Writing in Snow

Second Day of Fast

Jalál {Glory), 2 ‘Alá’ (Loftiness) 174 B.E. - Saturday, March 3, 2018
Second Day of Fast

"Verily, I say, fasting is the supreme remedy and the most great healing for the disease of self and passion."
Baha’u’llah12

One of the benefits of fasting is learning detachment form material things. I had a lesson in detachment this morning. I have recently (within the past year or more) become attached to my smartphone. As a result, sometimes I hold in in my hand when I go to sleep. Now if I slept on a bed this wouldn't be a problem, but I sleep in a recliner. This means that when I fall asleep, the phone falls onto the recliner and will go into the loose areas. I looked for it, but couldn't find it in the recliner (it should have been easy to find). It turns out that my roommate borrowed the phone to play a game.

I called my smartphone number from the house phone, but I couldn't hear the my smartphone ring because it was under her pillow. I decided since I couldn't find it, I'd call my provider when their customer care center opened to see if they could send me another phone. I have my phone, so now I don't have to call the customer service number. I'm glad that my house mate could use it while she's waiting for her new smartphone to come through the mail.

Reading List for ‘Alá’
or However Long it Takes Me to Finish

A Guide to Meditation for the Rest of Us https://lifehacker.com/5591576/a-guide-to-meditation-for-the-rest-of-us
Informative or news article about Sri Lanka for "Invalid Item"  the links are in "Invalid Item" .
Back through the Wardrobe: The Power of Spiritual Allegory http://bahaiteachings.org/back-through-the-wardrobe-the-power-of-spiritual-alleg...
Why You Must Develop Your Artistic Talents http://bahaiteachings.org/why-you-must-develop-your-artistic-talents
News articles that catch my interest.
http://bahaiteachings.org/how-why-bahais-pray
http://bahaiteachings.org/why-do-bahais-fast-every-year
http://bahaiteachings.org/great-wisdom-prayer-fasting
http://bahaiteachings.org/fasting-reading-sacred-writings
http://bahaiteachings.org/neuroscience-fasting
http://bahaiteachings.org/drinking-energy-from-happiness-during-the-bahai-fast
http://bahaiteachings.org/fasting-and-meditating-catching-fire-from-the-love-of-...
http://bahaiteachings.org/how-to-fast-like-a-bahai
http://bahaiteachings.org/elevating-your-spiritual-station-with-fasting
http://bahaiteachings.org/why-bahais-fast
http://bahaiteachings.org/fasting-creativity-and-the-infinite
http://bahaiteachings.org/fasting-spring-cleaning-for-the-soul
http://bahaiteachings.org/the-benefits-of-intermittent-fasting
http://bahaiteachings.org/the-bahai-fast-slowly
http://bahaiteachings.org/series/the-death-of-tahirih-the-womens-rights-martyr
http://bahaiteachings.org/series/the-purpose-of-physical-reality

Yesterday, I wrote a poem about splendor, and posted it in "First Day of the 19-Day Fast" . This leaves me with only 18 spiritual attributes to write poems about. Divine attributes: Splendor, Glory, Beauty, Grandeur, Light, Mercy, Words, Perfection, Names, Might, Will, Knowledge, Power, Speech, Questions, Honor, Sovereignty, Dominion, and Loftiness.

Poem Written on the Second Day of Fast

Word by word I sip
the wine of eternal life
from the chalice of God's Glory.

Scriptures,
endowed with the Holy Spirit's majesty,
flowed through His reed pen,
proclaiming peace, love, and unity
to the nations of humanity.

Footnotes
1  p. XVII, The Importance of Obligatory Prayer and Fasting.
2  Quoted in "Why Do Baha’is Fast Every Year?" by Faraneh Hedayati, http://bahaiteachings.org/why-do-bahais-fast-every-year.