Symphony of Brotherhood

Friends of the East,
And friends of the west,
Join in one embrace!
Winds of change are wafting over the world!
Forming the Symphony of Brotherhood.

Can we deny,
New vision in our eyes?
Like a fire, flaming high!
This is the day for very great things!
We're forming the symphony of Brotherhood.

We don't have to hate
Because we fear one another.
And we don't need to fear
Because we don't know eachother.
The bridges are being built
And the arms are reaching out!

THE TIME IS HERE!
THE TIME IS NOW!

Let your heart
Feel the power
Of peace on earth
Good will for all!

This is the day
For very great things!

WE ARE THE SYMPHONY OF BROTHERHOOD!

--Song lyrics written by Gretchen Hewitt
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May you be drawn together in friendship and may extraordinary development make brotherhood a reality and truth.
(Abdu'l-Baha, Baha'i World Faith - Abdu'l-Baha Section, p. 269)

A Breath...

…Under the guidance of our Supreme Body, the Universal House of Justice, tremendous opportunities to serve have been created. The sacrifice of the devoted martyrs, teachers, and servants of the Faith has paved the way to bring the curative Message of Bahá’u’lláh to every single soul. We have to arise with devotion and determination and step forward in the arena of teaching. We have to remember the extreme austerity of this time and ponder the words of the Beloved Guardian reflected in “The Advent of Divine Justice”:”The field is indeed so immense, the period so critical, the Cause so great, the workers so few, the time so short, the privilege so priceless, that no follower of the Faith of Baha’u’llah, worthy to bear His name, can afford a moment’s hesitation.” --Hand of the Cause Dr. Varga

( I was emailed this. I don't have many details of where is came from. If I find out more, I will let you know.)

If I fall asleep, I might miss something...

Wow.

Work, a funeral, a task force meeting…and not enough eat, drink, or sleep.

My darling friend’s mother passed away of Friday. She had been very ill for some time. It was a tough weekend to get through. I wanted to take her pain away. But, I know that would not be possible, nor fair. She needs to grieve. She needs to feel what she is feeling, good and bad.

I love you Afsaneh. More then you could ever smell…
Just think Jello……jello….

Being a Baha’i in this era is such a wonderful challenge. It is so easy to have emotional up’s and down’s. Sometimes, you feel like you can take on the world, and then other times, you feel like your little pea-ish existence is lost in the mattress we call life.

I left the weekend pretty discouraged. I felt frustrated for not knowing more and not knowing how to motivate the others or myself.

I wanted to throw in the towel.

But last night, Andrew and I were working on this power point presentation for the retreat this coming weekend, a fun extra component, and I started to feel so much better! Andrew had given me a copy of the Reflections Document from the NSA. He said that it had re-inspired him and pulled him out of the lake o’ funk, and BOY! He was not joking!

Here I was, sitting in my room when I got home sucked into it like I couldn’t believe! It was full of everything that I needed to hear. I was up until about 1:30. That was not good. I had to wake up for work at 4am. But, strangely enough, I felt fairly rested today! (well, my new not so healthy habit of at least 6 shots of espresso to ease the pain probably helped! Geez.)

It is the best feeling on earth when you re-enter the truth of the matter. We can do what we have been given to do. We are the light bearers, and what a humbling job that is to do. But nothing compares.

This girl is PUMPED! I have taken a sip of what I like to call…..

“SPIRITUAL JOE”

It is a challenge, this Baha’I thang, this Youth On Unity thang, this life thang, this spiritual journey thang, but it is full of incredible experiences and learning opportunities.

And all the light that shines through those million-quadrillion sets of eyes….priceless.

This Task Force has taught me a lot. Andrew, Darajun, Zane, Ben, and Niousha, thank you for your wonderful souls. You all have touched my heart.
P.S. I miss Shmange. I want to BBC it soon. Like next weekend! RAWK! This time, I get to drive!

Keeping the flame,

Genevieve

Trying to keep it going...

There are times when the loop you get thrown into seems too much to handle. Right now is one of those times. Though, I know that what I am going through is nothing compared to some of my loved ones.

