Many thanks

Dearly loved Friends,

Before all else, let me thank you for taking the time to read this and offering your kind and thoughtful feedback. Thank you. (Have you ever noticed that many people say "I would like to thank you for..." but then never actually say "Thank you"?) It has all made me pause and think even more deeply about my life as a Baha'i and my role as a teacher of the Faith.

As I mentioned quite some time ago, my training as a journalist has left me feeling awkward about responding to comments, but I know that this is something I need to shed. The only trouble is, I am not sure of a reasonable way in which to respond to the numerous letters that have come in. Most of them do not have addresses to which I can respond, and I don't want to burden everyone else with "personal correspondence".

Please know that every comment is read, and they are all either published here with the click of a button, or copied here with the person's permission. If someone has sent me a letter to my inbox, instead of in the comment field, and I have no way of contacting them (with my very limited computer knowledge), then I will not post it here. That, to me, is just a respect of privacy.

To those of you who have complained that blogspot does not allow comments by people without a google id, I'm not sure what to say. If anyone has any solution to this probem, I would be very glad to post it.

Either way, please know that every letter is read and carefully considered. You may have noticed a few articles in response to questions posed, and may have noticed a few other articles that seem to move in an odd direction: yes, this is in response to letters.

Oh, the only comments that don't get posted are those many ones that have come in Chinese with a link to some obscure or very odd web-site. I can only presume they are spam, or virus laden.

Finally, I'd like to offer my apologies for the next few months. As you may know, my family and I are getting ready to move and, if you have ever moved across a continent, you know this takes some effort. I will not be as prolific in the coming weeks as I have been. Once we get settled in BC, I'll be back to writing at least 4 times a week again. Until then, I'll do the best I can with the time I have.

Oh, and a special apology to Samuel: As much as I love the idea of a handy tip at the end of each article, it just didn't work out for me. Perhaps I'll try again, but it just didn't fit the "voice" as I was writing. Thanks anyways.

With love and prayers,

Mead
Still in Winnipeg