I’ve noticed some comments over the years from various people on their tests as Bahá’ís…that sometimes they feel like they are too different than other members of the community, that they are frustrated with fellow believers, that they believe in the Bahá’í Faith but disagree with elements of the administration. These, and many other reasons, create a distance between them and the community.

“Perhaps the greatest test Bahá’ís are ever subjected to is from each other; but for the sake of the Master they should be ever ready to overlook each other’s mistakes, apologize for harsh words they have uttered, forgive and forget. He strongly recommends to you this course of action.”

(From a letter written on behalf of the Guardian to an individual believer, February 18, 1945; Living the Life, p. 12)

The Bahá’í Faith is in a process of learning and growing. As we grow, there are individual and community struggles. This is part of the process.

“Thus you might look upon your own difficulties in the path of service. they are the means of your spirit growing and developing. You will suddenly find that you have conquered many of the problems which upset you, and then you will wonder why the should have troubled you at all. An individual must centre his whole heart and mind on service to the Cause, in accordance with the high standards set by Bahá’u'lláh. When this is done, the Hosts of Supreme Concourse will come to the assistance of the individual, and every difficulty and trial will gradually be overcome.”

(Written by the Guardian’s Secretary on his behalf to an individual believer, October 6, 1954: Living the Life, p. 19)

“He was very sorry to hear that you have had so many tests in your Bahá’í life. There is no doubt that many of them are due to our own nature. In other words, if we are very sensitive, or if we are in some way brought up in a different environment from the Bahá’ís amongst whom we live, we naturally see things differently and may feel them more acutely; and the other side of it is that the imperfections of our fellow-Bahá’ís can be a great trial to us”.

(From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer, April 5, 1956)

No matter how difficult the circumstances, we should not separate ourselves from the community as a whole. The Bahá’í community is an inseparable part of being a Bahá’í.

“For the Bahá’í Faith is above all a way of life. It is not a mere philosophical or social doctrine. It is a closely-knit and harmoniously functioning community, a world-wide spiritual fraternity which seeks to reform the world first and foremost by bringing about a deep inner spiritual change in the heart of individuals. To live the teachings of the Cause should be the paramount concern of every true believer, and the only way to do so is to commune both in spirit and through actual concrete means with the entire community of the faithful. The Bahá’í Cause encourages community life and makes it a duty for every one of its followers to become a living, a fully active and responsible member of the world-wide Bahá’í fellowship.”

(From letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer, August 13, 1936)

“Regarding the matter … and the inharmony that seems to exist among certain of the friends … When Bahá’ís permit the dark forces of the world to enter into their own relationships within the Faith they gravely jeopardize its progress; it is the paramount duty of the believers, the Local Assemblies, and particularly the N.S.A. to foster harmony, understanding and love amongst the friends. All should be ready and willing to set aside every personal sense of grievance — justified or unjustified — for the good of the Cause, because the people will never embrace it until they see in its Community life mirrored what is so conspicuously lacking in the world; love and unity.”

(From a letter written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to the National Spiritual Assembly of Bolivia, August 19, 1985)

Obviously there are individual circumstances. The reason I wrote this post was to be encouraging to those who are having a difficult time, not to berate those who are not able to be more active members of community life. None of us are perfect, all of us are striving. The beauty of this is that we can learn from each other.

Boston (This one was a little tricky, as I didn’t have a tripod, but I managed to get it.)

Description from the web site:
Using the Power of the Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh to Revitalize the Individual and Society.

Craig Loehle suggests that a new world view is needed for society to take the next steps of social and material progress. Such a world view, he proposes, can only be provided by a new revelation of guidance from God. He thus explores the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh, founder of the Bahá’í Faith, as this new divine revelation and examines the role Bahá’ís play as inventors in the development of the new social and economic systems that will form the pattern for a peaceful, united and just future society.

You can buy it at the George Ronald Publisher web site, or at the Baha’i Distribution Service site. Pass the word on to your friends, buy the book!

Fry the onion and garlic in a few tablespoons of olive oil until the onions are clear, then add basil, tomatoes, salt, pepper, tumeric, and chili powder. Fry on medium heat for a few minutes, then add tomato paste and ½ cup water. Turn to low and simmer for 5 minutes, then add heavy cream. Simmer for another 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Serve over pasta. (Other ingredients to add are mushrooms, bell peppers, and chicken, depending on what you like!)

