Another Brick in the Wall

"The Baha'i Faith", I told the kids, "is like a wall. Each and every brick is a village, or a town, or a city, or an Assembly. It takes lots and lots of bricks to make a big, strong wall. But what else does it take?"

The children all looked at me, wondering what I was asking about. We looked at the wall near us, and then one of them spotted it. "Glue", she shouted.

"Yes, that's right," I said, "glue. And did you know that they use a very special glue to hold brick walls together? This gray, rocky glue is called mortar. Can you say that?" They were mostly fairly young, and a Mr Rogers approach seemed about right. "Do you know what the mortar is that holds all the Baha'i communities together?"

"Love." "God." "Respect." "Truthfulness." "Generosity." They all began shouting out virtues and all sorts of other nice things, and all I could do was sit there and smile.

"Yes, yes", I laughed, "those are all wonderful types of glue to hold things together. But there is a very special glue, one that is so special it is as different from those as regular glue is from mortar. It is called the Covenant."

They had all heard this word many times, but it really seemed as if none of them knew what it was. I had the same problem when I first became a Baha'i. Everyone said that I had to be firm in the Covenant, but nobody told me what that meant. Oh, they said wonderful things like, "'Abdu'l-Baha is the centre of the Covenant", and "The Covenant is the pivot of the Baha'i community", but they never actually told me what it was. I couldn't do that to these children.

"The Covenant is a promise. It's like a pinkie promise, but even more. Baha'u'llah promised us that God would guide us if we trust Him and were obedient to His teachings. He promised us that 'Abdu'l-Baha would guide us if we followed Him. And that Covenant went on to Shoghi Effendi and the Universal House of Justice. By listening to the Universal House of Justice, all the different communities of the world are held together in one strong wall."

They seemed to get that analogy, and they liked it, too. I went on with it a little longer, but I won't bore you with it here, dear Reader, because I then went somewhere else with it.

"And did you know that a family is like a wall, too?"

I just love those quizzical looks.

"The mother, the father, the sisters and brothers, the aunts and uncles and cousins, and even the third cousins twice removed! They are all the individual bricks in the wall of the family." I didn't say that some are thicker than others. Nope. Not me. I didn't even think it. (Well, maybe a little.) "Now, do you know what the mortar is in the wall of the family?"

There was a nice quiet pause before one little girl said, "Love."

"That's right. Love is the glue that holds a family together. And if one of the bricks doesn't feel that love, what happens?"

"It falls out," said the little boy, with a bit of sadness.

"That's right. That's why it is so important to love each and every member of your family. Remember, you get to choose your friends, but God gave you your family to love, so that's a very important job."

And there was still one more thing I wanted to say. It was the reason that I was there. It was why I was talking to the children. I wanted to say something to their parents, but didn't know how.

"And did you know that your own community is like a wall, too? Every brick in your community is a whole family, all working together to be as strong as possible. What do you think the mortar is there?"

The silence lasted longer, and then a few tentative voices piped up. "Love?" "The Covenant?" Nobody felt that either of these were exactly right.

"You're very close," I said. "It's the Feast. It is the celebration of the Feast that brings the entire community together and helps bind it together, through the Covenant, with the bonds of love. By praying together, your hearts become closer. By consulting together, you work more closely, hand to hand. And by eating together, you become better friends. The Feast is that great glue, the mortar that makes each individual brick become part of that mighty wall."

That was long ago. And given some of those recent phone calls, and comments from friends, it seems timely to share it again.

Children of the Feast

I received a phone call the other day that hearkened to a series of conversations I have had with many friends over the years. "How", they asked, "can we get our community to be more active?"

As usual, I was able to supply a quick answer that was both honest and truthful: "I don't know."

I said honest and truthful; I didn't say helpful.

