"When calamity striketh, be ye patient and composed. However afflictive your sufferings may be, stay ye undisturbed, and with perfect confidence in the abounding grace of God, brave ye the tempest of tribulations and fiery ordeals."~Abdu'l-Bahá, Selections from the Writings of 'Abdu'l-Bahá
This past weekend the Baha'i world celebrated the Twin Holy Days. These days are a celebration of the birth of the prophet founder of the Baha'i Faith, Baha'u'llah and his forerunner, the Bab, who paved the way by preparing human hearts for Baha'u'llah's Revelation. It is a joyous time as it is in every faith when the birth of the prophet is celebrated. I am going to take the time in this blog to reflect on the weekend through the lens of this virtue. I had many occasions when I had to draw on my store of inner power and endurance. We hosted a number of different events that required physical strength, such as the 12 kilometre walk we undertook around our village, saying prayers at strategic points for an increase of spiritual character and awareness. We visited the graveyard and said prayers for dear members of our community who have passed on from this world and remembered how they faced challenges and overcame many in their lives. Our community currently has two special souls who are in the process of journeying to the next world. Our community is deeply saddened by their imminent departure and have been discussing its effect on all of us. It is debilitating for some of us and this test at times feels too heavy to bear, but we realise that we may draw upon one another to sustain us through this test. We know that when they are no longer with us physically, spiritually we may call upon them for their wisdom and guidance to assist our community in its attempts to connect more with our friends and neighbours. They will leave a legacy of unity that we will continue to spread wider and wider as we share Baha'u'llah's Revelation and strive to put it into action in a more discernible manner. Having to go through the physical day to day activities at this time seems such a strain when we have the spiritual weight of loss looming so very largely before us. Although death is a very real part of life, we struggle when it touches us so very deeply. It is comforting to have the Word of God to lean on when things get difficult, when I feel almost crushed that it takes a great deal of energy to move through the pain. There is a prayer for the departed that I had been saying once people had passed away but over the last two years as people have passed that have touched my heart in so many meaningful ways, I say it everyday for the progress of their souls and everyone else's. I remember the strengths they had as people and ask them for assistance when I need that strength to keep on moving. I believe they help us and look over us as we walk through this world. Their help aids me through tests, helps me willingly face challenges and as I transform, allows me to access gentleness and patience so as to not burden someone else's journey. Though seemingly passive in their action, gentleness and patience exert more power than we give them credit for. This is where my strength resides.