Writing in Snow

It's Wednesday, half way through the last week in March 2018. This is my second post in this journal this week, which is less than I posted the last three weeks. I don't know if I'll post any more this week or not, I usually make that decision on a daily basis. I like to make sure I post on Wednesday, because that is normally when the writing.com newsletters reach my inbox. I'm going to focus on reviewing some of the items in the newsletters today, and see what I can do about writing some poems. I realized last night that the only thing I want to do is write poetry. I have some novels to finish, so I will work on rewriting/editing "Scavengers" . I, also, need to answer the question, I ask in "Motivational Monday: Loss and Art" , "Who do I create for?"

I look at the news stories of the last week, and I remember the headlines of the last three months. The question that comes to mind is "What does the world need?" There answer to this question is a three part answer. Part 1, is the acceptance of oneness of humanity, which includes the realization that the concept of race is a human construction. Humanity is a single species, and not different races divided by color, nationality, religion, or any other human created division. The concept of race, as defined by the color of skin, is still prevalent in the world. There are people who accept humanity as a single species, and that number is growing every day. However, there are still those out there who see skin tone as a dividing line between people.

It is the day of Glory. It is four days into the New Year of 175 B.E. What have I accomplished so far this year? A better question, this early in the year, is "What have I accomplished this week?" I have accomplished several things, first, I have placed my weekly goals in a separate document that I can week to contain new goals. That way I can just edit the document when I accomplish a goal, and it allows me to keep track of the daily and weekly goals. Second, I have read several pages in the publication "The Baha'is", which has given me some ideas for poems to work on this year. I begin in "Motivational Monday: Eighteenth Day of Fast"  to place the quotes in that book in the entries for this book. The idea was to write poems based on each quote, and I have written and posted the poems in "Motivational Monday: Eighteenth Day of Fast"  and "Nineteenth Day of Fast" . I have to restart this project today.

All-sufficing faith is faith in Baha'u'llah, who is the Manifestation of God for today. The quote is from the writings of The Bab, Baha'u'llah's forerunner, and it emphasizes that one must place one's entire trust in the Manifestation of God, who reflects the divine attributes to humanity. No matter what happens in a person's life, in my life, I know that Baha'u'llah reveals God. The only way to know the Almighty is through is Manifestation. Baha'u'llah is the fulfillment of all the divine prophecies of the past.

It's a good beginning to second workweek in March 2018. The new issues of The American Baha'i arrived today, with several interesting and motivational articles. This month, I'm taking a different approach to reading the magazine. Instead of randomly reading articles, which catch my attention, I'm beginning at the front (page 3) and moving through one-article-at-a-time. My goal with each article is to find inspiration for a poem or blog entry.

It is Saturday, March 9, the day of Glory, the month of Loftiness, the Ninth Day of Fast in the year 174 B.E. There are ten days left int the Loftiness and in the year 174 B.E. I am listening to Baha'i videos on YouTube as I write this, videos celebrating the appearance of Baha'u'llah and the 200^th celebration of his birth. Listening to these videos makes me realize how lucky I am to have heard about and recognized Baha'u'llah, the promised one of all religions. Baha'u'llah has appeared through the mercy of God, without God's mercy the planet Earth would be lifeless.

On this the eighth day of Fast, I contemplate the oneness of humanity, and the history of my own life. I remember growing up in Oklahoma, a middle American state, where racial prejudice was taught or, at least, implied by the way people treated those of a different color and culture. I know that I must have acquire some false ideas about people of different cultures or skin colors, I've attempt (I hope with some success) to overcome and/or prove those ideas wrong. Today, I look at the beauty of humanity, which is enhanced by the various skin tones that decorate the human species. As I progress toward my final days on this planet, I that I am proclaiming the unity of the human species through my poems, stories, and essays.

Themes for Poems Written During the 19-Day Fast

Baha'i month or days of week names for the theme used in Poems: Splendor "First Day of the 19-Day Fast" , Glory "Second Day of Fast" , Will "Third Day of Fast" , Beauty "Motavational Monday: The Fourth Day of Fast" , Knowledge "Fifth Day of Fast" , Justice "Midweek Reflections on Justice" , grandeur "Thankful Thursday: Gratitude List" , and Light "Eighth Day of Fast" .
Virtues Used: compassion "Silent Compassion"  and unity "Spheres of Influence" .
Baha'i month names for the themes to use in Poems: Mercy, Words, Perfection, Names, Might, Power, Speech, Questions, Honor, Sovereignty, Dominion, and Loftiness.
Week Day names for the themes to use in poems: Beauty, Perfection, Grace, Majesty, Independence, and Glory.
Virtues to Use: assertiveness, caring, cleanliness, commitment, assertiveness, caring, cleanliness, commitment, confidence, consideration, cooperation, courage, courtesy, creativity, detachment, determination, diligence, enthusiasm, excellence, flexibility, forgiveness, friendliness, generosity, gentleness, helpfulness, honesty, honor, humility, idealism, integrity, joyfulness, justice, kindness, love, loyalty, moderation, modesty, orderliness, patience, peacefulness, perseverance, purposefulness, reliability, respect, responsibility, self-discipline, service, tact, thankfulness, tolerance, trust, trustworthiness, truthfulness, understanding, and unity.confidence, consideration, cooperation, courage, courtesy, creativity, detachment, determination, diligence, enthusiasm, excellence, flexibility, forgiveness, friendliness, generosity, gentleness, helpfulness, honesty, honor, humility, idealism, integrity, joyfulness, justice, kindness, love, loyalty, moderation, modesty, orderliness, patience, peacefulness, perseverance, purposefulness, reliability, respect, responsibility, self-discipline, service, tact, thankfulness, tolerance, trust, trustworthiness, truthfulness, and understanding.

Poem Written on the Eight Day of Fast

Dawn spreads it radiance across the Earth,
The Splendour of God was born at dawn,
The light of a new day celebrates unity's birth.

Through His Pen God shed illumination upon the Earth,
The effulgence of His scriptures unites humanity,
The brightness of His laws creates anew heaven and Earth.

Goals for the Week of March 5-9, 2018
Posted on "Weekly Goals" 

Review, at least, 4 items each day.
Submit to "I Write in 2018"  for Week 10.
Post a, at least, 3 days to offsite blog.
Work on article/essay for "Project Write World" .
Participate in each blogging groups, at least, 3 times this week.
Submit article/poem/essay/story to "Invalid Item"  for Week 31. Working on.
Read items on this month's reading list. Reading.
Sort item in laundry basket under computer desk. Working on.

"Blogging Circle of Friends "  DAY 1941: March 10, 2018 Prompt: March 10 is International Day of Awesomeness. Describe something or someone awesome, and tell us why it/they are awesome?

Footnotes
33  Paris Talks, p. 131.
34  Quoted in "Pathways to the Recognition of Our Oneness" by Patricia Wilcox http://bahaiteachings.org/pathways-recognition-oneness.

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Justice is something everyone wants and seeks. I wonder how many people realize that in order for individuals to have justice for themselves, they must also help other people achieve it. In The Hidden Word, Baha'u'llah tells us that justice is God's best beloved, and defines it as seeing with the eyes of our own mind rather than just accepting what other people tells us. In order to have justice, we have to search for truth ourselves. We have to use our minds to question our actions and the prejudices we were raised with.