The conversation, as you can expect, was quite one-sided, since I asked the person to describe their community. After all, how can you begin to work together to try and find a solution if both parties are not aware of the problem? Once I filtered through the emotion, the scenario was not all that unusual. It is something I have heard about time and again. The community is a small one, on the verge of becoming medium-sized. In other words, there are about 30 - 40 people.

"32", she said, "if you don't include the kids."

And that, to me, was at the heart of the issue: "if you don't include the kids". After all, "Our Faith is just as much for children", it says in a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi, "as for older people". How can we talk about a community if we don't include the kids? Mind you, this isn't unusual. A lot of people do it. But it does raise a lot of questions.

It seems that this particular community has a lot of families with young children, and the average attendance at Feast is between 2 and 5. People, not age.

"Why?" That seemed like the logical question to ask, and the response was exactly what you would expect. "People are too busy."

Anyways, let me pause here to say that I don't have any answers for this community, but I have heard variations on this theme for long enough to know some questions that can be asked. And I am very happy to say that this particular community is beginning to ask them.

What are they? I'm so glad you asked, dear Reader.

First of all, is the Feast family-friendly? And I don't mean do people say hi when you come in. I mean, is the Feast in a place that is accessible the children, and at a time when families can attend? My son has to get up at 6:30 in the morning to get ready to catch his bus to go to school I cannot ask him to attend a Feast that begins at 7:30, much less 8:00 at night. He would be a total zombie the next day. And while that might be kind of cool around Halloween, it doesn't bode well for his capacity to learn the rest of the year.

I am very happy to say that in my own community the Feast begins a little bit earlier than in most others. They are very accommodating to families with small children.

Oh, that also brings up the issue of dinner. Many of us in this society get home from work between 5 and 6, and then have to prepare dinner. Of course, we then need to eat it and get ready to go to the Feast, by which time it is already 7:30 or 8:00. What do we do in those circumstances?

Well, it may just be me, but that seems like a no-brainer (speaking of zombies): Eat together. (But don't eat brains.) I can think of no better way to prepare for a Feast than to join those I love in a meal together. If there are some in the community who can help out by preparing food for those who may have less time, even better. There is nothing like service to help unite a community, so why not get together for a community dinner and then have the Feast? On most days I'm home by 3, and that's only if I'm out to begin with. I work out my home office. It's quite easy for me to prepare a meal for 20 during the day, and let it simmer while I work. And for those with the time, but not the money, I'm sure the community would be willing to buy the food for someone who can prepare it.

So that is one thing done: have it at a time when families can actually attend. Oh, and don't presume. Actually go out and ask them. Consult. Figure it out. There is nothing that says we have to begin our Feast at 7:30. We are only told to try and have it "on the first day of the Bahá'í month, that is to say the Bahá'í day, beginning at the sunset", or sometime from sunset on the evening before the day to sunset of the day itself.

Now that we know when to hold the Feast, the next question is what to do. We all know that we begin with prayers, but the Writings do not say how long that has to be. If the children are not in the habit of sitting for 20 or 30 minutes of prayer, it takes a peculiar kind of sadist to try and make them sit still for that long. Why not have the next few Feasts with fewer prayers? If you know that you will have a large number of children who are unaccustomed to long prayers, try having the prayers sung. "Music", the Guardian said, "is permitted during the spiritual part -- or any part -- of the 19 Day Feast." If the community wants, they can even have the children move during the devotions. Again, there is nothing in the Writings that says you have to sit still. This is just a cultural bias. There are many parts of the world where you show your respect and devotion by the way in which you move with the words. We just need to teach the children respect, which is a condition of the heart, not a state of the body. Oh, and don't take my word for it. Read "Stirrings of the Spirit", and see what that compilation on the Feast says about the devotional portion of the Feast, and what it doesn't say.

But what about the Administrative portion? Surely the children shouldn't be there for that.

