doberman pizza. a baha'i (bahai, bahá'í) blog.

Dear Friends,

Marion R. Finley, Jr.
Montreal, Quebec
Canada

with a bunch of friends at the corel centre omg it was phatter than phat. you can’t even imagine, omg you can’t even understand the mind-blowingness of it all. phil and amelia and vafa and sahba and aram and natalia and i all hooked up and kicked it in the big red van all the way down to the concert and omg we got blown away like some soda cracker that got sandblasted, omg it was so cool i died!!!!!! and the music was, well, the music was u2 so there’s not much else to be said. but omg the lights were phat and the music was phat and the edge was phat and bono didn’t wear his hat but if he had then his hat would be phat!!!

seriously? the u2 concert was a great experience. watch for photos on vafa.tk soon [they're up now - dan]. Just a quick comment; although I generally eschew politics and nurture a healthy skepticism about everything political, I was somewhat refreshed by the calls to end poverty, human rights abuses, and religious and sectarian hatred given during the concert. I found it refreshing because they’re serious. Bono goes all over the world putting his money where his mouth is, and I can respect that. Baha’u'llah says: “Let deeds, not words, be your adorning.” for the same reason, it was inspiring. I felt inspired to actually take a look at what I’m doing to help contribute to the betterment of the world – like, for instance, teaching children virtues and spiritual qualities. Not all of us can be international superstars, but each one of us can make a difference, and do it to the best of our ability.

photo by mdu2boy (creative commons)

have you ever taught children’s classes? you should try it. it’s a trip. I started getting involved with Baha’i children’s classes when I moved back to Ottawa from Drummondville, back in the summer of 2004. I was asked to help put together a set of online resources for teachers of children’s classes, which was integrated into the intranet on the Baha’is of Ottawa web site. Afterwards I got to serve as part of a children’s class in my neighbourhood. Recently, some of the kids that were part of that class joined up with a newly established local French-language class. It’s being taught by a brave band of Baha’i youth – Catherine, Julie, and Fanfan – oh, and me. The first class was an introductory session – we learned each other’s names, got to know each other, talked a bit and then drew pictures. we’re all just getting used to the class and seeing what we’re comfortable with and less comfortable with. we don’t really have a coordinator per se; Linda from the Assembly’s Education committee has been invaluable in providing logistical support, and helping me plan the classes each week.

There was a training session at our place on Wednesday, for aspiring animators of junior youth study circles. that was fun. The training will be taking place every Wednesday; the first one happened at our pad (yay!) Arash is facilitating the class; we’re using materials developed by the Ruhi Institute for training junior youth animators. I’ve posted a few photos; take a look.

Uh oh – gotta go. Finding Nemo’s on.

The Fulcrum, the University of Ottawa’s english-language student newspaper, ran an article today entitled Opening Closed Doors, about the denial of higher education to Baha’is in Iran and the greater campaign by Iran’s government to destroy the Iranian Baha’i community [1][2][3]. The article showcased the recent talk at Carleton by Payam Akhavan on the subject, and also mentioned the $500 scholarship contest sponsored by the CABS at the University of Ottawa [learn more]. Check it out.

Note: This post has been blogged @ Baha’i Blog.

The celebrated Baha’i ensemble Smith and Dragoman gave a concert at the U of O last Saturday; it was great. It was the first time I had heard them perform, and I was impressed. The music was good, but what was most powerful was the lyrics. That’s bound to happen when you quote The Dawn-Breakers, of course. It was like reading that beautiful, life-changing book again, delving into the heroic stories of the early believers of the Baha’i Faith, and becoming touched and transformed by their spirit. I took some pictures of the concert; go see ‘em in the flickr photoset. You can also listen to an audio clip of Divine Tapestry (one of Smith & Dragoman’s more popular songs).

Note: Smith & Dragoman will be present at the DC Baha’i Youth Congress this weekend… check them out (and buy their CD)!

so this guy shows up at work today and he says he’s gonna be working with me on posting stuff to the website. and so I’m like okay, sure, here’s the way you do it. and we spent the morning doing that basically. seems to me I know him from somewhere… hmm.

picture.

