In October I went on a photography class to Starved Rock, which was given to me as a birthday gift by B. It was raining on and off during the morning, but it actually made the experience better because the…
Many of my cooking adventures begin because I am hungry, not because I carefully planned it. I look in the fridge, see what I have, and start cooking. The other night I got creative and got lucky. This recipe makes…
“Know thou that every fixed star hath its own planets, and every planet its own creatures, whose number no man can compute.” -Baha’u’llah NASA announced a discovery today regarding a “microorganism (that) substitutes arsenic for phosphorus in its cell components.”…
I am only writing in my head. The words stop at my lips, stop at the line that separates my tongue from the air of the world and I stop. come on come on now We’re sleeping on our feet…
There are a few ways to count lucky stars. In the quiet way, 1 2 3 in a row, listed in order, in a way that makes you think of libraries, lace doilies, and trying too hard. Then there are…
“This is the divinely-inscribed Book. This is the outspread Tablet. Say, this indeed is the Frequented Fane, the sweet-scented Leaf, the Tree of divine Revelation, the surging Ocean, the Utterance which lay concealed, the Light above every light… Indeed every…
One day a few weeks ago, there was a need for prayers. A long day, friends and family who needed love, everything about that day sent me to the House of Worship. When saying farewell, I turned to see this:…
I realize, looking over recent posts, that I assume that the majority of my readers know what is going on in my life, or even what my day-to-day life looks like. However, it is difficult for me to gauge my…
O ye friends of God! Be kind to all peoples and nations, have love for all of them, exert yourselves to purify the hearts as much as you can, and bestow abundant effort in rejoicing the souls. Be ye a…
“Let us also remember that at the very root of the Cause lies the principle of the undoubted right of the individual to self-expression, his freedom to declare his conscience and set forth his views. If certain instructions of the…
It happens every few weeks, or months. A reminder of what I left behind. It comes with a sudden warm, coastal wind, or a flower that I saw every day, or a friend’s smiling face. It sometimes sneaks up, like…
I am mired in this in-between state, keeping emotions at bay and I can’t seem to process anything right now. My days are on the edge of frantic, the evenings a collapse into numb mindlessness. I am scattered, but to…
O my God! O my God! Verily, Thy servant, humble before the majesty of Thy divine supremacy, lowly at the door of Thy oneness, hath believed in Thee and in Thy verses, hath testified to Thy word, hath been enkindled…
Nineteen months photo project For the month of Names: For the month of Might: Green Lake Baha’i Conference: at night, when all is calm…
For the Yaran. For the flood-stricken in Pakistan. For the women of Congo. For everyone. Lauded be Thy name, O my God! Thou beholdest how the tempestuous winds of tests have caused the steadfast in faith to tremble, and how…
I started reading the Kitab-i-Iqan (Book of Certitude) again this week. It is one of Baha’u’llah’s most important books, and I realized that I hadn’t spent enough time with it, especially in light of questions that have been coming my…
I’ve been immersed in some pretty amazing music recently . If you want to know the playlist running through my head, here ya go! Jonsi, the lead singer of Sigur Rós, put on a fantastic live show on April 27…
A few weeks ago I was making afternoon tea at work as I usually do, Persian style. We have a cute little Russell Hobbs tea tray contraption that has a little warmer for the tea to steep. I boiled the…
“We may well emulate Bahá’à youth whose recent surge forward into the van of proclamation and teaching is one of the most encouraging and significant trends in the Faith, and who storm the gates of heaven for support in their…
It is the Baha’i month of Perfection (Kamal in Arabic). The photos, captions, and quotations are up on Nineteen Months, so go check them out! Here is my photo.
sleep until noon realize that after days of storms and horrible weather, the sun is shining and it is gorgeous outside go to a park by a lake, armed with food, blankets, and frisbees have friends show up to share…
I had the opportunity to volunteer at the 4th Annual Baha’i Choral Music Festival in May. It was wonderful to see so many people at the House of Worship. I was manning the main entrance for both performances, so I…
When I was little, I loved bleu cheese salad dressing. If ever given a choice, I would choose that. I don’t know why, especially because I find it rather revolting now (especially since it usually contains gluten). Most salad dressings…
I really needed a weekend of nothing. It feels good. Things to be happy about, a list: -summer and all that it implies -friendship & family -dustless surfaces -orange-blueberry muffins -breakfast on a slow Sunday morning -fireworks on the beach…
start. stop. stuttering. my heart crashes into the pit of my stomach I might forget for 5 minutes, or an hour, and then it all rushes back. in circular thought I spin in dreams we claw through mud as thick…
after the storm is this, the lingering headache and colors I run through the thundering waters the sky’s tears, the sky’s laughter the steady beat tapping out too soon subsiding in exhaustion. wait, wait! In every tiny reflection, in every…
Intense summer thunderstorms Shiny surfaces Lunches on the picnic bench near my office. Delicacy Antique Stores (I Like: #1,#2,#3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9)
O ye who have turned your faces toward the Exalted Beauty! By night, by day, at morningtide and sunset, when darkness draweth on, and at early light I remember, and ever have remembered, in the realms of my mind and…
Today’s explodingdog drawing was highly relevant to my last few posts, and it made me smile. (Sam Brown, explodingdog)
I got a lot of responses about my last post, in many different ways: email, chat, Twitter, Facebook, and, shockingly, real life. I had no idea that the subject would resonate so strongly. There were suggestions to delete/deactivate my Facebook…