Writing in Snow

One Gregorian Year Ends and Another Begins

Jamál (Beauty) 2 Sharaf (Honor) 174 B.E. - Sunday, December 31, 2017

The Gregorian Year Ends

The Gregorian year is drawing to an end, with the same sad, bloody headlines that cursed it path down the highway of history. I could cry, but that wouldn't help. Instead the best thing for me to do is say a prayer for the departed, a prayer for all the souls that came to a tragic end this year. I suspect this trail of blood will go on for another year, I pray it doesn't; however, until people begin to see the unity of humanity and the basic unity of religion, this blood letting will continue. The only thing I can do is pray, and do my best to stay positive by focusing on the scriptures revealed by Baha'u'llah.

Contemplating 2018

The Feast of Sharaf (Honor) was held at the Las Vegas Baha'i Center on December 30 at 7:30 P.M. Pacific Time. I was unable to attend the Feast, however, I received a flyer about it in my Cox.net inbox. The flyer contained information about the Feast, which was a collective Feast for the Las Veags Baha'is. The flyer contained two verses of scripture, one from 'Abdu'l-Baha and the other from the Holy Bible. The one from the Christian Bible was Hebrews 3:13: "Encourage one another daily!" This is good advice, and a good goal for 2018, because I suspect it will be a year the whole world needs positive encouragement. The quote from 'Abdu'l-Baha read:

“Man is he who forgets his own interests for the sake of others. His own comfort he forfeits for the well-being of all. Nay, rather, his own life must he be willing to forfeit for the life of mankind. Such a man is the honor of the world of humanity. Such a man is the glory of the world of mankind.”

Twenty-Eighteen will be a stressful year, which will present new opportunities to humanity to over come the prejudices and superstitions of the past. The present condition of the world will eventually come to an end, and humanity will enter an age of peace and unity. World peace will eventually arrive, the problem now is getting through the present storm. The only way to get through another year of stress and world upheaval is to place my entire trust in God, and focus on the vision of the future presented in the scriptures revealed by Baha'u'llah.