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.