Writing in Snow

Thankful Thursday: January 14, 2021

Istijlal (Majesty) 16 Sharaf (Honor) 177 B.E. - Thursday, January 14, 2021

On the second Thankful Thursday in January 2021,
         I am grateful ...
                    ...that my Bank of America checking account is not overdrawn today.
                    ...for the merit badges I received this week for 4 years participation in "The Contest Challenge" .

                    ...that I was able to catch up on all the bills this month, so that I can begin February without owing any past due bills.
                    ...for fresh brewed coffee on this beautiful winter morning.
                    ...that I was able to order a Baha'i datebook for 178 B.E. in January. Last year I had to wait until April--almost a month after Naw-Ruz--to order the datebook.
                    ...for the breakfast sweet roll I had with my coffee.
                    ...that I discovered another quote by 'Abdu'l-Baha, because it will help inspire one or more of the 100 poems I am writing for the centenary commemoration of his ascension.

"The darkness of this gloomy night shall pass away. Again the Sun of Reality will dawn from the horizon of the hearts. Have patience, wait but do not sit idle; work while you are waiting; smile when you are wearied with monotony; be firm while everything around you is being shaken; be joyous while the ugly face of despair grins at you; speak aloud while the malevolent forces of the nether world try to crush your mind; be valiant and courageous while men all around you are cringing with fear and cowardice. Do not yield to the overwhelming power of tyranny and despotism. Serve the cause of democracy and freedom. Continue your journey to the end. The bright day is coming. The nucleus of the new race is forming. The harbinger of the new ideals of international justice is appearing. The trees of hope will become verdant; the copper of scorn and derision will be transmuted into the gold of honor and praise; the arid desert of ignorance will be transformed into the luxuriant garden of knowledge; the threatening clouds shall be dispelled and the stars of faith and charity will again twinkle in the clear heaven of consciousness."

Abdu’l-Bahá

                    ...for the obsidian bracelet I received as a late Christmas present from my roommate.
                    ...that I was able to finish cleaning out my g-mail in box this week.