It is very interesting to me how times of turmoil can make the light shine a little brighter.

Keep the light shining..........

What is this SLEEP you speak of?

I used to not really care that much about sleeping.

"You can sleep when you are dead. For now, do and see all that you can." --William Vahid Pursley

I used to live by this.

Maybe it is the 26 in me. Maybe it is the 5 am shift and the never ending schedule,but...

...DANG! I'm TIRED!

And, can you believe it? I can't sleep. I am sitting here awake.

I want to see the inside of my eyeballs for at least a good day and a half.

Mediocrity: DESTROYED!

The lamest thing is when you realize how lame you were being. When you have awesome friends that want to physically harm you for being so lame, you soon snap out of it. Geez Louis.

Here are some quotes that have been keeping me going this week after my mini-semi-meltdown:

The question isn't who is going to let me; it is who is going to stop me. --Ayn Rand
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“All greatness of character is dependent on individuality. The man who has no other existence than that which he partakes in common with all around him, will never have any other than an existence of mediocrity” --James Fenimore Cooper

”It takes but one positive thought when given a chance to survive and thrive to overpower an entire army of negative thoughts.” -- Robert H. Schuller
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”You can give in to the failure messages and be a bitter deadbeat of excuses. Or you can choose to be happy and positive and excited about life.” -- A.L. Williams
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ha Ha! That is more like it!

Man. Life is too full of good to focus on the bad. But, sometimes, you have to focus on the bad so that it reminds you of all the good.

--Gen Gen

Sulkey McSulkington

Someone once said that it is better to do one thing perfectly, then many things in mediocrity.

Mediocrity-a person of second-rate ability or value.

Yeah. It is tough when you realize that is you.

So, now that this has come to my attention, and I have looked backwards, I can only remember being just this. But I never realized this horror until now. Now, I see it from the audience.

I have been cast a fool.

The problem is I love to be creative. I like to live in my imagination. I like to dream and hope that dreams really do come true and then eat gum drops and lollie-pops.

I have recently come to see that while I was growing up, the focus on the arts and not on the academic side of things has come to bite me in the backside. I might be able to sing a song, or do a pirouette, or recite a monologue, but you want me to tell you the square root of anything, and you will most likely get the answer, “A square root? I didn’t know they had a specific shape! I just thought they grew in the ground!” that might not be a joke…

I am beginning to think that I was raised in the clouds...

...In the clouds, you don’t need money! All you have to do is sit around, and draw, and dance, and sing, and paint, and invent things, and laugh, and everyone lives happily ever after. There, in the clouds, you don’t have to know about anything else. And they don’t tell you about anything else. They keep you in euphoria, and then, when you go on a trip out of town into the “Real World” you find out everything is a big HUGE phat lie, and that you are screwed. Then Cloud Land won’t let you back in because you are tainted.

Bah.

I know, I know, pick myself up, dust myself off, and start all over again. I am just a little sleepy.

I love Joni Mitchell

"Things that you held high and told yourself were true all start changing as the days come down to you." --Joni Mitchell

A Dream Worth Dreaming...

Not too long ago, I had a dream about ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. It was the most amazing dream I have ever experienced.

It took place at some sort of Bahá’í gathering. Like a Convention or something. The Bahá’ís that were there were a mixture of Seattle Bahá’ís and St. Louis Bahá’ís.

They kept telling me that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was going to be there. Of course, I couldn’t comprehend this. I kept questioning them. But they insisted that he would show up, and when he did, I was not supposed to look at him.

I just remember thinking, “Not look at him! Are you serious!? Of course I am going to look at him! This is amazing!”

We all entered this big hall. There was some sort of program that was about to start. I took a seat on the isle.

Just then, a door opened, and a youth aged man and a boy around the age of about 9 entered the room dressed in old Persian clothes. They both had very long black hair. I just remember thinking that they were so beautiful. They were very special. At that moment, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and four other men walked into the room.