CLOSED DOORS
A presentation by human rights expert
Dr. Payam Akhavan
Thursday, November 17 th, 7:00 pm
301 Azrieli Theatre, Carleton University
[ more info ]

On Thursday, November 17 Dr. Payam Akhavan, a distinguished advocate of human rights around the world, will be making a presentation on the persecution faced by the Bahá’í religious minority in Iran. The lecture will be held in Azrieli Theatre room 301 at 7 pm. This event is part of a wider campaign to protest the denial of higher education to Bahá’í youth in Iran.

This lecture is sponsored by the Campus Associations for Baha’i Studies at Carleton University and the University of Ottawa. For more information on the situation of the Baha’is of Iran, please visit denial.bahai.org, a web site created by the Bahá’í International Community.

In case you’re interested in reading more about the question of religious freedom around the world, here’s a link that a friend passed on to me: The U.S. State Department has released their annual International Religious Freedom Report. For those of you who’ve followed the situation of the Baha’is in Iran [1][2], there is quite a long section available on the restrictions to freedom of religion in Iran.

 Se você sabe português, pode ler mais sobre este relatório no blog Povo de Bahá.

ever wonder how I got my start singing? it was with Voices of Bahá at their Carnegie Hall concert in June 2002. I never posted any pictures I took during that trip – until now. go see the new york city photoset on flickr. unfortunately I don’t have any pictures of the choir as such, but if people like this set enough, I might scan some of the other photos I took (there were a bunch of them).

oh and btw, this is the first set of photos I’ve filed under the “world” category of my photos page. it took me long enough…

Addendum: I’ve also finished posting the gatineau park hike photos, from last month. Go see 90 photos from that photoset on flickr!

I remember the dead because they deserve to be remembered. Beyond remembering the past, I strive to manifest qualities of love and fellowship in the present, and to live my life in such a way as to promote peace, concord and unity among the peoples of the earth. I wear a poppy today for reverence and respect, and to express my belief that peace – a peace that transcends the simple abolition of war – is not only possible, but is an inevitable part of the process of humanity’s coming of age.

We cherish the hope that through the earnest endeavours of such as are the exponents of the power of God–exalted be His glory–the weapons of war throughout the world may be converted into instruments of reconstruction and that strife and conflict may be removed from the midst of men. (Bahá’u'lláh, Glad-Tidings, No.5)

finally, after several years’ absence from the web, the Ottawa Baha’i youth slang glossary is back and more complete than ever. have you ever wondered what those crazy Ottawa youth are saying when they talk about being “j” over someone, or when they call something “e”? do you feel out of step with the world when you hear such terms as “I got numbers”, “clickable”, or “ben de tings”? are you wondering whether you should be pleased or insulted when someone calls you a “heyvoon”? all these questions, and more, are answered in this glossary.

Over 125 terms are explained, with references to etymological origins (i.e. where the word comes from) and links to encyclopedic articles that provide deeper explanations. And if you think I spent too much time putting this together, you’re probably right, but I still hope you enjoy it. Go see. Now.

O army of God! Beware lest ye harm any soul, or make any heart to sorrow; lest ye wound any man with your words, be he known to you or a stranger, be he friend or foe. Pray ye for all; ask ye that all be blessed, all be forgiven. Beware, beware, lest any of you seek vengeance, even against one who is thirsting for your blood. Beware, beware, lest ye offend the feelings of another, even though he be an evil-doer, and he wish you ill. Look ye not upon the creatures, turn ye to their Creator. See ye not the never-yielding people, see but the Lord of Hosts. Gaze ye not down upon the dust, gaze upward at the shining sun, which hath caused every patch of darksome earth to glow with light.

i love autumn. i’m not a big fan of daylight saving time, but I do love autumn. there’s something about this time of year that appeals to me. day in and day out, as the sun sets earlier and the day grows shorter, as the wind chills and the earth cools, as the trees lose their leaves and as the sky shifts from brilliant blue to murky grey, I feel like the world around me is speaking, telling me stories of the circles in life, the grand, ever-present and all-encompassing circles of birth and death, of rebirth and renewal. as God’s Manifestation returns to earth from age to age to educate humanity, so does His grace return each year to replenish and renew His creation. Autumn gives me a feeling of gratitude for the things I have that keep me warm and dry, the friends who bless me with the gift of their presence, and the joy of closeness to the ones I love. it reminds me that I am part of this creation, that I too have a time of plenty and a time of waste – life has its ups and downs, and you can never be “on” all the time. sometimes fields will be planted and sometimes they will lie fallow. you know, like that song they wrote back in the sixties. or was it someone else who wrote that…

