Last weekend, I went up to Louhelen Baha'i School in Michigan for a Local Spiritual Assembly Secretaries' conference.
I came home and got to work.
What struck me about the session was that the people who serve at the Baha'i National Center in Evanston (a suburb of Chicago) work SO resolutely and with such dedication that it shames me to slack off any more! I thought that I was busy but what I do pales in comparison.
But my main point isn't that I should be ashamed of myself - NO NO - it is rather that I am inspired to offer up my best service.
On Pilgrimage last year, I had a dream in the Shrine of Baha'u'llah where I saw a chap working at a diner (like Denny's or the Waffle House) and he was flipping these pancakes across the room with such ease and they were landing squarely (or roundly, as the case is) on the plates of customers. Agape, I sat watching and a great desire to be able to do that arose in my heart. And as I sat and watched, I saw all the work that this person had done in order to perform in such a way - I saw half-raw pancakes stuck to the ceiling, and burnt pancakes stuck to the pan. And the word that entered my thought was "Practice."
So, long story short, I am finished waiting for amazing things to happen to me. I am now focused on becoming an active force.
It is as though a long-dormant part of me has awaked - that which was sedated by the cultural mentality that I deserve certain things in life rather than working for those things has been reinvigorated!
So now I am going to actively cease to write and go home and actively decide to take a nap! :)
love to you all,
~liz
Posted by lizington at September 24, 2004 04:05 PMSpeaking of working toward a better understanding... I was so proud of myself for being able to use HTML and put a word in italics in this entry and now I see that I didn't put merely one word in italics but LOTS! :) I'll get it sooner or later!
Posted by: liz again at September 27, 2004 03:36 PMWhen I first heard about creating a "culture of learning" (a term which, I recall, I used once in a class discussion and the teacher was so taken by it that she wrote it down - way to go, Universal House of Justice!), I was so excited!
There is so much less of a burden when it is OKAY to mess up, and to work towards a better understanding! What a relief! Perfection is way too stressful!
Posted by: liz at September 27, 2004 03:34 PMAhhh, a learning centered environment emerges here. Excellent. I'm there too. Trying to learn from everyone and everthing I can how to live better, love better, think lovely thoughts. That practise dream is so powerful. I should never have laughed at your falling asleep in that Great place- it was the perfect way to receive specific instructions with some great visuals. You are inspiring me to grab life and learn all I can from it.
Posted by: Bahiyyih at September 25, 2004 07:57 PMI had a similar realization not too long ago. In a lot of ways, I've had a tendency to want to know how to do something right away, and to do it "right" the first time. Which, of course, very rarely happens, leaving me continually discouraged and reluctant to try new things. But lately I've been making a conscious effort to concentrate more on the learning process, practicing being a big part of that. And it's just so much more enjoyable!
Posted by: Katie at September 24, 2004 10:00 PM