chocolate chip cookies.  sigh.

Posted in Humor, Personal, Travel | Comments (4)

In conversations with a number of friends, I have realized that while nearly all of us have multiple accounts on the internet for various reasons, very few of us have provided a way for these accounts to be accessed, maintained, or shut down in the event of our demise.

Some might say this is a morbid subject.  However, we leave wills for our physical assets, and there is no reason why we shouldn’t provide account information to our loved ones.  (If you don’t have a will…go write one!)

There are a number of types of sites that your loved ones may have to access: bank accounts, online bill-pay, utilities, email, social networking sites, your blog, photo management sites, forums, and instant messaging platforms.

This article mentions that unlocking an account after someone has died can mean having to get a court order, which can be a lengthy process.  Different companies have different ways of dealing with the death of a customer, and sometimes the family or executor of the estate will not be able to access their account.

You can handle this dilemma in a few different ways. Start by compiling all of the information you have.  Try using a spreadsheet if you are overwhelmed…but remember that digital information is easily shared, so be sure that it is secure.  Your column headings can be: website, login name, password (remember case-sensitive ones!), and “comments” (this area can be used to explain how you want this account handled after you pass away).

In the course of this process, you might discover a few websites where you have an account, but you really don’t need it…go ahead and get rid of those accounts.

One way is to have the information included with your will, and the executor will take care of these things.  Another option is to entrust your spouse, family member, or close friend to have access to those accounts.  For example…you might not want your grieving parents to have to go onto Facebook and tell your 830 “friends” that you have passed away, and so you might give that task over to a friend who would be able to take care of it.  But again, be careful who you give that information to…if you feel that they might betray your trust…perhaps you are better off leaving that information with a lawyer.

Any other ideas on other ways to solve this problem of account management?  I’m hoping that someday that the proliferation of usernames and passwords will be reduced, but for now we just have to manage with what we’ve got.

Posted in Technology | Comments (7)

(This post is not meant to educate on the Law of Huququ’llah, but instead is meant to create interest in the subject. To read more, go here.)

For Blog Action Day, we are asked to write about poverty.  I decided that I wanted to write about this beautiful part of the Baha’i Faith called Huququ’llah (Right of God).  I have found a few quotations from the Baha’i writings on the subject.  If you have additional input, please comment…I am by no means an expert on the subject.

“Know ye that the poor are the trust of God in your midst. Watch that ye betray not His trust, that ye deal not unjustly with them and that ye walk not in the ways of the treacherous. Ye will most certainly be called upon to answer for His trust on the day when the Balance of Justice shall be set, the day when unto every one shall be rendered his due, when the doings of all men, be they rich or poor, shall be weighed.”

(Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u'llah, p. 251)

In the Baha’i writings we are told of our duty towards the poor, of the importance of ensuring that they are taken care of.  We know that thousands die every day from hunger, even though there is enough food in the world to feed them.

“lt is incumbent upon everyone to discharge the obligation of Huquq. The advantages gained from this deed revert to the persons themselves. However, the acceptance of the offerings dependeth on the spirit of joy, fellowship and contentment that the righteous souls who fulfil this injunction will manifest. If such is the attitude acceptance is permissible, and not otherwise. Verily thy Lord is the All-Sufficing, the All-Praised…

…Should a person acquire one hundred mithqals of gold, nineteen mithqals thereof belong unto God, the Creator of earth and heaven. Take heed, O people, lest ye deprive yourselves of this great bounty. We have prescribed this law unto you while We are wholly independent of you and of all that are in the heavens and on the earth. Indeed there lie concealed in this command, mysteries and benefits which are beyond the comprehension of anyone save God, the All- Knowing, the All-Informed.”

(Baha’u'llah, Compilations, Huququ’llah)

Here we are given the guidelines for the giving of this money.  It has been clarified at a deeper level, but this is sufficient for our purposes.  We are told that we should not give unless we are happy to do so, and that we are rewarded for such an act.  Note that giving to the Fund is different than paying Huququ’llah.  Baha’u'llah also points out that He prescribed this law even when He did not need any money.  Adib Taherzadeh points out, in The Child of the Covenant:

“It must be made clear that under Bahá’u'lláh’s supervision the funds were spent for the promotion of the Cause and very little, if any, for His own expenses or those of His companions.”

So what is the purpose of Huququ’llah?

“Know thou, moreover, that those who faithfully serve the All-Merciful will be enriched by Him out of His heavenly treasury and that the Huquq offering is but a test applied by Him unto His servants and maidservants. Thus every true and sincere believer will offer Huquq to be expended for the relief of the poor, the disabled, the needy, and the orphans, and for other vital needs of the Cause of God, even as Christ did establish a Fund for benevolent purposes….

