I Blog Poetry and Prose

O Lord,
Reveal to me Your unity,
so that I may see
the oneness of humanity,
the oneness of religion,
and in each of Your names
one of Your attributes.

Winter constellations
decorate the midnight sky
raising questions
in the mind of winter's child.

If my life were a song,
I would raise my voice in praise,
I would ask the world to sing along
and let their voices blaze,
in harmony and unity
throughout the universe.

When I’m in the mood to celebrate, nothing can stop me from finding a sane and safe way to celebrate, so that I'm not asked to become the designated driver. My celebrations, since the COVID-19 pandemic began, have been online. In fact, the only holidays I celebrate anymore are Baha'i Holidays and Holy Days. Right now that means going online to a Zoom celebration and/or say prayers and reading sacred scriptures offline. When Mom was alive we gave out wrapped candy to the Trick or Treaters, and went outside to watch the fireworks on the Fourth of July. I don't give out candy, and when I watch Fourth of July fireworks it's online.

For several decades now the world and humanity has been slowly moving toward international cooperation and unity. The COVID-19 virus proves that no one country is an island, or perhaps planet would be a better metaphor, cut off from the rest of world. When a virus in one country can move quickly and silently to another country demonstrates that the Earth is a single country and humanity a single species. The United States and other countries can't afford to retreat into isolationism or segregation from other nations, because healthy economies depend on international trade. Finding a new vaccine or a cure for quickly spreading diseases is cheaper and faster it there is cooperation and free interchange of ideas between the scientist of different countries.

First, let me say, that for me patriotic feelings go beyond the military and national borders to take in the entire planet and all of humanity. I believe there will be world peace and unity, which doesn't mean we won't need national or international military units. The military, along with religion and science, are necessary and intricate part of human civilization. Civilization without any of these is impossible and would make life on Earth more difficult.

First, I don't think any skill is useless, even the ability to wiggle your ears has some use. I don't have that ability, however, I did go to school with a kid who could wiggle his ears. It was very entertaining. At recess he would wiggle his ears on demand. Of course, I went to a small town grade school that had a dirt playground without swing sets, monkey bars, or slides; we were desperate for entertainment at recess.

First, let me say that I'm convinced there is no such creature as a "normal human being". I have come to this conclusion, personal opinion, after 73 years of dealing with human beings. Second, as far as I've been able to discern the words "normal" and "weird" have two different meanings: (1) a dictionary meaning (depending upon the dictionary used), and (2) a personal meaning (depending upon an individual's opinion).

Music echoes through my mind,
chords reverberate across my soul
bringing back memories of long ago,
and generating new memories to celebrate.

Do I want the mind or body of a 30 year old for 60 years? The mental ability, because I would rather learn, write poetry, and be able to read. I watched my mother's mental ability deteriorate with Alzheimer's. That is a horrid way to go. Physical disabilities I can deal with; however, I don't think I would like to stop writing or reading poetry or, for that matter, any other mental activity.

Do I believe in ghosts or other supernatural entities? Not necessarily! In my 73 years of life, I've encountered some unusual, mysterious, and weird phenomena. Were any of these experience the results of an encounter with a ghost or some other supernatural entity? That depends on ones definition of supernatural. Since we live in a universe of expanding knowledge, I'm not sure that supernatural can be applied to anything in the know or unknown part of the universe. I will, of course, attempt to keep an open mind on these subjects; at least, to a point.

Selflessness, like selfishness, is part of the duality of human nature. Selflessness is a spiritual attribute, a characteristic of the soul, while selfishness is an attribute of the ego. From the time we are born until the time the physical body dies, we practice these two characteristics. When we practice selflessness strengthen this characteristic and our souls ability to overcome our egos' selfishness. We have many examples in our lives of people practicing selflessness. Some of these examples come from our parents, and some from first responders. We also have examples from the founders of religions such as Buddha, Christ, Muhammad, the Bab, and Baha'u'llah (to name just a few).