Memories of Snow

NaNoWriMo Day17: Continued (WC:2017)

Istijlál (Majesty), 15 Qudrat (Power), 173 BE - Thursday, November 17, 2016 AD about 9:39 AM Pacific Standard Time

Questions that Need Answers

I've changed my mind about the questions I planned to do this week. I've decided to answer them before going on to reading and reviewing the articles on BahaiTeachings.org. The questions don't require long answers so I'll attempt to answer them today, November 17, and tomorrow, November 18. Those questions are (1) When do I feel closest to God? (2) How has living as a Baha'I (the original word was Christian) changed my life? (3) Write about the gifts God has given me and how I use them to serve others. (4) My favorite scripture is _____ because _____. (5) What would I like God to help me change about myself. (6) What are the biggest fears or worries I have that I haven't turned over to God? (7) Who is the one person in my life that I have yet to forgive? (8) Am I satisfied and content with my life? (9) What do I need to do to get closer to God? (10) What are 10 things I'm grateful for? (11) Who are the people in my life who really need prayer today. (12) How has God given me grace? (13) How have I given grace to others? (14) What unhealthy and sinful habits do I need to turn over to God? (15) Describe a time or situation where God showed up unexpectedly in my life.

Response to the 30-Day Blogging Challenge
Unicorns

I may not get to answering those questions today because I'm going to take a few minutes to respond to the 30-Day Blogging Challenge prompt about Unicorns.

Unicorns are a highly intelligent magical species of horse with the scientific name is Equis magi unicorn. Adult unicorns come in a variety of colors similar to regular none magical horses. They eat grass, grain and other types of vegetables. Most unicorns prefer to eat wildflowers or wild grain, but they will eat cultivated grains and flowers if no wild ones are available. A female unicorn is called a mares and the males are called stallions while a baby unicorn is referred to as a colt. The young nurse from their mothers for about the same period as horses and their growth follows that of a horse with the exception that a baby unicorn is born with a horn bud that begins to grow into a horn about nine days after birth.

Unicorns have the ability to heal themselves of wounds if those wounds aren't inflicted close together. This ability makes it impossible to neuter a unicorn. The female unicorns gather into herds usually protected by one adult stallion along with his yearling sons. After the young are a year old, they leave their birth herd to roam until they find or form a herd of their own. Since unicorns are magical creatures they have the ability to open gates into other dimensions which gives individual unicorns and the herds the ability to flee across space and time to safety.

These magical creatures have the ability to communicate with other animals without speaking. This means that unicorns can, when they desire, read the minds of humans. They normally don't do this unless they are in danger or they've bonded with a specific human being. Unicorns are able to bond with humans at all ages, but normally the adults won't bond after the age of two years. A unicorn colt is easiest to bond with, but the person has to befriend the mother or another member of the herd.

Response to Blog City Prompt
Thoughts on Holiday shopping

Since I responded to the 30-Day Blogging Challenge, I decided to respond to the challenge from the Blog City group. This prompt concerns joy, gratitude and the November-December holiday shopping season, which is a good Thankful Thursday blog entry.

I enjoy and have always enjoyed Thanksgiving. It doesn't matter to me whether I'm alone, with family, or with my friends. I like Thanksgiving for the memories it brings back. Some of the things I'm thankful for on Thanksgiving is turkey, dressing, and sweet potatoes. When I'm alone I eat a turkey T.V. dinner and canned yams. If I'm with friends or family then we usually have an old fashion Thanksgiving dinner.

It' doesn't matter to me whether stores remain open on Thanksgiving because I know, despite what other people say, that there are some people who don't mind working on Thanksgiving for one reason or another. Some of them don't have family and being alone on that day causes depression. If they work then they don't have time to get depressed which sometimes leads to drinking or some other self destructive behavior. Other people would prefer to work on Thanksgiving because they need the money or they don't consider Thanksgiving a holiday.

I don't go shopping on Black Friday because of the crowds. I don't like going into shopping malls or any store that is crowded where I have to deal with wall-to-wall people. I prefer to shop under less crowded conditions because it's safer and I don't get pissed with the crowd or the drivers. I don't like getting upset on holidays or any other day because it brings my blood pressure up.

I enjoy shopping, but I'm not crazy about holiday shopping. The Christmas holiday shopping is especially stressful because people get angry at the most inconsequential things. Some people get pissed if you say "Happy Holidays" while other are irritated because you say "Merry Christmas". I'm of the opinion that "Merry Christmas" should be said to people you know celebrate Christmas as a religious holiday and not just a day to get presents or get drunk.