I was awestruck. The interesting thing was that Abdu’l-Bahá was of youthful age. He came down the isle, and as he passed me, I looked up at him. His eyes were so intense. As if everything in the world of existence were there. I had to look away. I couldn’t handle it. He took a seat in the last row.

Then people started getting up and asking him to heal them. He never spoke a word, yet he answered them all with “No.”

The dream abruptly switched and I was standing with two women talking. I felt a hand touch my shoulder and turned around. It was Abdu’l-Bahá. I was stunned. I could only stare. He took his hand and placed it over my eyes to close them. He then touched the right side of my face all over. I received a very sharp, painful feeling on the right side of my forehead. Then it was gone.

I woke up.

I have been trying to make sence of this dream ever since. Surely it must have some kind of significance.
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How often it happens that it sees a dream in the world of sleep, and its signification becomes apparent two years afterwards in corresponding events.
(Abdu'l-Baha, Baha'i World Faith - Abdu'l-Baha Section, p. 326)

In the same way, how many times it happens that a question which one cannot solve in the world of wakefulness, is solved in the world of dreams.
(Abdu'l-Baha, Baha'i World Faith - Abdu'l-Baha Section, p. 326)

What is this "fun" you speak of?

Man, oh, man!

I need some fun ‘round here!

I couldn’t sleep last night, like I never can, and I started processing all of the things that I need to do to keep things flowing. Y.O.U. stuff, financial aid, check to make sure my class registration went through, work, pay cell phone bill, call my mom, call my brother, clean my room, do laundry, yadda yadda yadda. And then it hit me…

I AM NOT ANY FUN!!!

Then I corrected myself because it isn’t that I am not fun, it is just that I never make time for anything fun.

Now, let me clarify, I do fun things, but they tend to be “scheduled event” kinds of fun. Like Y.O.U. retreats. Always fun, but planned. Youth Halloween Party, also very fun, but planned. I find teaching children’s classes to be really fun, but, alas, planned. I am like a walking day planner. That is so sad. At least to me. I never used to be this boring.

Now, I am in no way saying that serving the Bahá’í Faith is boring, because I love it, but so much of it is planned.

This realization is surely part of my “new beginning.” It is a challenge for me to get out there and get to know people better and meet new people. It is a challenge for me to find the parts of town that I can call “my spots.” You know, really put myself out there!

My STL homies would be in utter shock (and some of you soon will be after reading this) to hear that Gen is stuck in an “I am boring” rut. It has never been my way. I am the crazy one. The one who always has an adventure up her sleeve. That Gen must be the one napping.

So, my goal for the rest of this week is to have fun. With people. With people that like to have cheap fun, because I still have no money. You don’t have to have money to have fun. Just random fun fun.

What are you all going to do this week that is fun?

...Justice for all

And among the teachings of His Holiness Bahá'u'lláh is justice and right. Until these are realized on the plane of existence, all things shall be in disorder and remain imperfect. The world of mankind is a world of oppression and cruelty, and a realm of aggression and error.
--Abdu'l-Baha, Baha'i World Faith - Abdu'l-Baha Section, p. 290

The Beginning

Ever since I was a little girl, I have needed change. I have been known throughout my life as the one who would never stay with one thing for too long.

Many can say that this is a fault. That I need to learn to follow through with things. Make sure that I finnish what I start. They may be right. But I have never been one to need to be put in a bracket and stay there. I like to move. To feel. To see new things, check new perspectives. These things can be accomplished by change.

As time has gone on, I have become more comfortable with small areas of my life having a bit more regularity, but, still, at the root of it all, I want things to be in a constant state of motion.

Maybe it is because beginnings are new and exciting. They always point you somewhere. Beginnings don't become stagnent and lifeless. They are always a challenge. You don't always know what lies ahead. It is a constant adventure. I like adventure.

I have been feeling the need for major change. I have moved. I have started over. Yet, this time, the change is different. I haven't been able to place it. It is constantly on my mind, yet I don't know where to find it or what it is. But something is in the air. Something big is happening.

This is the begining of my change. This is part of a fresh start.

This is me.