Why not? look at this quote from the Universal House of Justice: "...children should be trained to understand the spiritual significance of the gatherings of the followers of the Blessed Beauty, and to appreciate the honour and bounty of being able to take part in them, whatever their outward form may be. It is realized that some Bahá'í observances are lengthy and it is difficult for very small children to remain quiet for so long. In such cases one or other of the parents may have to miss part of the meeting in order to care for the child. The Spiritual Assembly can also perhaps help the parents by providing for a children's observance, suited to their capacities, in a separate room during part of the community's observance. Attendance at the whole of the adult celebration thus becomes a sign of growing maturity and a distinction to be earned by good behaviour."

They recognize that "some Baha'i observances are lengthy", but that doesn't mean they have to be. In a large community, sure. But there you would have the resources to provide for a good children's program. In a small community, what is it that you are consulting about that is so important that the children cannot participate? When we learn to include the children in our consultations, which is fairly easy in a smaller community, then we build stronger bonds between the various age groups. We enhance the training of our children int he ways of our community. We reap the incalculable benefits of their ideas, and encourage them to share their insights.

They learn the value of consultation, as well as the importance of discipline. Just because the children are welcome, and truly welcome in all areas, does not mean that the rest of the community should be held hostage by them. There will, of course, be times when some of the children may be unruly, and it is at times like that when the parents need to remove them. "This is not", says the Universal House of Justice, "merely necessary to ensure the properly dignified conduct of Bahá'í meetings but is an aspect of the training of children in courtesy, consideration for others, reverence, and obedience to their parents."

It is during this consultative time that the parents need to show great patience in allowing the children the time to formulate their ideas. The adults themselves will also need to learn to speak in such a manner that the children understand what is going on. Not only is this good for the community in their consultations, but it also develops various skills that help us explain the teachings of the Faith to those who may not be aware of them. After all, if we can explain things to a child in the Feast, then we have a better chance of adults understanding what we say, too.

Finally, there is the social portion of the celebration of the Feast. (Have you ever noticed that the table of contents in the compilation from the World Centre on the Feast refers to the Feast Celebration?) In other words, the party. What kid doesn't love to eat and play with others? And as a parent you can even make it a bit of a reward. "Because it is the Feast, you can stay up an extra 30 minutes tonight." What a great way to help further instill the love of the Faith (he says, with his tongue in his cheek.)

But seriously, we can truly make the Feast something that the children look forward to attending. Hey, we can even make it something that the parents look forward to attending. This is what it should be, anyways: a time of joyous celebration with those you love. as well as an opportunity to talk about those things that matter most to you and the community.

When we do this consciously, and fully aware of what the Writings say about the Feast, then we all become children of that great institution of our Faith: the Feast.

"It is the hope of the House of Justice that every Feast will be a feast of love when the children will give and receive the tangible affection of the community and its individual members."

Rethinking Adam

I wrote a post about the Tree of Life a while ago, and have, since then, wanted to write a bit more about my own understanding of Adam. Now as you know, dear Reader, this is only my own perspective, and nothing official. I don't claim infallibility, or even reasonable accuracy. I only offer my own meager thoughts on the subject. So, a usual, you can take them or leave them, as you will.

When looking at the story of Adam, there are a number of sources you can look at. For myself, I chose to use the Stone translation of the Tanakh, which is often called the Old Testament, as well as the Yusuf Ali translation of the Qur'an. Why those? Well, the Stone translation is, in my opinion, absolutely brilliant. It really conveys the meaning of the passages from the Jewish cultural perspective. As for the Yusuf Ali translation, it was recommended to me, and I like it. Can't say much more than that.

Now at this point, I could go into the differences between the two perspectives of the story of Adam, but it really seems to me that there is so much out there already from people who are so much more qualified than I am that it would be silly for me to do so.

Suffice to say that Western history has generally not been kind to Adam. Many seem to portray Adam as a buffoon, who easily fell prey to the desire to please Eve and thus condemned all humanity. This, to me, does not seem a fair representation. In Islam, however, Adam is seen as a Prophet of God, for God did speak directly to Him.