…One of the tokens of His consummate wisdom is that the payment of the Huquq will enable the donors to become firm and steadfast and will exert a great influence on their hearts and souls. Furthermore the Huquq will be used for charitable purposes.”

(Abdu’l-Baha, Compilations, Huququ’llah)

So the distribution of funds goes through a central channel, the Universal House of Justice, which, as the Baha’u'llah assures us, is divinely guided:

“It is incumbent upon the Trustees of the House of Justice to take counsel together regarding those things which have not outwardly been revealed in the Book, and to enforce that which is agreeable to them. God will verily inspire them with whatsoever He willeth, and He, verily, is the Provider, the Omniscient.”

(Baha’u'llah, Tablets of Baha’u'llah, p. 68)

The Universal House of Justice then distributes the funds where they are needed…and there are a whole range of ways in which this happens.

“In brief, payment of Huququ’lláh is one of the binding spiritual responsibilities of the followers of Bahá’u'lláh and the proceeds thereof revert to the Authority in the Cause to whom all must turn. Moreover, the Ancient Beauty — magnified be His praise — has affirmed that after the establishment of the Universal House of Justice necessary rulings would be enacted in this connection in conformity with that which God has purposed, and that no one, except the Authority to which all must turn, has the right to dispose of this Fund. In other words, whatever portion of one’s wealth is due to the Huququ’lláh belongs to the World Centre of the Cause of God, not to the individuals concerned.’

(From a letter of the Universal House of Justice to the National Spiritual Assembly of Iran, October 25, 1970)

Okay so you might ask…what does this have to do with poverty?  People are starving!  Well, here is my humble opinion (and please do your own research, my words mean nothing).  There are charity groups, organizations that are completely devoted to the eradication of hunger and poverty…and yet, the human race keeps coming up against this wall when it trys to take care of its own kind.  Change does not happen through the passing of resolutions or trade embargoes.  It does not happen when a country is threatened with war or cajoled with the promise of peace.  Change happens when hearts are changed, when the heart accepts the Word of God and acts on it.  It does not happen overnight.  There is no magical cure, and the road ahead is going to be difficult.

We will not take care of our fellow human beings until we recognize God in them, until we deal with racism, prejudice, and all of those ills that afflict mankind.  Being able to detach from our possessions in a spirit of joy in order to help those less fortunate is a pretty good start.

Posted in Baha'i, Thoughts | Comments (5)

I’ve been cooking a lot, since I’m not working. In between the bouts of kitchen experimentation, I put in job applications and cross my fingers. There are two dishes that I thought I would share with you. We ate the soup on a rainy day, and it was perfect. Of course, there are lots of recipes on the internet…but this one was my creation. 

Butternut Squash Soup

1 butternut squash
3 medium potatoes
3 large carrots
1 onion
2 cups milk
1/2 cup butter
salt, pepper
honey
cinnamon

Cut the butternut squash in half, place 1/4 cup butter, a few tablespoons of honey, and a few teaspoons of cinnamon on top. Bake in oven for 2 hours at 350 F.

While the squash is cooking, boil the potatoes, carrots, and onion in a pot of water. Drain. Put in food processor, blend well. When the squash is done, blend it in the food processor as well. Mix all of the ingredients well.

Place the milk and butter in a pot, and heat until butter is completely melted. Add all of the ingredients, including the salt and pepper, and heat until the soup is smooth and completely mixed.

A great side dish, especially with Persian food, is beets and yogurt. Ok, so a lot of people have a negative reaction to beets…but they have a lot of great qualities! Don’t judge them.

Peel a beet, and cut off the ends. Place in a pyrex dish with a few inches of water, and bake on 350 F until the beet is completely cooked. Let cool, then cut into cubes. Mix with plain white yogurt.

Posted in Cooking | Comments (4)

I dreamed we were all standing on the shore
staring across the bay
and our feet felt the rocks beneath our shoes.
There were clouds above and below
in between our silent stares.
We all gathered in an empty stone house
elbows touching, feet shuffling
and our spirits were lifted by a Hand.

I dreamed that your eyes stabbed into mine
made me realize that in some ways
it is better that I am gone.

I dreamed that my suitcases
were being packed one last time
(for the fourth time)
and I know I haven’t left yet.

I dreamed that you were so happy
dressed in white.
and so confused.

I dreamed that we were in a forest,
and you came to me smiling
there were never words said
and I am left wondering.

