I Blog Poetry and Prose

The big news, in my personal life, from 2018 is the move from a 2-bedroom apartment to a 1-bedroom, followed by finding 9 mice in the new "to me" apartment. I'm settling in, going through hard copies of poems, and finding all sorts of things I forgot about. I'm transposing the poems to "Poem Experiments" , "Devotional Poetry" , and "Memories of Snow" . I'm attempting to get back into my writing and reviewing routine. Moving, and all the stress associated with it, has cause a slight problem is writer's block.

I have two favorite birds, the nightingale and the dove because they are spiritual symbols. In the Old Testament, His Holiness Noah released a white dove to determine if the floodwaters had subsided. In the New Testament, a white dove--symbolizing the descent of the Holy Spirit--descended from heaven when John the Baptist baptized His Holiness Jesus Christ. Nightingales were in the Najibiyyih Garden3 in Baghad, in the spring of 1863, when His Holiness Baha'u'llah declared His mission to His family and followers. In some of His Tables and revealed works, Baha'u'llah refers to both the Nightingale and the Dove.

In the 1930s, Shoghi Effendi6, the grandson of 'Abdu'l-Baha7, predicted, what we now call, the worldwide web or internet. The worldwide web, which is still in its infancy, has the potential of uniting the entire planet. The Web, like humanity, is experiencing growing pains. Like a human infant, it has the potential to do both good and bad, the potential for both unity and disunity. I believe its potential for doing good and unifying humanity outweighs its potential for evil and disunity. Over the next few decade both the web and humanity will mature beyond its present form.

Am I an introvert or an extrovert? I enjoy socializing in small crowds with people I have something in common with. I enjoy taking to stranger when riding the bus or going to a entertainment event or movie. I enjoy large crowds when I'm having fun. I don't like large crowds when I stop having fun. I socialize with whichever hairdresser is cutting my hair at Supercuts, and I enjoy talking to the manager at Supercuts. I enjoy talking to the customers. I just don't like being in crowds when I'm not having fun or socializing withe people.

New Year's resolutions are wonderful inventions because they are inspiring, creative, encouraging, ego-building, frustrating, and ego-busting little demons simultaneously. In order for them to succeed properly, people need plans on how they are to be achieved. People need to reevaluate them either every month or every three months. In addition, it is wise to rename them. Do Not call them New Year's Resolutions because that raises fear in an individual's subconscious mind and suggest an excuse when they aren't accomplished. After all, they were just New Year's resolutions and New Year's Day is past.

Endings and beginnings pass through the same door. One exits while the other enters. In the journey of life, when one phase of life or road ends than another begins. Sometimes it is difficult for an individual to discern the difference between an end and a beginning, because of the hustle and bustle going on around the event that either ends or begins a new phase of existence. At other times the demarcation line is so obvious that the individual feels as if they are falling into an abyss.

It's the last Saturday in 2018, and the beginning of a new writing week for me. My goals to do list runs seven days, from Saturday to Friday. This week, it will take me a couple of days to redo the list because the Gregorian year begins on Tuesday, January 1, and I need to post the list on "Weekly Goals"  on Monday, December 31. On Monday, "I Write in 2019"  begins and, this coming year, I will place all or most of my contest entries in "Snow's Writing for 2019, 2020, & Beyond" .

On the last Thankful Thursday in 2018,
I give thanks to the Glorious Lord,
for being able to purchase a new pair of glasses,
for the ADA transport bus that run twenty-four seven,
for being able to move to a small apartment,
for the landlord who will take the deposit fee in payments,
for a year that has increased my faith in Baha'u'llah,
for my sister, brothers, and their families,
for De and her daughter,
for the Baha'i community in Las Vegas and across the world,
for being able to pay my Internet and power bill.

There are six day left in 2018. It has been both an inspiring and frightening year. I don't see the situation changing very much in the next six day. I could be wrong, the world situation could get either better or worse. The American political situation could get either better or worse. My life situation could get either better or worse. The truth is, there are only two ways any situation or event can go. The situation can either get better or it can get worse, because that's how life on the physical or material plane is.

It is Christmas Day. This is the day much of the world, traditionally, celebrates the birth of His Holiness Christ. As I said, in "Christmas Eve Thoughts on the Birth of His Holiness Christ" , I don't think it matters as much when Christ's birth is celebrated as the reason it is celebrated. According to The 1st Recorded Celebration of Christmas   by Dan Graves, the first time Christmas was celebrated on December 25 was in 336 A.D. Mr. Graves enlightening and educational article gives historical information and facts about some of the Christmas traditions that we incorporate into the Christmas celebration.

It's Christmas Eve the day before the traditional celebration of the birth of His Holiness Christ. Even though, December 25--isn't the month or the day on which Christ was born--it's the day the majority of the planet celebrates His birth. I don't think the exact date of Christ birth matters as much as the reason he was born. Christ was born to shed light upon the human race, to unity humanity in the bonds of love, and to teach human beings how to forgive. We need to remember that the gives given during the Christmas season symbolize the love God showered upon humanity when Christ was born.

I haven't had insomnia this month. The main reason, I think, is that I'm reading before going to sleep. Right now I'm reading The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, which I should finish in a few days. In addition, I either read or recite prayers revealed by Baha'u'llah, the Bab, or 'Abdu'l-Baha before I go to sleep, so my nights are restful. True, I've been getting up later this fall and winter, but that's because I don't like getting out of a warm bed on a cold morning. I take my first morning medication before getting up, the pills and water are on my bedside table so I can reach them easily.

I enjoy the myths of Christmas. I like the old ones and the new ones. I like the frightening and non-frightening myths. I enjoy reading and watching them because they are creative, inspiring, and--in most cases--teach a lesson on how humans should treat each other. Some of the older myths take in the pagan aspects of the season. Some of the newer ones use the themes of love, hope, faith, and joy to suggest how one human being should treat another. Over the decades and centuries, these myths have become part of the culture and are expressed in different way across the planet.

I don't celebrate winter solstice, and I won't be watching the meteor shower unless I can find an online video of the event. I will start working on a new poetry form I discovered through "~ The Poet's Place Cafe~"  called the "Golden Shovel"10. I will do a couple of reviews, posts some of my older poems to "Devotional Poetry"  and "Poem Experiments" , and (probably) do a couple of surveys. In other words, Winter Solstice is just another day for me.

Yesterday, December 18, I went to my podiatrist's office. After the appointment was over, I had to wait for the paratransit bus to pick me up and bring me back home. While I was waiting I wrote "Transformation"  in response to a prompt posted on "~ The Poet's Place Cafe~" . When I returned home, I copied the poem into "Snow Scribbles"  and posted it under the discussion on perspective on "~ The Poet's Place Cafe~" . The poem was about how transformation changes a person's world views.