But then we run into the seeming contradiction of Adam being a Prophet, Who is righteous and good, and yet He disobeyed God by eating of the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

Oh, I think I should put in a bit of an aside here. For a long time this story was used as a basis for the persecution of science. Not the only one, to be sure, but still it was a stone in the foundation of this attack. When you ask most people why Adam and Eve were cast out of Eden, they will usually say it was because they ate an apple from the tree of knowledge. Well, that's just not accurate. It was specifically the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. And so, when there were persecutions against scientists, people of knowledge, which was the result of "eating the forbidden fruit", that seemed to be based on an error of memory.

Also, by putting the initial blame on Eve, as it does in Genesis, this has also been a source of "proof" of the inferiority of women. At least in the Qu'ran, Adam and Eve are equally blamed, so this has also fallen by the wayside.

But there is another question that arises. In the Bible, we read that by eating of the fruit of the Tree, Adam would surely die. It is obvious that Adam was not going to die only because He ate of the fruit, for if that were the case, then why would there have been any concern about the Tree of Life? And besides, there is also that long standing question of why didn't He die as soon as He ate of it? Obviously there is more to this than meets the eye.

And this, dear Reader, is where Tahirih comes into the picture for me. Why Tahirih? Yes, I can hear you, dear Reader. I know. We didn't mention her before this, so how does she come into it now?

Simple. She wrote a poem which has been called Adam's Wish, and it is this masterpiece of a poem that initiated my original thought train on this particular track.

What if we presume that Baha'u'llah and the Qur'an are both correct, and that the Bible has a hidden story for us, if we but care to dig a bit deeper?

Let's see.

Oh, and for those who wish to look to 'Abdu'l-Baha, and who doesn't, I would highly recommend His analysis of one interpretation of the story of Adam that He gives in Some Answered Questions. At the very end of it, though, He tells us, "This is one of the meanings of the biblical story of Adam. Reflect until you discover the others." And so I am. Here is a bit of what I have found for myself.

To start, Adam is a Manifestation of God, the very One Who began the entire Adamic cycle, a progressive series of revelations from God to humanity including all the Messengers from Adam through Muhammad and the Bab. "...(H)ad the religion taught by Adam not existed," writes the Bab, "this Faith would not have attained its present stage."

Given that Adam is a Manifestation, then He must have known what He was doing.

On one level, we could look at the story in a way suggested by 'Abdu'l-Baha: Remember how Adam and the others once dwelt together in Eden. No sooner, however, did a quarrel break out between Adam and Satan than they were, one and all, banished from the Garden, and this was meant as a warning to the human race, a means of telling humankind that dissension -- even with the Devil -- is the way to bitter loss. This is why, in our illumined age, God teacheth that conflicts and disputes are not allowable, not even with Satan himself. But it is fairly sure that this is not the one and only way of looking at this story of Adam.

Time and again the Master reminds us that it was Adam Who gave us our physical life. "Know that there are two natures in man: the physical nature and the spiritual nature. The physical nature is inherited from Adam, and the spiritual nature is inherited from the Reality of the Word of God, which is the spirituality of Christ. The physical nature is born of Adam, but the spiritual nature is born from the bounty of the Holy Spirit. The first is the source of all imperfection; the second is the source of all perfection." It is His being the source of imperfection that has been taught to us throughout history.

But does it make sense to think of the results of the teachings of a Manifestation as the source of all imperfection? Surely not.

Perhaps we can see it, instead, as that which impelled us to find our limits. It is, after all, when we find our natural limits, test our boundaries, explore our horizons, that we are able to grow. In the womb, when we were but a small cluster of cells, we bumped into the uterine wall and it is that very spot in which we bumped that our nervous system began to develop. As we continued to grow, it was when we expanded as much as we could, and were pressing against the limits of the uterus (and probably our mother's patience) that we were impelled to move through the trauma of birth and enter into this world. It is here, as a young child, that we began to explore our physical limits and were told "no" by our parents, and that is when we began to learn a bit about our own safety, growing into confidence as we moved more cautiously and carefully. Now, as we interact with others, we are impelled to develop our virtues so as to better mingle and merge with the world around us.