I don't celebrate Christmas unless I'm with someone who does celebrate and then I participate in their celebration. I have one brother who celebrates Hanukkah and another who celebrates Christmas. I don't celebrate Christmas as a religious holiday. I know many people who are of different non-Christian religions who don't celebrate Christmas as any type of holiday.

About 2:01 PM Pacific Standard Time

Thoughts on Poetry

It's taken most of the day, but I managed to finish off the coffee earlier than yesterday. Tomorrow is Friday, my appointment with the doctor. I'll be glad to find out what is causing this cough. It doesn't occur all the time, so (as I wrote earlier) I don't think it's a cold. I just finished review on writing.com and now I need to finish reading this week's poetry newsletter, which is about prose poetry.

Prose poetry blends the genres of prose and poetry into a unified whole. I know there's a lot more to prose poetry then that because it has the reflect the rhythmic beat of poetry and the storytelling of prose. Prose poem's aren't easy to write, but then no poem is really easy to write because you have to make sure you keep the chosen rhythm while painting a word picture for the reader to see.

Sometimes I wonder what my reader's see in my poems. I suspect this is something all poet's wonder because you can never be sure that what you think you're writing is what the reader reads. I think I have to begin being a little bolder when I write poems about the faith because I suspect that my reader's don't always read what I'm writing. I know that sounds weird, but that's the way I feel.

Positive Thoughts Versus Prayer

What is the difference between positive thoughts and healing prayers? I know there is a difference because on ask the Eternal Creator to assist in healing the individual while the other sends healing thought to the individual. I think what I'd like to know is does one work better than the other. I don't know that a study was ever done on this subject. I know that studies that been done with prayer which show that it does have an effect on healing, but I don't know if positive thoughts have a effect of healing. This is something that I think should be studied.

I suspect when someone ask for positive thoughts they don't want to offend anyone by asking for prayers. I think that's part of the problem with the world today; I.e. people take offense when none is intended. When this happens one is cautious about speaking their mind. I long ago learned that some people are going to take offense if you wish them a nice day or say have a blessed day. I think if you want healing prayers you ask for healing prayers and if you want positive thoughts then you ask for them, but you don't use positive thought as a euphemism for prayer. I know I would rather have healing prayers then positive thoughts.

If I want positive thoughts then I can generate my own positive thoughts. I don't need someone else sending them to me. When I'm ill or facing a health crisis I want healing prayers and I don't care which religion says healing prayers for me. No matter what a person's religion, all prayers reach the ears of God. God answers prayers according to His own judgment of the situation a person is in. Sometimes we need to find the answers ourselves. God gives us the resources to find the answers, but we have to look for them and discover them ourselves.

Five Questions Answered

I think I should get down to answering the questions I posed the first paragraph of this entry. If I don't start answering them today I'll put them off. I don't want to procrastinate with this because I want to work at editing my novel on Friday.

When do I feel closest to God? I feel close to God when I pray or read the scriptures revealing by Baha'u'llah, The Bab, and 'Abdu'l-Baha. I also feel God's presence when I into His Most Great Name.

How has living as a Baha'I changed my life? I wish I could say I lived as a Baha'I, but I have a long way to go before I can say that. Attempting to live as a Baha'I has made me more aware of my fellow human beings and my weaknesses. I still have a long way to go before I can say that I'm living as a Baha'I. It's going to take the rest of my physical life to even get close to that goal.

What gifts has God given me and how do I use them to serve others? God's given me the ability to write poems. I hope that I use that ability to share the Baha'I Faith as well as my difficulty attempting to live the life. I know that I fall short because I'm an ordinary human being with weaknesses. I also know that I have to continue striving to use my talents to help humanity and to give them the message that God's promise is kept and His Promised one has come.

What is my favorite scripture? This is a difficult decision because I like every scripture verse that was revealed by Baha'u'llah. I also like the verses revealed by The Bab and 'Abdu'l-Baha. My favorite scriptures is "Ye are the fruits of one tree and the leaves of one branch" because it emphasizes the unity of the human race. Actually, I should say the human species because humanity is a single species whose home is the planet Earth and whose religion is the progressive faith of God.

What would I like God to help me change about myself? I want God to help me develop my spiritual attributes. Specifically I would like to stop fantasizing so much when I experience fear or am worried about something. The fantasizing caused me to procrastinate which is a detrimental to my spiritual development.

I'm going to stop here. I have ten more questions to answer. I will answer them tomorrow after I've had a chance to think about them a little more or have rested my mind from today's writing.