Melissa Horn, dubbed "melancholy Melissa", sings "New York"

 
This simple yet enchanting song would reflect much more than its lyrics ostensively communicate.

Regarding the spiritual nature of music, Bahá'u'lláh states:

We, verily, have made music as a ladder for your souls, a means whereby they may be lifted up unto the realm on high...

(Kitáb-i-Aqdas 38)

Melissa Horn - New York

(Free translation from the original Swedish song text)

We sit down
Without a word
Like so many times before, you order a glass of wine and I have a cup of tea

And as much as we both want to
More than anything else
Yet it is written on the brow that upon the exctinction of one anxiety, another one appears

We have become like them
Someone's watching us
Is it my thought they regard, or your red cheeks, revealing more

We have become like the ones
Who will never overcome
Who sit silently in some cafe, no one may of course see that he is married and she is free

When I take my leave
And you remain
We both know that this is how you feel when you hold on to secrets

When I take my leave
Without a word
We both know .. mmm

When I take my leave
Without a word
We both know .. mmm

       

(ORIGINAL -Swedish)

Melissa Horn - New york

Vi sätter oss ner
Utan ett ord
Som så många gånger förut, du beställer ett glas vin och jag en kopp te

Och som vi båda vill
Mer än någonting annat
Så står det skrivet i pannan att man väcker en ångest när man släcker en annan

Vi har blivit som dom
Någon tittar på oss
Är det min tanke hon ser eller dina röda kinder som avslöjar mer

Vi har blivit som dom
Som aldrig får bli
Som sitter tyst på nått café, ingen får ju se att han är gift och hon är fri

När jag går därifrån
Och du håller kvar
Så vet vi båda två att det är såhär man mår när man hemligheter har

När jag går därifrån
Utan ett ord
Så vet vi båda två.. mmm

När jag går därifrån
Utan ett ord
Så vet vi båda två.. mmm

Photo source is here (or here).
 

Musings 9.3 - nature of teaching

 

When teaching (in school or about faith), am I actually teaching how to teach, more than I am conveying pieces of information? This, since my hearers (more especially the younger generations) will probably, when once they become teachers, take after my method and example while the actual facts I've imparted will have been forgotten.

"[D]eeds exert greater influence than words."

- Bahá'u'lláh, Tablets 57

 

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Woman, the equal of man

Excerpts from the Bahá'í writings regarding equality of the sexes in general, and the special traits of women in particular.

Verily God created women for men, and men for women.

- Bahá'u'lláh #54

The truth is that all mankind are the creatures and servants of one God, and in His estimate all are human. Man is a generic term applying to all humanity. The biblical statement “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness” does not mean that woman was not created. The image and likeness of God apply to her as well. In Persian and Arabic there are two distinct words translated into English as man: one meaning man and woman collectively, the other distinguishing man as male from woman the female. The first word and its pronoun are generic, collective; the other is restricted to the male. This is the same in Hebrew. To accept and observe a distinction which God has not intended in creation is ignorance and superstition….

It is my hope that the banner of equality may be raised throughout the five continents where as yet it is not fully recognized and established.

In this enlightened world of the West woman has advanced an immeasurable degree beyond the women of the Orient. And let it be known once more that until woman and man recognize and realize equality, social and political progress here or anywhere will not be possible. For the world of humanity consists of two parts or members: one is woman; the other is man. Until these two members are equal in strength, the oneness of humanity cannot be established, and the happiness and felicity of mankind will not be a reality. God willing, this is to be so.

- ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Promulgation 74–77

The woman has greater moral courage than the man; she has also special gifts which enable her to govern in moments of danger and crisis….

- ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, London 102–3

In the Divine Creation there is no such distinction. Neither sex is superior to the other in the sight of God. Why then should one sex assert the inferiority of the other, withholding just rights and privileges as though God had given His authority for such a course of action? If women received the same educational advantages as those of men, the result would demonstrate the equality of capacity of both for scholarship.

