The Importance of Planning

 I was reading from the Universal House of Justice the other day, when I ran across the following:

(...A sustained entry by troops) cannot be achieved by a mere series of spasmodic, uncoordinated exertions, no matter how enthusiastic. Confidence; unity of vision; systematic, realistic, but audacious planning; acceptance of the fact that mistakes will be made, and willingness to learn from these mistakes; and, above all, reliance on the guidance and sustaining confirmations of Bahá’u’lláh will advance this process. (Ridvan 153, to the Baha'is of Europe)

Interesting. And what an incredible list to study, especially as we get ready to embark on the first of a series of plans coming up later this year.

You may recall in the letter to the Counsellor's conference, dated 30 December 2021, we read the most advanced clusters are seeing "the mobilization of a sizeable number of Bahá’ís who are creatively and intelligently applying the Plan’s framework for action to the reality of their own circumstances wherever in the cluster they live." We also read that the friends in these areas "must be able to read their own reality and ask: what, in light of the possibilities and requirements at hand, would be fitting objectives to pursue in the coming cycle or series of cycles?"

Going back to that first quote, the one to the Baha'is of Europe, I just want to take a look at those requisites a little bit more. They listed five things that would "advance this process".

1. Confidence -  Well, that makes sense. After all, if we don't believe we can do something, we will not put all our effort into it.

2. Unity of vision - Hmm. That's an intriguing one. I have seen communities where some people believed this meant that everyone needed to do the same thing. Well, that's uniformity of action, not unity of vision. In fact, if we go back to the Ridvan 1990 message, we read "A unity in diversity of actions is called for, a condition in which different individuals will concentrate on different activities, appreciating the salutary effect of the aggregate on the growth and development of the Faith, because each person cannot do everything and all persons cannot do the same thing. This understanding is important to the maturity which, by the many demands being made upon it, the community is being forced to attain." A unity of vision would encompass the long range goal, and require an appreciation of the varied steps needed to achieve it. It would allow each person to play to their strength, lending the greatest share they could to the achievement of the goals.

3. Systematic, realistic, but audacious planning - Ok. This is probably my favorite. But to really appreciate it, I find that I need to break it up into its component parts.

First, we need to be systematic in our planning. This means that we need a plan, and we need to be methodical in the development of said plan. Given that our plans are outlined for us by the World Centre, we pretty much have this down. And given that we have been guided to look at the various cycles of growth, each roughly 3 months in duration and based around the natural activities in our community, we are doing fairly well in this, provided we actually take note of those natural cycles in our community. When we ignore that, our vision tends to be more inward looking, rather than outward focused. I have seen more than a few communities stumble in this when they plan their cycles around an arbitrary calendar, usually the Baha'i calendar, which only a handful of people in a given community follow. But when they truly begin to focus their attention on the greater community, and learn to recognize the natural cycles there, they flourish.

From what I have seen in my own community, for example, this tends to revolve around the school year. New activities start in September, when the children begin their school year. Community centres have their fall activities starting. Dance studios begin their sessions. Many extra-curricular sports teams start their seasons, too. Three months later, in December, the children are getting ready for their winter break, and they have to register for a whole new set of after-school activities. Then, in March, they change over to their spring activities, which also last about three months. Finally, when the school year ends in June, everyone registers for their summer activities. Three month cycles. And if we try to begin our children's classes outside this cycle, say in October, which would lead to January three months later and then on to Ridvan, most of the children are already busy, having already started their fall activities.

The second step here, though, is that our plans need to be realistic. We may be systematic, but if we are not realistic very little will come of it. The reason that most plans fail is not because the people involved are unaware of the lofty goals, or lack enthusiasm, but because they do not see the next practical step that they can take. This is where realism comes into play. If the next proposed step is too far, or outside their vision, most people will not even try to take it.