- Walking through ivy league campuses makes me feel smarter. Also, it makes me miss school…even though I couldn’t wait to be done with school when I was in it!

- The colors of the leaves changing is one of my favorite things about autumn…that, and the clothes. The imminent onset of winter, however, is something I dread.

- Connecting with family members around the world…the last few months have been amazing, as I meet cousins, share stories, and hear anecdotes from relatives about the history of the Persian side of our family.

- I’ve been listening to some great music recently. Bell X1, Stars, Gotye, and my forever favorite, Zero 7.

- The election is finally over, and gosh am I happy. Not that I have much hope that most mainstream media will find something worth obsessing over, but I try to be optimistic. Of course, it is a historic thing and all that, but everyone else has said enough about that already, no need for me to expound on the subject. I’ve made my opinions on partisan politics quite clear.

- I love my family and friends. A lot a lot. Especially those who keep me company when I feel lonely, and make me laugh (you know who you are). A quote from the Baha’i Writings:

“O friends, consort with all the people of the world with joy and fragrance. If there be to you a word or essence whereof others than you are devoid, communicate it and show it forth in the language of affection and kindness: if it be received and be effective the object is attained, and if not leave it to him, and with regard to him deal not harshly but pray. The language of kindness is the lodestone of hearts and the food of the soul; it stands in the relation of ideas to words, and is as an horizon for the shining of the Sun of Wisdom and Knowledge.”

-Abdu’l-Baha

Wife: “What do you want to do today?”
Husband: “Shoot myself in the head.”
Wife: “Not today, lets do that tomorrow.”
Husband: “Ok.”

I found this article from the American Psychological Association about research regarding rumors and gossip. I found it interesting that the authors differentiated between rumors and gossip:

“Rumors have been described as public communications that are infused with private hypotheses about how the world works (Rosnow, 1991), or more specifically, ways of making sense to help us cope with our anxieties and uncertainties (Rosnow, 1988, 2001). On the other hand, as Wert and Salovey (2004b) noted, “almost as many functions of gossip have been argued as writers to write about gossip” (p. 77). More than rumor, gossip tends to have an “inner-circleness” about it, in that it is customarily passed between people who have a common history or shared interests.” -Foster & Rosnow

So the idea is basically that rumors have served some kind of social purpose as the human race has evolved, as a way to pass on information when the written word was not utilized, and for people to establish social hierarchies. The Baha’i Writings tell us the following about the negative effects of gossip:

“If any soul speak ill of an absent one, the only result will clearly be this: he will dampen the zeal of the friends and tend to make them indifferent. For backbiting is divisive, it is the leading cause among the friends of a disposition to withdraw. If any individual should speak ill of one who is absent, it is incumbent on his hearers, in a spiritual and friendly manner, to stop him, and say in effect: would this detraction serve any useful purpose?” -Abdu’l-Baha

I am interested in seeing the results of the next chapter, which discusses the effects of gossip on social networks and the links within them:

“We found that denser networks are less vulnerable to social fragmentation from gossip. However, this effect is moderated by “gatekeepers” who tend to position themselves along unique social bridges between other network members. Disintermediating, that is, increasing the density of social connections around gatekeepers, is expected to decrease negative effects of gossiping and to assist in improving norm coherence.” -Foster & Rosnow

Any thoughts?

Mike swayed with the movement on the train, his skinny body not able to stand straight. As soon as he got on the train, he was confused, and Angela said, “Honey, where are you trying to go?” They both misheard each other as they started talking, but did not seem to mind that they were not in the same conversation.

“Angela, I will pay you five dollars for your seat. My key broke.” Mike showed everyone within three feet the pieces of his key in his hand.

“Honey, you take my seat. You go on ahead. Keep your five dollars, I think you need it more than I do.” Angela smiled at him, a woman from New York in her mid-thirties, sure of herself and place in life.

They chatted with the rattling of the train punctuating their conversation. They involved a pair of club promoters (wearing the latest 80s fashion reborn), who then exchanged information with Mike.

When Angela got off at her stop with a friendly goodbye, Mike spent 10 minutes trying to put his key back together. When he finally gave up, he shoved the pieces in his pockets, sighed, and stepped out through the open doors.

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.)

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.