By setting us on this journey, it was Adam Who began this whole process that has allowed us collectively, as humanity, to grow and develop, finally maturing enough to receive the Revelation of Baha'u'llah.

"Contemplate with thine inward eye", He say, "the chain of successive Revelations that hath linked the Manifestation of Adam with that of the Báb. I testify before God that each one of these Manifestations hath been sent down through the operation of the Divine Will and Purpose, that each hath been the bearer of a specific Message, that each hath been entrusted with a divinely-revealed Book and been commissioned to unravel the mysteries of a mighty Tablet."

And here we come to Tahirih. It was in her poem that I first read of the idea that Adam was very aware of what it was He was doing. He accepted to be blamed for all our ills so that we might embark upon this mighty course. It was He Who saw that by this action we would, 6000 years later, be ready to hear the Messages of the Bab and then Baha'u'llah. It was He who knew that there is no inherent virtue in telling the truth when lying is not even possible, and so allowed us to develop the various spiritual virtues by having us understand their absence.

It was Adam, that first Messenger in the whole cycle described by Shoghi Effendi, who took us on that first step of this long and miraculous journey of spiritual growth.

The Dangers of Believing Attacks on Other Religions

Dear Reader,

Here is the latest article I wrote for my local newspaper: http://blogs.timescolonist.com/2012/09/29/the-dangers-of-believing-attacks-on-other-religions/

Thanks, as always,

Mead

Moderation

I noticed, the other day, that there are quite a large number of draft posts sitting around in a folder on this blog. 70 of them, to be exact. Well, 69 as of today. I've decided to make it a goal to clear out that folder and move as many of them as are worth it to the published folder. I'm sure that most of them will be deleted.

This one almost was. I mean, all I had was "middle way is being lost" and "whether its class or political".

Not much to go on.

After all, there was almost no indication of what I had been thinking which prompted me to write down that paucity of words.

Aside - I like Toastmasters. Really. I do. They do great work, and have a format that works for many people. I was first introduced to them a number of years ago by a good friend of mine who brought me to one of their meetings. When I was there, their "word of the day" was paucity. We were asked to get up and try to use it in a sentence. The first guy got up and said "Paucity is a city in northern Manitoba", making a pun on the name "The Pas", which, for some odd reason is pronounced as if it something at the end of a dog's leg. The next attempts made me wonder if they really knew what the word meant. When they asked me to get up, I said, and I have no idea why, except that maybe I'm a smart alec, "The scarcity of paucity will necessarily lead, you see, to what must be veracity." See? It wasn't really a tangent. Just an aside.

And now back to our regularly scheduled topic.

Moderation is such an interesting thing. As we all know, there is a lot in the Writings about moderation, and its importance. The most famous of these quotes is, no doubt, from Gleanings, where Baha'u'llah says, "It is incumbent upon them who are in authority to exercise moderation in all things. Whatsoever passeth beyond the limits of moderation will cease to exert a beneficial influence." Most often when this passage is quoted, it is only the second half that is used. Given more and more of what I am seeing in the world, I think that it is vital to include the first half, too. You see, positions of authority do not only include those of government, but also those in corporate situations, as well as management positions. They include the leaders of the Boy Scouts, as well as coaches in Little League. They include teachers and doctors. They include any position in which one can exercise a degree of control or influence over another. And there are countless stories of those in such positions abusing that authority. If we would learn the depth of these two sentences, so much abuse of this power would simply disappear.