The third part, though, is that we need to be audacious. We may be realistic, but if we only take tiny, cautious steps, we will never achieve the great strides necessary to bring about a change of culture. Audacious not only means bold and daring, but also implies that we are not restricted to the old way of doing things. It suggests being original, trying new things, which leads us to the next part.

4. Acceptance of the fact that mistakes will be made, and willingness to learn from these mistakes - We will make mistakes. This is a given. If we are audacious and daring, we can be certain that we will sometimes fall on our face. But hey, falling on our face implies forward movement. The trick, though, is to learn. Over and over in the recent messages, we read about the culture of learning, a dozen times in the 30 December message alone. "...(T)he friends should be occupied", they write in but one instance, "in an ongoing process of learning about what is most effective in the place where they are." Making mistakes is inevitable, and we should embrace that.

Many people are afraid of making mistakes, though, for it lays open our vulnerability. But you know what? This is also how we earn trust. When we recognize our own vulnerability and put ourselves out there anyways, people tend to trust us more than if we only show strength, and do only that which is safe. It exposes us, and shows that we trust those around us to help us if we fall. It reminds us to be humble and shows others that we are human, too. It means that even though the Writings have all the answers, we do not pretend to know those answers. It proves we are willing to allow others to help us learn how to find and apply them.

When we make mistakes, and strive to learn from them, we discover new things, see nuances we may have missed earlier. It can make the invisible visible. It can more easily show us where the problems may lie, and help us to overcome them more quickly. Mistakes can help us see more creative solutions, and reveal new insights. They tell us about our skill levels and help us see what is, and what is not, possible at any given time. They also help us prioritize, and recognize the new priorities as circumstances change.

Mistakes help us learn to ask more effective questions, and questions are so important that we even have a month named after them. Effective questions lead to more effective answers.

5. Above all, reliance on the guidance and sustaining confirmations of Bahá’u’lláh will advance this process - "Above all". No, really. "Above all". We are not the ones doing this. Everything we do is completely at the mercy of Baha'u'llah. It is our blessing to be able to serve, and we should never forget this.

So now, as I begin to make my own personal plans, and as I consult with those around me on our community plans, I feel this guidance may help us be a bit more focused. It also seems that with these points in mind, we may all feel a little more comfortable challenging ourselves. After all, as the Universal House of Justice said to the Counsellors back on 9 January 2001, "Fear of failure finds no place. Mutual support, commitment to learning, and appreciation of diversity of action are the prevailing norms" in the community we hope to build.

Cycles

My family and I have been down with, presumably, covid for the past few days. Fortunately we're all vaccinated, so the symptoms are not as severe as they could be, for which we are all very grateful. But lying there, on the couch, with my cat by my side (more for the non-moving warmth than out of any sense of love, as far as I can tell), I've had a lot of time to think, while reading. Oh, that's one of the things about me. Even when I'm ill, and feeling a little miserable (not too miserable, but thanks, dear Reader), I will still find time to read. Of course, given the muzziness of my brain, I'm only reading a little bit at a time, and slowly, at that, but still I'm loving "When the Moon Set Over Haifa". Nothing like reading about the passing of the Master, I guess, to make me feel like my own cold is insignificant. Anyways, where was I? Oh yes. We've all been down with this, and when I have the energy, I get up and do some work until I feel my energy is about to go again, and hence, here I am, writing to you, my Friend.

Normally, when we think about "cycles" in the Baha'i community these days, we are thinking about cycles of growth, generally three-months in duration. But nope, that's not what I am referring to.
I'm thinking about lager cycles than that. After all, in case you haven't noticed from the date, today is the Chinese New Year. Xīnnián hǎo. Or "san nin hou", if you prefer Cantonese. (Thank you, Chinese friends for teaching me these.)

So yeah, I'm thinking about the cycles of years today.

I'm first reminded of the quote, “Hard times create strong men. Strong men create good times. Good times create weak men. And, weak men create hard times.”

