Gather ye together with the utmost joy and fellowship and recite the verses revealed by the merciful Lord. By so doing the doors to true knowledge will be opened to your inner beings, and ye will then feel your souls endowed with steadfastness and your hearts filled with radiant joy. ~BAHÁ’U’LLÁH
When I think about the way forward for myself, I am enveloped with trepidation at the many shortcomings that I have, those limitations that keep me from obtaining my heart's desires. I read in someone else's blog post, that we have everything that we need. I recall from one ofthe revealed prayers in the Baha'i Faith, actually one that is among the category of obligatory prayers, that everything we need has been sent down to us. What is being told to me then is that I have everything I need to attain my heart's desire! That leaves the only thing in the way of achieving and being whom I was created to be, is myself. It is through the practice of devotion, as the quote says, that the doors of knowledge are opened up to me. It means that these divine statements that I read are more than just words, it is a recipe for life. I must read them as such and make up my life according to their instructions. I am told clearly what the result will be. My brain then has me being and doing other things and then I find myself in despair at the result. When I do not follow the instructions to the letter, how is it that I can expect something different to emerge. Perhaps it is my rebellious nature or my being distracted at how others are doing it. I see it working for them so why not me, when in actually fact it is not working for them either. Besides, I need to keep my eyes on my own side of the street as I walk because no one else is going to do the walking for me. I was blown away on the weekend, when I got to spend time with some youth to study about ways in which we could empower younger generations. How they viewed their own lives in the context of what they see going around them. I was struck by their awareness of things that do not serve them, yet society serves these things up to them as necessities for life, as a prescription for a fulfilled life. How confident and self assured they were and firm in their convictions guided by their faith. I see how unproductive it is to believe for instance that I will not be accepted or deemed competent because I am not thin, or light skinned or have curly hair. These are aesthetic characteristics that are not a reflection of who I am. I need to share with people the genuine article of my inner essence. They may or may not accept it but that does not make me any less worthy as a human being. This is the fullness of my heart from which I long to live in all of my interactions. I am going to breathe it in deeply and sit with the rising discomfort that accompanies it as my mind strives to remind me of all that is wrong. Perhaps it is this way that I may give my all to what I care about.
コメント