Pearls within, sun powered, holding fast and drawing near

    "... the pearls of wisdom and utterance have appeared from the shells of the great sea of 

    Thy knowledge ..."

    So fascinating to learn about pearls as they are truly unique. They are the only

    gemstones in the world that come from a living creature. Mollusks such as oysters

    and mussels create pearls when an irritating particle gets inside their shells.

    This particle, when trapped, causes the mollusk to defend itself by coating this

    annoying irritant with nacre. The beautiful glow of pearls comes from numerous

    layers of this coating and the process can take anywhere from two to four years

    to develop. For all of us, problems often enter our lives and bring consequences

    good and bad. If we respond in the right way to such tests we can forge things of

    beauty in our own lives. Such inner gems will be formed by the wisdom gained as

    a result of these experiences and are reflected in what we say and how we treat others.

    "..and the heavens of divine revelation have been adorned with the light of the appearance of 

    the sun of Thy countenance."

    From time immemorial God has sent Educators to this world and their teachings have

    transformed the societies and civilizations that have arisen in their wake. Such divine

    teachers have always been subjected to persecution and suffering but the truth of their

    spiritual teachings nurture humanity just as powerfully as the radiance of the sun brings

    life-giving energy to the physical world.

    "Thou beholdest them clinging to the rope of Thy grace and holding fast unto the hem of the mantle of Thy beneficence."

    If you have ever clung to a rope you will be familiar with the frightening feeling of being

    hauled about without you being able to decide either direction or pace. Dragged off your

    feet at times but clinging stubbornly throughout it all. We have to grip tightly and trust

    God even when swept up by events we can neither predict nor control. Holding fast to

    God's love, under all conditions, is the only viable option!

    "Ordain for them that which may draw them nearer unto Thee, and withhold them from 

     all else save Thee."

    It has been said, the worst thing God can do to a soul is to bless them with such good

    health, good family, good fortune, and good home that they totally forget God. We

    often only draw near to God in prayer when all goes wrong in our lives. Our desperation

    can drive us to real communion with God and our humility then allows us to receive just

    what we need at that moment. Drawing nearer to God should be a constant daily urgent

    goal whatever the distractions of this world.

quotes used from the writings of Bahá’u’lláh

Ruins, trees, leaves and poetry that awakens

Robert Burns struggled to make ends meet for much of his life and died aged only 37.  He suffered from bouts of despondency and when describing himself he was as direct and honest as ever.

"My life reminded me of a ruined temple.  What strength, what proportion in some parts!  What unsightly gaps, what prostrate ruins in others".

Robert Burns

Alfred Joyce Kilmer wrote this lovely poem about trees; He was killed by a sniper's bullet at the Second Battle of the Marne in 1918 at the age of 31.

"I think that I shall never see

A poem lovely as a tree.

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest

Against the earth’s sweet flowing breast;

A tree that looks at God all day,

And lifts her leafy arms to pray;

A tree that may in Summer wear

A nest of robins in her hair;

Upon whose bosom snow has lain;

Who intimately lives with rain.

Poems are made by fools like me,

But only God can make a tree."

Oliver Wendell Holmes (August 29, 1809 – October 7, 1894) was an American physician, poet, and polymath based in Boston.  He wrote a poem entitled The Last Leaf, here is a verse from it.

"And if I should live to be

The last leaf upon the tree

In the spring,

Let them smile, as I do now,

At the old forsaken bough

Where I cling."

    

"Every now and then let us answer the forest's call,

To come see life's beauty and the miracle of it all;

If we listen with our hearts as we walk among trees,

We may understand the message carried on a breeze,

For us to blend with the forest's spirit so it will beguile

Us into walking under its lovely trees for just a while."

from a poem by Belinda Stotler

"Everything I touch

with tenderness, alas,

pricks like a bramble."

Kobayashi Issa (June 15, 1763 – January 5, 1828) was a Japanese poet and Buddhist priest famous for his haiku poems.  It is of ancient Japanese origin and every Haiku contains 17 syllables in 3 lines of five, seven, five.  Their shortness and conciseness mean they can pack a real punch.

Enos A. Mills (April 22, 1870 – September 21, 1922) was an American naturalist, author and homesteader. He was also the main figure behind the creation of Rocky Mountain National Park.  He had high hopes for what trees represented and what they could contribute to the world. 

"The forests are the flags of nature.   
They appeal to all and awaken inspiring universal feelings.  
Enter the forest and the boundaries of nations are forgotten.  
It may be that some time an immortal pine will be the flag of a united peaceful world."

-   Enos A. Mills  

Corridor and playground conversations

The PE teacher at my son’s school in Greece was going through a rough time.  Every break time he would tell my son another installment of the bitter divorce he was going through.  It was a kind of debriefing and my nine-year-old son drank in the whole sorry tale.  How love can turn to hate.  What women can say and do to make your life miserable. 
How betrayal colours not just how you see the world but even yourself.  Custody battles, court hearings, his hatred for his in-laws, this plot was as twisted as any soap opera.  My son loved it and looked forward to the next installment.  Being new to the school and a foreigner my son was lonely and having these conversations let him see that suffering was universal not just his own lot in life.  It came at exactly the right time and I hope on some level having a listening ear helped Mr Anastasis too.

