From a recent CNN article making the case for war:

"It doesn’t matter that strategically Ukraine’s war has so far provided the Pentagon with a comparatively cheap means of degrading its second greatest adversary at no cost to American life."

Can you imagine being Ukrainian--of whatever political persuasion or ethnicity-- reading this as your country is being destroyed and the population dies on the battlefield or is driven into exile?

 

 

 

How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,

Is laid for your faith in his excellent Word!

What more can ye say than to you he has said

To you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?

Fear not, I am with thee. Oh, be not dismayed,

For I am thy God I will still give thee aid;

I'll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,

Upheld by my gracious, omnipotent hand.

When through fiery trials thy pathways shall lie

My grace all sufficient shall be thy supply

The flame shall not hurt thee; I only design

Thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine

The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose

I will not, I will not desert to His foes

That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake

I’ll never, no never, no never forsake

 

ROAD RAGE RHYTHM

 

Fall Morning

 

Art Deco Barber Chair

Fox on the run

Fox On The Run

She walks through the corn leading down to the river

Her hair shone like gold in the hot morning sun

She took all the love that a poor boy could give her

And left me to die like a fox on the run

Like a fox, like a fox, like a fox, like a fox, on the run

Everybody knows, the reason for the fall

When woman tempted man down in paradise’s hall

This woman tempted me, and took me for a ride

Like the lonely fox, I need a place to hide

chorus

We’ll pour a glass of wine, to fortify our soul

We’ll talk about the world and friends we used to know

I see a string of girls, who’ll put me on the floor

The game is nearly over and the hounds are at my door

chorus

 

"We ought to show something greater than forgiveness in meeting the cruelties and strictures in our lives. To be hurt and forgive is saintly but far beyond this is the power to comprehend and not be hurt. This power we may have...acceptance without complaint and it should be associated with our name. We ought never to be known to complain or lament. It is not that we would "make the best of things," but that we may find in everything, even in calamity, the gems of enduring wisdom. We ought never be impatient. We ought to be as incapable of impatience as one would be of revolt. This not being so much long-suffering as quiet awareness of the forces that operate in the hours of dark or years of waiting and inactivity. Always we ought to move with the larger rhythm, the wider sweep, towards our ultimate goal, in that complete acquiescence, that perfect chord which underlies the spirit of the faith itself."

  ~ Bahiyyih Khanum

 

Tea Service

 

 

 

As the world burns

 

 

Paletasala Tumanuvao explains Biblical prophecies as revealed in the Baha'i writings.

But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book, even to the time of the end. Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased. Daniel 12:4

Prayer for Protection By Bahá’u’lláh - مناجاة الحفظ من حضرة بهاءالله

 

"A tempest, unprecedented in its violence, unpredictable in its course, catastrophic in its immediate effects, unimaginably glorious in its ultimate consequences, is at present sweeping the face of the earth. Its driving power is remorselessly gaining in range and momentum. Its cleansing force, however much undetected, is increasing with every passing day. Humanity, gripped in the clutches of its devastating power, is smitten by the evidences of its resistless fury. It can neither perceive its origin, nor probe its significance, nor discern its outcome. Bewildered, agonized and helpless, it watches this great and mighty wind of God invading the remotest and fairest regions of the earth, rocking its foundations, deranging its equilibrium, sundering its nations, disrupting the homes of its peoples, wasting its cities, driving into exile its kings, pulling down its bulwarks, uprooting its institutions, dimming its light, and harrowing up the souls of its inhabitants.' 

-Shoghi Effendi 'The Promised Day is Come"

Oliver Stone's Speech at Writers Guild Awards 2017

 

Girl complains of ice cream price 

 

 

A Baha'i prayer for Thankfulness.

He is God, exalted is He, the Lord of might and grandeur!

O God, my God! I yield Thee thanks at all times and render Thee praise under all conditions.

In prosperity, all praise is Thine, O Lord of the Worlds, and in its absence, all gratitude is Thine, O Desire of them that have recognized Thee!

In adversity, all honour is Thine, O Adored One of all who are in heaven and on earth, and in affliction, all glory is Thine, O Enchanter of the hearts of those who yearn after Thee!

In hardship, all praise is Thine, O Thou the Goal of them that seek after Thee, and in comfort, all thanksgiving is Thine, O Thou whose remembrance is treasured in the hearts of those who are nigh unto Thee!

In wealth, all splendour is Thine, O Lord of them that are devoted to Thee, and in poverty, all command is Thine, O Thou the Hope of them that acknowledge Thy unity!

In joy, all glory is Thine, O Thou besides Whom there is none other God, and in sorrow, all beauty is Thine, O Thou besides Whom there is none other God!

In hunger, all justice is Thine, O Thou besides Whom there is none other God, and in satiety, all grace is Thine, O Thou besides Whom there is none other God!