Another place where Baha'u'llah speaks about moderation is in Tablets of Baha'ul'lah. "Human utterance", He says, "is an essence which aspireth to exert its influence and needeth moderation. As to its influence, this is conditional upon refinement which in turn is dependent upon hearts which are detached and pure. As to its moderation, this hath to be combined with tact and wisdom as prescribed in the Holy Scriptures and Tablets." Even in speaking, it is so important to remember this moderation, for when we speak we can so easily influence others.

That is the essence of this, to me. We need to be especially careful to use moderation when we are in a position in which we can influence others. That is the theme that seems to run through all these quotes, to me. It seems to be yet another area in which the importance of free-will, and the freedom to choose for oneself, is ensured within the Writings.

Perhaps there is no area in human interaction in which this freedom to choose is more important than in the dispensation of justice. When a person transgresses the limits imposed upon them by society, it is the justice system that takes over the limitation of their actions, generally through imprisonment. But, as we have seen all too often, this system can be corrupted.

And in the arena of education, the interest of justice demands the teachers grade the students on their own performance, and not merely on how closely the student agrees with teachers own personal opinion. I do remember one time when I presented a paper to a professor that completely went against their own personal beliefs. My fellow students warned me against it, saying that she would, no doubt, fail me for such a contrary perspective, regardless of whether or not I agreed with it, too. But in the end, she proved herself to be a truly worthy teacher, for she graded me on my argument, and the formulation of it. (I only got a B, but that was really all I deserved.)

"Whoso cleaveth to justice," Baha'u'llah says, "can, under no circumstances, transgress the limits of moderation. He discerneth the truth in all things, through the guidance of Him Who is the All-Seeing. The civilization, so often vaunted by the learned exponents of arts and sciences, will, if allowed to overleap the bounds of moderation, bring great evil upon men. Thus warneth you He Who is the All-Knowing. If carried to excess, civilization will prove as prolific a source of evil as it had been of goodness when kept within the restraints of moderation. Meditate on this, O people, and be not of them that wander distraught in the wilderness of error. The day is approaching when its flame will devour the cities, when the Tongue of Grandeur will proclaim: 'The Kingdom is God's, the Almighty, the All-Praised!'"

And so here, in this quote, we see that dire warning that seems to be surrounding us right now. Due to a lack of moderation, which is existent in so many areas, the fire of excess seems to be getting ready to devour us. And as much as I would love to look at this last quote more, I think I will publish this article now, and examine this last quote a bit more later, when I can really look at it in more depth. (I have to go conduct a meditation workshop right now.)

But I did want to end with this last, little snippet from the Writings: In all matters moderation is desirable.

Really. What more can I say?

Investments

When my wife and I sold our house in Winnipeg, we looked into buying a new house here in Victoria. After looking around, we decided against it. Why? Simple, really: math. The general rule is that the cost of a house should be about 15 years worth of comparable rent. If the cost is lower, say around 12 years, then the house is supposed to be a very good price. Here in Victoria it seemed to me that the average price was about 22 years worth of rent. In other words, the houses are vastly overpriced right now. And given the fact that my wife is a musician in the military, and we can stay in the military housing for quite a bit lower rent, buying just wasn't a good option at the time.

But this led us to another question altogether: What do we do with the money we received from our sale of the house?

Payment of the applicable Right of God and contributions to the Fund aside, we were still left with a sizable chunk of change. How, we wondered, should we use it?

The first thing we did was put some of it towards my artwork, allowing me to buy materials that I could not have afforded otherwise. This has allowed me to expand my work, and make a decent living with it at the same time. Nice, that.

Then we put some money in with Investor's Group. Now, however, we are re-thinking that last decision.

Why?

Well, I'm glad you asked, dear Reader.

Marielle and I have been talking a lot about the current global situation, as well as the effect that the money markets have on the planet. One thing that caught our attention was the injunction in Islam forbidding the charging of interest on a loan. In the Qur'an, verse 2:275, it says "But Allah has permitted trade and has forbidden interest."