Posted in Haifa, Personal, Poetry | Comments (3)

Georgia in the springtime
Magnolia trees
Bell the hound dog
Southern charm and art galleries
Tennis and the swimming pool

Bell was a bad-tempered dog.  I mean, we grew up together, in some ways, so she wasn’t too mean to me, or maybe she sensed that in my innocence, I would pamper her.  She always ran ahead when Granddaddy took us for walks, and would loops back around, nearly knocking me over and scaring me half to death in the dark woods.

My southern accent disappeared, but it struggles to come out from hiding when I am with these relatives.  Natives of Alabama, Tennessee, and Georgia, half of the family still has the Southern roots strongly grounded in the soil…atheistic roots, for the most part, which made things interesting at times.

Granddaddy and Grandmommy met in art school after World War II, and they made a living on their art throughout their lives.  Granddaddy did illustrations and portraits, Grandmommy painted landscapes.  Our home is filled with their paintings and drawings.

The creek and trees behind their house used to be a dark, cool place full of mystery, but housing developers turned that magical place into a sad stand of pine trees as I grew older.  We caught crawfish and threw them back, and I will never forget my awe at a tire wrapped around a big old tree.

Everything in their house has been in the same place for the last 40 years.  I can still remember where the phone books are, the cereal, the board games, and the cookie drawer.  The furniture is in mostly the same configuration in their ranch home on the top of the hill.

We would play with the neighbor’s kids, and in the summers go to the neighborhood pool, where Grandmommy swam and Granddaddy played tennis.  They did this into their 80s.  They had their 50th Anniversary in the clubhouse there.

Dinner table discussions could almost be guaranteed to turn into a minor debate or intellectual discussion of some kind.  I mostly learned to hold my own, but have never gotten over my dislike of contention, and so did not enjoy them as much as others may have.

I can’t draw.  A cousin recently told me, “This monkey does NOT look like a monkey.”  Hey, best I could do, kid.  I didn’t inherit the ability to capture life on canvas.  My uncle taught me to whistle through my teeth and quack like a duck…thanks for passing on those skills, they’ve been quite handy.

Great-uncle and great-aunt had a wonderful house near a swamp, with a small barn and horses.  Great-aunt would let us ride the horses around the field, and I always felt so loved in their home.  When they passed away, I mourned them in quiet silence.

Grandmommy painted in the basement, and sometimes I would sneak down the long stairs to sneak looks at unfinished paintings, the bright oil paints smeared on painting boards and brushes, and the pile of animal skulls in the corner that my uncle collected in college.

We always came into the house through the kitchen door.  The front door hadn’t been used in so long that there were giant cobwebs around it.  Everything was always casual…I don’t remember any sort of formality in all the years we visited.

Posted in Family, Personal, Stories | Comments (1)

Minnesota

I was born in a hospital on the Mississippi River…but I don’t remember that part of my Minnesota story.  When I was one year old, we left this state, but it has always been a second home, on account of my Persian family members living here.

There was a thunderstorm one night that shook the walls of my grandparent’s apartment.  We all gathered in the hallway, and I remember being scared but strangely exhilarated.

Persian food.  Always a table nearly bending under the weight of platters of rice, khoresht (stew), and the dozen or so side items that go along with such a feast.  The women of my family really know how to cook.  Food is the central activity that makes a family go round.  Grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins all in a friendly chaotic shuffle around the extended tables, taking turns in different homes.

We are a mixed family…at least 4 different countries are represented in the 24 individuals that comprise this group.  I love it.  The half-English, half-Persian language that is created in the stories and translations is so normal and comforting.   The generations of the Baha’i Faith within our family go back to the mid-1800s, and also began in the present day.  The extended family has more than 200 members.

Babajoon has a lot of random sayings and advice, and most of my enduring memories of him are of him sitting in a corner with a thick book and his glasses low on his nose.  He would make up songs about putting our seatbelts on in the car, and he is the person from whom I have inherited my social personality.  He knows everyone.

We picked fresh grape leaves in the park, and Mamanjoon taught us to make dolmeh (stuffed grape leaves), her hands deftly wrapping the edges around and neatly placing them in the pot.  Mine still don’t look like hers.  Maybe I will be able to do it in 50 years…I just need practice.  She taught us how to sew, starting with sewing buttons on pieces of scrap cloth.

I learned how to dance (Persian style) in the living rooms of my aunts’ homes.  I learned how to cook in my mother’s kitchen, and how to make kabob koobideh (ground meat on a skewer) from a few different relatives over the years.

My cousins and I were bundled into coats so thick that we could barely move, and told to play in the snow by the swing set.  The swing set is gone now…it was a hazard even when I was young.  In the summers we would be pushed around in the go-cart my cousins built, or take walks around the neighborhood.

Posted in Family, Personal, Stories | Comments (0)