being a Baha’i is such a beautiful, beautiful thing. harrowingly difficult at times, and challenging, to be sure. challenging because we are called to be the quickeners of mankind, pillars of strength around which a shattered, crumbling humanity is destined to seek shelter and solace. difficult because we must set aside our own ego, our own self, and seek the improvement of the life and condition of all. tests and difficulties come at us from all sides sometimes, and they seem designed to make us as uncomfortable as possible. sometimes I wonder: when will it all stop? sometimes I get tired and discouraged, and I want to slip quietly into my bed, sleep it off and wake up in spring when things are better and there’s more light. yeah, sometimes it’s harsh. but those are the breaks for everybody – all are tested, and only so much as their capacity allows. we are all meant to grow, that’s why we have tests. “The plant most pruned by the gardeners is that one which, when summer comes, will have the most beautiful blossoms and the most abundant fruit.” (‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Paris Talks). when we hear this we don’t mind any more that the tests will never stop. we don’t mind that this life will be nothing but a continuing cycle of crisis and victory, of triumph and setback. when we hear this we know that there is a plan. the more we exert ourselves, the further ahead we get.

sometimes wack stuff happens at work and I get all pissed off. I don’t always show it because I like to present a smiling face to the world; I like to shine light in people’s lives, not drag them down (it doesn’t always work). sometimes wack stuff happens with friends and family too, like they don’t react the way you want them to or someone’s foot gets stepped on and there’s amends to be made. sometimes things just go royally wrong and nothing is going the way you want it to. and I get mad frustrated and cheesed off and it can stress me right out. that’s just the way it is. Right now I’m frustrated because my boss lost her job last week – restructuring was the reason given – and I’m disappointed because I felt like we were a good team together, and I had grown to respect her, enjoy her company, and, in some ways, look up to her. I’m frustrated that I have to step out of my comfort zone and start finding new ways to adapt to this new situation.

but that’s what happens, and that’s the way it is. trials and troubles, they come and go. I may be disappointed, but overreacting and holding grudges won’t help, right? it’s not about that. it’s about building unity and growing spiritually. it’s about welcoming tests, about turning stumbling blocks into stepping stones to growth. 99% of the time, we look back on big tests and say: damn, I sure did grow because of that. we say: I’m a much stronger/smarter/better person because I went through those difficulties and survived, and learned how to deal with them better the next time they came around.

gotta see it like that right? shine the light, don’t sit around and curse the darkness. so a big thank you to God for all the tests, cos they’ve brought me to where I am today. I wouldn’t know a lot of what I know now if I hadn’t gone through them. kudos, thanks and praise. peace out.

If you use Firefox, there’s a new search plugin available that allows you to search the Baha’i Reference Library. So whenever you want to do a quick search through the Baha’i Writings, you just type in your search terms and press enter, and there you go. It’s like having a little Ocean box at the top of your browser! sweeeet. Download the plugin (Thanks to Baha’i Blog for the link).

It’s Hallowe’en. Do you know where your children are? Remember, kids, wear lots of reflective tape and make lots of noise. and if strangers come up to you and give you a hard time, egg them. and make sure you make frequent trips to dump your stash before moving on to the next street. and carry your UNICEF box. (for real. and don’t jack the cash either, that’s starving kids in africa you’re robbing.)

a couple of weekends back, some friends and I went out hiking in Gatineau Park, and ooohed and aaahed at the view, and ooohed and aaahed at the fall colours everywhere. It was the right time to go out for a hike – the leaves were turning all shades of yellow, orange, red and brown, and most of them were still on the trees. Just a few days afterward, we had a cold spell with lots of wind (maybe Wilma’s fault) and all the leaves just dropped right off. Anyway, I think you ought to go see the photoset on flickr. really.

In other news: the Baha’is of Sector 9 (Vanier/St.Laurent/Beacon Hill) will soon be getting a French children’s class – I’ll be one of the teachers, as will Catherine (zeta) and Julie and Fanfan. If you know of any French-speaking kids in the area who’d be up for some sunday school that’s not catéchèse, then maybe this is the thing for them. drop me a line and I’ll pass the word along.

And in yet other news: keep your eyes open for the RETURN of the CABS GLOSSARY, as promised, later this week.