Baha'u'llah has rescinded this in the following passage, but the very concept still has me thinking:

As to thy question concerning interest and profit on gold and silver: Some years ago the following passage was revealed from the heaven of the All-Merciful in honour of the one who beareth the name of God, entitled Zaynu'l-Muqarrabin -- upon him be the glory of the Most Glorious. He -- exalted be His Word -- saith: Many people stand in need of this. Because if there were no prospect for gaining interest, the affairs of men would suffer collapse or dislocation. One can seldom find a person who would manifest such consideration towards his fellow-man, his countryman or towards his own brother and would show such tender solicitude for him as to be well-disposed to grant him a loan on benevolent terms. (Such loans as bear no interest and are repayable whenever the borrower pleases.) Therefore as a token of favour towards men We have prescribed that interest on money should be treated like other business transactions that are current amongst men. Thus, now that this lucid commandment hath descended from the heaven of the Will of God, it is lawful and proper to charge interest on money, that the people of the world may, in a spirit of amity and fellowship and with joy and gladness, devotedly engage themselves in magnifying the Name of Him Who is the Well-Beloved of all mankind. Verily He ordaineth according to His Own choosing. He hath now made interest on money lawful, even as He had made it unlawful in the past. Within His grasp He holdeth the kingdom of authority. He doeth and ordaineth. He is in truth the Ordainer, the All-Knowing.

My first question is why was it a problem in the first place? What is the result of charging interest? And even though Baha'u'llah has said that it is now lawful, should we still approach it with caution?

Here are my thoughts, which, of course, are nothing official, but they do guide my own direction with investing.

First of all, I think we can look at Wall Street as the extreme form of this process. I do not think it is the norm in regards to the investing of money, although that format has developed to be most popular. (Which I guess makes it the norm in terms of dollar amounts, but I don't think most of the people in the world would think of using their money in this manner.) The sole concern with Wall Street, I think it is safe to say, is the making of a profit. This, unfortunately, often comes at the expense of things like individuals, the environment, moral behaviour, and so forth. And while I do not think there is anything wrong with wanting to make a profit, "Whatsoever passeth beyond the limits of moderation", Baha'u'llah says, "will cease to exert a beneficial influence."

This, to my untrained eye, is the source of many of the problems that are facing the world at this time. There are just too many people whose sole concern is making money for themselves, and they do not appear to see the dangers of this.

The second thing about Wall Street is that they, as a formless entity, produce nothing. They do not create anything tangible. All they do is move money around, which in itself is an intangible thing, and then charge a percentage fee to do so. If anything, they assist the businesses that they help to be more effective in producing things like business plans, which in turn help them be more efficient.

Either way, I still think they charge too much money for doing virtually nothing.

But what can I do? Baha'u'llah says that it is ok to invest our money, but I do not feel comfortable placing my money at the disposal of those who do demonstrate a concern for the welfare of the planet.

Simple. (And I really like simple answers.)

I can invest locally.

How? I am so glad you asked, dear Reader.

There are many options for this. One of them is to loan money through a micro-loan organization, and there are many of these around now. While the payback rate is quite high, though, you don't always get to see the impact of your investment.

For me, I prefer, and will be looking into, making loans in my own community. There are plenty of farmers who could use the assistance, and in return I would not only get my money back at some point in the future, but I would also get some of the crops as an extra payment. This, to me, would be my profit: food.

I can also invest in local artists, or artisans.

To do this, I am looking at the Wall Street model for guidance, without their underlying principles. I will be asking the artist to show me their portfolio, as well as business statements. I want them to show me that they know what they are doing, capable business people, and proficient artists. In other words, they should be able to demonstrate to me that they will use the money wisely.

And what would I like in return? Well, that depends. Sometimes a bit of a profit on the money, over a few years time, or else perhaps a work of art in addition to the money back. In other words, I don't want to just buy a work of art. I have enough of that already. Instead, I want to be able to help them develop and grow in their field, as I have been able to do in mine.