In my homeland, all bounty is Thine, O Thou besides Whom there is none other God, and in exile, all decree is Thine, O Thou besides Whom there is none other God!

Under the sword, all munificence is Thine, O Thou besides Whom there is none other God, and in the safety of home, all perfection is Thine, O Thou besides Whom there is none other God!

In the lofty mansion, all generosity is Thine, O Thou besides Whom there is none other God, and upon the lowly dust, all favour is Thine, O Thou besides Whom there is none other God!

In prison, all fidelity is Thine, O Thou the Bestower of gifts, and in confinement, all eternity is Thine, O Thou Who art the ever-abiding King!

All bounty is Thine, O Thou Who art the Lord of bounty, and the Sovereign of bounty, and the King of bounty! I bear witness that Thou art to be praised in Thy doings, O Thou Source of bounty, and to be obeyed in Thy behests, O Thou Ocean of bounty, He from Whom all bounty doth proceed, He to Whom all bounty doth return!

—Bahá’u’lláh

 

Rita Hayworth

1918-1987

 

 

Barracks, Akka prison

And among His signs is the sublimity of His grandeur, His exalted state, His towering glory, and the shining out of His beauty above the horizon of the Prison: so that heads were bowed before Him and voices lowered, and humble were the faces that turned His way. This is a proof never witnessed in the ages gone before.

'Abdu'l-Bahá, Selections from the Writings of  'Abdu'l-Bahá 

 

Apartment, Miami Beach

 

 

"0 Sun of Bounty, send down a shaft of light. Grant us pity, grant us grace. By Thy beauty, we come with no provisions but our sins, with no good deeds to tell of, only hopes." 

Abdu'l-Baha , Selections Writings of Abdu'l-Baha

 

1965 Ford Galaxie 500

 

 

Rest in peace, Karol Ewing

 

 

 

Beatrice-Aurore

by Harriet Löwenhjelm

In Stockholm town at Kornhamnstorg

in Hallbeck’s secondhand bookstore

I bought an ancient dream-book once

composed in days of yore.

Then I lay dreaming all last night

of Beatrice-Aurore.

She was a one time love of mine

whom I lost long before.

She stood so close, she took my hand,

she whispered: “Come to me.”

At once I understood and knew –

my only love was she.

We wandered down a linden walk,

I wept and I was sad.

The autumn leaves were wet and sere

and yet my heart was glad.

We walked and held each other’s hand.

Like children’s were our words.

And then we reached a quaint old mill

with many singing birds.

I said: “Will you be mine alone,

say, Beatrice-Aurore?”

“Then catch me if you can,” she cried

and left me at the door.

And I ran in and searched and searched

in every nook around,

and cried – but Beatrice-Aurore

was nowhere to be found.

I woke up crying bitterly

and in my heart a sting.

And in my dream-book then I searched

but there was not a thing.

 

 

A little boy showing off his new ray gun. 1950s

 

 

White Hyacinths

 

The Martyrdom of Táhirih (The Pure One)

Garden of Ilkhani in Tehran

Táhirih was arrested in 1852 and sentenced to death by the Shah of Iran for teaching a new religion which included the principle of the equality of men and women.

"You can kill me as soon as you like, but you cannot stop the emancipation of women", Táhirih responded.

Dressed in white silk, she had prepared for her death with fasting and prayers. She was strangled with a silk handkerchief and then thrown into a well, later filled with stones and dirt.

 

Hosting the Bahá'i Feast of Alá (Loftiness)

 

Missiles impacted near Akka and Mazra'ih, Israel, today, two cities of great significance to Baha'is around the world. 

 

Awaiting the order to advance.

 

The Paradox in the Greatness of Humility

When I see athletes, politicians, performers, or anyone who swells with pride at their influence, power or achievement, I think the story of the raindrop by the 13th Century Persian poet Saadi.

'From a lofty cloud this pure drop of rain began its descent. Soon it became conscious of its own qualities, so with pride it told itself "I am the water of life.  All existence depends on me."  Swollen with self-admiration and pride, suddenly it looked down and saw the vast ocean beneath it.  Dumbfounded, it said, "By God, if that is water, then who am I?"  Filled with remorse and utter humility, it fell on the ocean.  The mighty ocean, with admiration and love, embraced the drop and made it the companion of the pearl.'

From: The Tamed Phoenix. by Darius Shahrokh. published in Windows to the Past 1992

 

The world is in travail, and its agitation waxeth day by day. Its face is turned towards waywardness and unbelief. Such shall be its plight, that to disclose it now would not be meet and seemly. Its perversity will long continue. And when the appointed hour is come, there shall suddenly appear that which shall cause the limbs of mankind to quake. Then, and only then, will the Divine Standard be unfurled, and the Nightingale of Paradise warble its melody.

Bahá’u’lláh: Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 118