To me, this makes sense in so many ways. It's like religion. The new Manifestation arises in response to humanity's waywardness and leads people aright. But it's not easy. As we always say, the early Christians did not expect to be celebrated. They expected to be crucified. And so, it took a great deal of spiritual strength to be Christian in the face of that tremendous persecution. Later, once the spiritual integrity and power of that movement became more apparent, more people joined and declared their faith, too, and Christianity moved from its spiritual springtime to its great summer. Eventually it became the norm. A new culture was born, and civilization was transformed. At that point, it was no longer necessarily a sign of spiritual strength. Other forces started to dominate. The great movement was heading towards its autumn, and its eventual winter. Moral suasion gave way to intimidation and fear.

We can also look to politics for another example of cycles. People are generally unhappy about something, and it doesn't really matter what it is. Come the election, things will swing one way as people are swayed by a particular argument. Their lives do not miraculously get better, so the middle majority vote in the other direction the next election. Back and forth we watch this pendulum move.

But in the overall scheme of things, given the grander vision of Baha'u'llah, we're not all that concerned. It's akin to the difference between weather an climate. Any given day, in any particular part of the world, we may see hotter or colder days. We know this. It's to be expected. That's the nature of weather, so to speak. If it's raining, we bring an umbrella. If it's hot, we wear lighter clothing. We dress according to the weather.

Climate, on the other hand, is a bit different. It's when we average it all out and see the greater trends around the globe, over many years, that we see the disturbing news of global warming. It is because of climate that we change our behaviour. It is because of climate that we raise the concern.

Imagine how silly we would look if we based our global decisions regarding climate on whether or not it was raining today.

It is through the teachings of Baha'u'llah that I have become more cognizant of the cycles effecting humanity, as opposed to the daily variances. When studying the Kitab-i-Iqan, we read so much about these cycles. And I'm not just referring to those opening paragraphs where He mentions the various Manifestations and shows what They have in common. I'm really thinking about those paragraphs in part 2, in which He points out that the Return is not just of the immortal Sovereign, the Manifestation, but also of the circumstances surrounding the Manifestation, including the enemies and the companions, the oppressions and the triumphs.

And as all this, all these various points about cycles, run through my cold-addled mind, I return to the Chinese New Year, this new Year of the Tiger.

I wonder, is there a cycle in these traditional years of the Chinese calendar? Do they point, in some way, to the cycles through which humanity naturally moves? Are they like the climate, describing not the specific individuals but the general trends? Did the Year of Rat, with its onset of a global pandemic give rise to a people that needed to learn to adapt quickly to new circumstances? Well, yes. Those that adapted quickly are the ones who weathered that difficult year the best. This was followed by the Year of the Ox, with its attribute of dependability and reliance. Those were the exact attributes we needed to best see ourselves through the second year of a global pandemic. The ones who patiently plodded along are, again, the ones who have survived it best.

Now, with this Year of the Tiger, and all the things that are happening in the world, it seems evident that resourcefulness will, once more, be a much-needed resource. Versatility, another tiger attribute, will also allow us to move forward in this "new reality" in which we find ourselves.

And then, as the pandemic likely winds down at the end of another year, if it follows historic tradition, we will be entering the Year of the Rabbit, with its quiet elegance.

Yeah, it seems to me that we can learn from these various traditions found around the world. The Chinese calendar is but one of them.

And if we use the lens that Baha'u'llah has given us, and focus it on these other traditions, I bet we can learn a lot.

I wanted to say more, but I'm feeling feverish, so I think it's time to re-fill my tea, and lie down once more.

As usual, I'd love to hear your thoughts on these feeble thoughts of mine today.

Oh, and don't worry about my health. I'm sure I'll be better soon but thanks for your thoughts of prayers. They are very much appreciated. I'm sure there are many more, though, who are in far greater need of them for their health. Pray, instead, for my continued steadfastness. I figure, if Hand of the Cause William Sears felt the need to always ask for that, I must really need them.

We'll talk again soon, I'm sure.