As one of my sons, Lewis, walked along a school corridor a heavy set teacher, middle-aged and built like a barn, no neck, half shaven with a smoker’s hack stopped him and said,

“Never long for any day, any moment but this day and this time.  Enjoy this second.  Remember this and you will have a happy life!”

Decades later Lewis, as best man, shared this with wisdom at his brother’s wedding and I feel grateful to this insight from an unlikely source.

Let each morn be better than its eve

"Let each morn be better than its eve and each morrow richer than its yesterday."

You get up and hope that the day ahead is better than the one before.  Not in some vague wishing good things for the next day for yourself, but more in the desire that whatever the next day brings (good or bad) you will find something within to face it with grace and dignity.  It is not about what comes to us, it is all in how we deal with what comes that matters.  That is the nature of this game of life we all play.

"Man's merit lieth in service and virtue and not in the pageantry of wealth and riches."

It helps to realize the purpose of our lives and what it is not about.  If life is about service to humanity then the acquisition and display of wealth becomes rather a distraction to the main goal of being here.

"Take heed that your words be purged from idle fancies and worldly desires and your deeds be cleansed from craftiness and suspicion."

When I think about words, how they can hurt others, be fuelled with all kinds of desires, no wonder our deeds inevitably reflect our ulterior motives and doubts.  So we need to choose our words with care and make our deeds worthy.

"Dissipate not the wealth of your precious lives in the pursuit of evil and corrupt affection,"

Time is so precious and how easy to waste it on passing fancies that make a mockery of the reality that the only real wealth we have is our allotted span of time on earth and what we choose to do with it.

"nor let your endeavours be spent in promoting your personal interest."

If we focus only on what we want, what we feel, who we are, then we fail to see the horizon out there and lose our way on a comfortable circular path of selfishness.

 "Be generous in your days of plenty, and be patient in the hour of loss."

Perhaps the only real measure of a character is not what we do in good times but how we cope with the really bad periods.

"Adversity is followed by success and rejoicings follow woe."

It is the nature of our lives that, like our landscape around us, there are hills and hollows.  It is a truth that sometimes the hollows are more like deep dark endless ravines.  But they give us a valuable perspective on life and when you emerge from a deep dark valley the sunlight feels so good!

"Guard against idleness and sloth, and cling unto that which profiteth mankind, whether young or old, whether high or low. "

There is a strange lethargy that can steal from you, your rightful birthright.  This is not something you must guard within that others may take from you.  It is the strange ability in all of us to lose our sense of purpose and direction.  No one can take it away from us or give it to us, it is within each one of us and only we can and must find it for ourselves.  


Quotes taken from Baha'i Writings (Words of Wisdom)

solution to every problem

There is a scheme locally in our town where volunteers phone elderly people who are housebound and alone every day.  Usually these are just quick chats to touch base and have a laugh together.  The crack is often good as they say here.  One of the volunteers was telling me that one elderly client usually had a small quote or joke to share.  Today this was what she told him


There is always a solution to a problem you've been set
There always is a way in which the challenge can be met
There always is a means of getting over every fence
With just a little patience and a bit of common sense

What is the source of all Good and the essence of wisdom?

Trusting in God is hard especially when times are really hard, when it seems as if not just one aspect of life goes wrong but many.  Work, family, health problems can come together in a perfect storm and when nothing is going your way you still have to trust, submit and be content with God’s will.  Such acquiescence is not easy, but it does, in the midst of great suffering, mould special strengthened souls.  Plutarch (46 – 120 AD) was Greek historian, biographer and essayist knew this when he wrote these two statements.

“Those who aim at great deeds must also suffer greatly.” 

 

“To make no mistakes is not in the power of man; but from their errors and mistakes the wise and good learn wisdom for the future.”

To be really wise is to tread carefully understanding God’s commands and His love of justice.  To live one’s life not only loving God but fearing Him also.  This fear is a sturdy shield from wrong doing and the love a constant call to do what is right and just.  I love the work of C S Lewis and this quote of his demonstrates his wisdom and insights in understanding what path to walk and how to walk it.

“Only those who try to resist temptation know how strong it is. After
all, you find out the strength of the army by fighting against
it, not by giving in. You find out the strength of a wind by trying to
walk against it, not by lying down. A man who gives in to temptation
after five minutes simply does not know what it would have been like
an hour later. That is why bad people, in one sense, know very little
about badness — they have lived a sheltered life by always giving in.
We never find out the strength of the evil impulse inside us until we
try to fight it.”

But if we are to be truly wise we must be sure we are not sheep following blindly the path others have worn down before us.  This Welsh proverb cuts to the chase and indicates the importance of reason and rational in guiding us. 

“Reason is the wise man's guide, example the fool's. “

So I wish you strength, wisdom and reason in working out a good path for yourself.