A Calm Storm

The blog of Sholeh Samadani Munion

Not merely talking about the weather

As I continue working with young women within our Ruhi Book 2 study circle, I am reminded of this quotation that encourages women to elevate their level of conversation. How do we do this among ourselves? “Confirmations from the kingdom…

Summer

Dear Blog, I haven’t written since July, which is very unlike me. Then again, this summer was pretty unprecedented with travel for the 114 Baha’i Youth Conferences and getting married in the middle of it all.  A few weeks ago I…

10 years and my love

I had a plan to write all sorts of blog posts recently. And then…well, I had to dive into the 4 youth conferences I’m working on and then something else really big happened in my life and suddenly it was…

The last few weeks in photos

Work is not all about serious things. My coworkers and I get up to various (mostly harmless) antics sometimes. Laughter helps with so many things, since it can be very demanding around here. We merely took advantage of an opportunity…

Eternal sovereignty

“O thou maidservant of God! Every woman who becometh the maidservant of God outshineth in glory the empresses of the world, for she is related to God, and her sovereignty is everlasting, whereas a handful of dust will obliterate the…

Aggression

Most of the time I don’t write about unpleasant things here. But something happened just now that left me shaking so badly that I had to pull into a parking lot and write it down. I was driving in Lincoln…

Waiting

Some days are a waiting game. Some weeks are. The feeling of helplessness is never good for me. I want to take action, solve problems, help people! The roadblocks sometimes seem insurmountable. Taking deep breaths and just…waiting. For everything.

our study circle

At the end of Ruhi Book 1 every Sunday night, we read a story about a Baha’i that served in extraordinary way. It started out as a way for the young ladies in the study circle (they’re aged 12-15, some…

How to be happy

It still feels like winter here…the gray and cold have seeped into my body, I crave sunshine, heat, and friendly faces. I was reminded this weekend that I can bring joy to myself and others simply by choosing to be…

In dreams

I have never felt a greater need for silence than right now. A great need to bury myself in a cocoon of books and tea, I dream of warm sunlit beaches and time between us.

Old patterns of thought

“O ye respected souls! From the continual imitation of ancient and worn-out ways, the world had grown dark as darksome night. The fundamentals of the divine Teachings had passed from memory; their pith and heart had been totally forgotten, and…

Snowstorm

You may be aware that there is a snowstorm in Chicago right now. There was an Ayyam-i-Ha party at the Baha’i National Center this morning, and after lunch everyone was sent home because of the impending storm (which had already…

Be

“Be fair in thy judgment, and guarded in thy speech. Be unjust to no man, and show all meekness to all men. Be as a lamp unto them that walk in darkness, a joy to the sorrowful, a sea for…

Football?

I hear there was this big football game last night or something. I watched a few minutes of halftime, which just made me sad that those beautiful ladies couldn’t find something classier to wear. I then got bored and turned…

Silenced

we are an entire generation silent we are here to serve, to work, to strive we are silenced we raise our hands to voice concern we raise our voices to fight injustice we are silenced our brothers and sisters are…

We/Or/Me kickstarter

After years as a home-recording outfit, We/Or/Me (which is mostly Bahhaj Taherzadeh) is making its first studio-based record. I highly recommend donating some $, because the music is awesome and it is great to support independent artists. Make sure good…

these days

I have to say that this year started off with a lot of things…none of which I’ll talk about here for now, except in a very general way. I will say that a lot was thrown at me at once,…

Good things

I have been thinking about some of the difficult things going on in my life right now, and while I should not dismiss them as small or insignificant, I can choose to focus on better things, on the good things,…

falling

she is watching the ground rushing toward her, a free-fall of joyful absolution. she is wrapped in trust. she is watching with her eyes closed. once there was a story in her head about the possibilities and then time took…

Distinction

“For you I desire spiritual distinction—that is, you must become eminent and distinguished in morals. In the love of God you must become distinguished from all else. You must become distinguished for loving humanity, for unity and accord, for love…

Thanksgiving: Part 1

I am feeling ambitious this year. I offered to help my mother cook some things in advance to alleviate the burden of cooking the giant meal. Our family, despite having a Persian element to some of our cooking, does the…

Ducks

“When the Master was in the city Mrs. Goodall would drive Him and some of the friends (often including my father) to Lloyd Lake, a small lake surrounded by trees and flowering shrubs, in Golden Gate Park.  On the edge…

Oh, American elections.

I’ve made my opinion on partisan politics known. I spent the evening last night doing errands (best night to do them, no one was out!), and tried to stay away from the pundits & coverage (though I DID vote). Many…

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