In some respects woman is superior to man. She is more tender-hearted, more receptive, her intuition is more intense.

- ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Paris 161

...men and women have basic and distinct qualities. The solution provided in the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh is not, as you correctly observe, for men to become women, and for women to become men. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá gave us the key to the problem when He taught that the qualities and functions of men and women “complement” each other. He further elucidated this point when He said that the “new age” will be “an age in which the masculine and feminine elements of civilization will be more properly balanced.”

- The Universal House of Justice, Women, #34

Source: A Compilation on Women. View here.

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Do challenges in modern-day history arise from new problems or from repeating old mistakes?

In the article below, the underlying view of the author, which leads him to his negative forecast and conclusion in an otherwise insightful analysis, is that countries' fiscal policies are and will remain motivated by self interest (rather than "enlightened self interest"). This is an anachronism. In the real world, economists and policymakers have long realized the economic interdependence of all nations which has prompted them to support and aid the ones in need. History has taught them the painful lesson deriving from isolationism. Clearly, if any nations (and especially an economic superpower like Germany) revert to the latter, it will certainly spell global financial havoc. But is modern-day history in the habit of stepping backwards?!

True, there will be further financial crises in the decades ahead, but history tells me that these will be brought on mainly by new and hitherto unseen problems, not so much by repeating the mistakes of the past.

Hence the importance of knowing one's history! In the words of Bahá'u'lláh: "The past is the mirror of the future. Gaze ye therein and be apprised thereof" (Tabernacle, 10).

Excerpts from an article in the Toronto Star:

Baleful Greek chorus heralds economic doom

Fri Mar 05 2010

Immanuel Wallerstein

[E]veryone is pointing the finger at someone else....

The Germans [Europe's economic powerhouse and mainstay] don't want [to do anything - i.e. bail out Greece - for the reason that] the internal pressures of [Germany's] citizens who see any help to Greece as money that is being taken away from them, when they too are feeling an economic squeeze....

What these multiple crosscutting analyses of short-term blame and short-term gain miss is that the problem is worldwide and structural. Banks exist to make money. The game Goldman Sachs has been playing (and other banks as well) has...been...with many, many countries....

This is because governments wish to survive... And if they don't take in enough taxes...(both because they don't want to raise taxes further and because a weaker economy means less overall tax income), they must "massage" their accounts by borrowing....

Greece's problems are indeed Germany's problems. Germany's problems are indeed the United States' problems. And the United States' problems are indeed the world's problems....

What is going on is a worldwide game of chicken. Everyone seems to be waiting for who will flinch first. Someone is going to make a mistake. And then we'll have what the American economist Barry Eichengreen has called "the mother of all financial crises." Even China will be affected by that one.

Immanuel Wallerstein, senior research scholar at Yale University, is author of The Decline of American Power: The U.S. in a Chaotic World (New Press).

Source: http://www.thestar.com/opinion/article/775221--baleful-greek-chorus-heralds-economic-doom

 

A concatenation of fortuitous circumstances

(Written 23 January 2010)

The moment is the start of life, when did it actually commence?

I was behind in the race, but, through mysterious forces, soon advanced to a place of Will.

The eternal bond colligates seemingly unrelated events into the tapestry of one's unfolding destiny.

Color strokes from life's palette reproduce ethereal Forms upon the canvas of the effacing soul.

 

A quotation of 'Abdu'l-Bahá which may have inspired the above, is this:

The most important thing is to polish the mirrors of hearts in order that they may become illumined and receptive of the divine light.  One heart may possess the capacity of the polished mirror; another, be covered and obscured by the dust and dross of this world.  Although the same Sun is shining upon both, in the mirror which is polished, pure and sanctified you may behold the Sun in all its fullness, glory and power, revealing its majesty and effulgence; but in the mirror which is rusted and obscured there is no capacity for reflection, although so far as the Sun itself is concerned it is shining thereon and is neither lessened nor deprived.  Therefore, our duty lies in seeking to polish the mirrors of our hearts in order that we shall become reflectors of that light and recipients of the divine bounties which may be fully revealed through them.