There is also the possibility of helping someone with start-up costs in a non-artistic business, but this is more theoretical for me. I mean, I am an artist after all, so my natural inclination is to support the arts.

Anyways, I have to go and sell my own work today, so I have to leave it here, but I wanted to share a few of these thoughts that have been going through my mind. I would dearly love to hear feedback on this, and any suggestions for wise investing that you may have.

A Thought on a Profession

I love my job.

No, really. I do.

I have the incredible bounty of making jewelry and artwork for a vocation, and then selling it to people who seem to appreciate it. (I only figure they appreciate it because they generally smile as they give me money.) It is so much fun and such a delightful way to spend my time that I often confuse the concepts of vocation and vacation.

As you can imagine, dear Reader, I didn't just happen to think about this as I woke up this morning. No. I was reading some of the Writings, specifically paragraph 33 in the Kitab-i-Aqdas (actually, the nearly identical paragraph in Tablets of Baha'u'llah, but it looks more impressive when I quote the Aqdas) when some thoughts on work came to mind.

The paragraph in question, in case you're wondering, is:

O people of Baha! It is incumbent upon each one of you to engage in some occupation -- such as a craft, a trade or the like. We have exalted your engagement in such work to the rank of worship of the one true God. Reflect, O people, on the grace and blessings of your Lord, and yield Him thanks at eventide and dawn. Waste not your hours in idleness and sloth, but occupy yourselves with what will profit you and others. Thus hath it been decreed in this Tablet from whose horizon hath shone the day-star of wisdom and utterance. The most despised of men in the sight of God are they who sit and beg. Hold ye fast unto the cord of means and place your trust in God, the Provider of all means.

This is a very interesting paragraph in that it comes just after the command to go on Pilgrimage, and right before the prohibition on the kissing of hands. It is as if you read that you have to make your way to the Holy Land for a length of time and ask God "How am I going to pay for it?" Well, here you go. Get a job.

And then you are there, in the Holy Land, meeting these most saintly of all people, and you are then reminded not to kiss their hands. (I wonder if the spouses of the Hands of the Cause were allowed to kiss the Hands. I mean, it does say, "The kissing of hands hath been forbidden in the Book.")

Again, in the Hidden Words, He also tells us of the importance of working:

Ye are the trees of My garden; ye must give forth goodly and wondrous fruits, that ye yourselves and others may profit therefrom. Thus it is incumbent on every one to engage in crafts and professions, for therein lies the secret of wealth, O men of understanding! For results depend upon means, and the grace of God shall be all-sufficient unto you. Trees that yield no fruit have been and will ever be for the fire.

I was wondering, as I was heading into work today, why this would be the case. I mean, yeah, I know it's important to contribute to the betterment of the world, and all that, but why else?

It seems to me, when I look at my own life, can be seen like a house. My work, in that case, is like the frame. It gives shape and structure to my life. It may not be the most important thing in my life, but it is important and does have a place. My entire life schedule seems to be built around my work schedule.

Now, as a married man, as opposed to life before marriage, it revolves around my own work schedule, as well as Marielle's, and even Shoghi's school schedule, which is like his work. The image that comes to mind is that of a simple square frame on my own, and then a reinforced x-frame in married life. It gives a new image to me of that "fortress for well-being and salvation".

If my work life is the frame, then I think my family is like the roof. It is my family that helps give me shelter, and protects me. The walls are like my friends, surrounding me, enabling me to better appreciate the beauty that I include in my life, kind of like art hanging on those walls. After all, it is with my friends that I enjoy most of the pleasures in my life, like the sharing of books, movies, art, recreation, and so forth.

It is also the background structure of my life, like my work, that enables me to best appreciate the time I have with those same friends.


And last, but definitely not least, is the very foundation of that house. This, to me, is the result of my immersion in the Writings. "Truthfulness", after all, "is the foundation of all human virtues."

Now I should go back to "work".