- 'Abdu'l-Baha, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 14

 

 

Photo copyright Bahá’í International Community. View here.

 

Op-Ed Columnist - The Hard and the Soft of the Norwegians

Excerpt:

...there also is an interesting form of social capital on display [in this astonishing story]. It’s a mixture of softness and hardness. Baalsrud was kept alive thanks to a serial outpouring of love and nurturing. At the same time, he and his rescuers displayed an unbelievable level of hardheaded toughness and resilien...ce. That’s a cultural cocktail bound to produce achievement in many spheres.

The article:

via nytimes.com

The United States, a nation of 300 million, won nine gold medals this year in the Winter Olympics. Norway, a nation of 4.7 million, also won nine. This was no anomaly. Over the years, Norwegians have won more gold medals in Winter Games, and more Winter Olympics medals over all, than people from any other nation.

David Brooks

Read All Comments (301) »

There must be many reasons for Norway’s excellence, but some of them are probably embedded in the story of Jan Baalsrud.
In 1943, Baalsrud was a young instrument maker who was asked to sneak back into Norway to help the anti-Nazi resistance.
His mission, described in the book “We Die Alone” by David Howarth, was betrayed. His boat was shelled by German troops. Baalsrud dove into the ice-covered waters and swam, with bullets flying around him, toward an island off the Norwegian coast. The rest of his party was killed on the spot, or captured and eventually executed, but Baalsrud made it to the beach and started climbing an icy mountain. He was chased by Nazis, and he killed one officer.
He was hunted by about 50 Germans and left a trail in the deep snow. He’d lost one boot and sock, and he was bleeding from where his big toe had been shot off. He scrambled across the island and swam successively across the icy sound to two other islands. On the second, he lay dying of cold and exhaustion on the beach.
Two girls found and led him to their home. And this is the core of the story. During the next months, dozens of Norwegians helped Baalsrud get across to Sweden. Flouting any sense of rational cost-benefit analysis, families and whole villages risked their lives to help one gravely ill man, who happened to drop into their midst.
Baalsrud was clothed and fed and rowed to another island. He showed up at other houses and was taken in. He began walking across the mountain ranges on that island in the general direction of the mainland, hikes of 24, 13 and 28 hours without break.
A 72-year-old man rowed him the final 10 miles to the mainland, past German positions, and gave him skis. Up in the mountains, he skied through severe winter storms. One night, he started an avalanche. He fell at least 300 feet, smashed his skis and suffered a severe concussion. His body was buried in snow, but his head was sticking out. He lost sense of time and self-possession. He was blind, the snow having scorched the retinas of his eyes.
He wandered aimlessly for four days, plagued by hallucinations. At one point he thought he had found a trail, but he was only following his own footsteps in a small circle. ...

Read the full article here: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/02/opinion/02brooks.html

 More Articles in Opinion » A version of this article appeared in print on March 2, 2010, on page A23 of the New York edition.

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An approach to detraction and negativity

How to meet with negativity and fault-finding?

Silent prayer, I suppose, as well as showing a good example oneself by praising without distinction. What doesn't seem to work is to voice one's disagreement with the negativity (by trying to point to the positive). I find this actually magnifies the negativity (since the la...tter is being used as the premise for what you're saying - better to overlook negativity entirely!).

 

I'm reminded of these passages from Esslemont's book:

On no subject are the Bahá’í teaching more imperative and uncompromising than on the requirement to abstain from faultfinding....

‘Abdu’l-Bahá tells us:—

"To be silent concerning the faults of others, to pray for them, and to help them, through kindness, to correct their faults.
"To look always at the good and not at the bad. If a man has ten good qualities and one bad one, to look at the ten and forget the one; and if a man has ten bad qualities and one good one, to look at the one and forget the ten."

http://is.gd/9DnHC

 

As well as this quotation of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá:

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.

http://is.gd/9Do6n

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