Archive for August, 2011

 

 

I've done 31 blog posts in the last several days. None of them have been on my usual sites, Baha'i Views, Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation, etc. All of them have been for a new blog I've put together with a friend's goals and aspirations in mind. -gw

 

 

 

I love being able to take video clips of ordinary people in Baha'i core activities. Documenting Baha'i life today so others tomorrow can appreciate the drama of spiritual discovery that occurred back in 2011 is a worthy endeavor.

 

Here are four clips, three from the Baha'i assistant's meeting in Bellevue and one from my newly inaugerated Baha'i children's class at Charles and Kim's. -gw

 

 

 

 

Several of us gathered in the Rose Garden at Point Definance Park in Tacoma to say prayers and reflect on the passing of Peter Khan, who served on the Universal House of Justice for decades. Bonita and I attended talks by him in Montana back in the 1970's when he was a Baha'i Auxiliary Board member serving that area. What a vibrant soul and great intellect! -gw

 

 

 

Here are just two of many spiritual spots Bonita and I stood in during our visit to Beacon Rock State Park, the beach on Pierce Island and the mushroom-encircled log out in front of our campsite. Stand in either place and you will be blessed by the beauty of God's creation. -gw

 

 

In the heyday of Baha'i Views, when blogging was new, I used to try to cover "Baha'i" online. I used to stand watch daily for mentions of Baha'i, posting my personal discoveries even four or five times a day. As my immediate Baha'i community has come to embrace the Institute Process and I have tried to align my individual efforts with the collective endeavor to raise up, as called for by the Unviersal house of Justice, the four core activities in neighborhoods here in the Tacoma area, the focus of my blog has changed to simply aspiring to cover my efforts and those of my dearly loved co-workers in this Baha'i cluster. There is no more stirring subject to cover on a personal blog than this, it seems to me now. I've gone local. Baha'i Views has gone from being an aggregator of news to a straightforward personal blog of just what is news to me here in my village.

 

But remembering the old Baha'i Views, people still occasionally send me items of interest. I am always happy to oblige these thoughtful souls by passing on what seems noteworthy. Thanks, Sahar, for this. Could be very useful for the children and youth participating in the Baha'i children's classes and junior youth groups here. -gw

 

 

All 146 photos of our 8-20-11 hike of the Naches Loop Trail have been uploaded and are here. Mt Rainier views at their best! -gw

 

Map: http://www.nps.gov/mora/planyourvisit/upload/naches_peak_trail.pdf

 

Newspaper article: http://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/Hike-Of-the-Week-Sample-glories-of-Rainier-on-1066220.php

 

We recently had dinner at Farhad and Bricelda's Friday along with Marc and his brother Peter whom he was visiting. Farhad is Persian, and Bricelda is from the Dominican Republic and reflects in her heritage the diversity of that Caribbean country. Marc and Peter are of Japanese-Chinese ancestry and hail from San Francisco originally

 

 

As a Japanese immigrant to the United States, Marc and Peter's mother had been interred during the Second World War, forced to leave her home, ultimately ending up living in old army barracks in Utah. We heard stories of how she coped.

 

 

In the course of the evening Farhad told of his travel from Iran via camel into Pakistan when he was 21 and his subsequent immigration to Canada and then the U.S. He has told this story before to the friends in our Baha'i study circle, but this was the first time Marc had heard it.

 

 

Marc said that his wife, also Persian, had traveled via camel to Pakistan when she was two. We wondered if she was in the same caravan with Farhad. If so, small world.

 

 

A highlight of the evening was our viewing together a bag of Farhad's momentos – newspaper clippings, old tickets and IDs, and stamps –and hearing the stories associated with them.

 

 

People travel far and struggle hard to be as one. -gw

 

An amazing thing happens at our Baha'i study circle almost every week. A halo appears around the radiant face of a participant.

 

 

Halos have been known to appear even in exotic, outdoor settings, as on our hike up at Mt Rainier. Must be a holy mountain. -gw

 

Having a partner means doing things you wouldn't do it you were alone. In my case, I wouldn't be hiking, camping, canoeing as much – or perhaps at all — if it wasn't for Bonita. So thanks, Bonita, for Saturday.

 

 

 

We followed Annie and Ruhullah's example, who took the hike earlier in the week, and did the Naches Loop Trail starting at the Pacific Crest Trail parking lot above Tipsoo Lake. It was 3.5 miles around, with great views of the Mount Rainer, and a lot of snowfields to step unsteadily over.

 

 

 

And we weren't alone, that's for sure. Stop for lunch and every minute or two, or so it seemed, there was another hiking party to say hello to. A lot of these groups had children in tow, I'm happy to add. What a memorable experience for them to have, under brilliant sunshine.

 

The temperature on the thermometer on Bonita's REI-issue day pack read mid-80's on the south-facing part of the trail. The parking spaces at Tipsoo were jammed. There was even a contingent of visitors with their lawn chairs out on the sidewalk overlooking the lake. It was a glorious day to feel a part of the fabric of humanity.

 

 

 

And don't let me forget the flowers! Yes, lovely flora in great abundance. -gw

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last week we had the BBQ/Baha'i devotional there. Six days later we had Baha'i children's class filling up the chairs around the table set up on the front lawn of Kim and Charles' home. The kids around that table are playmates. During the Baha'i assistant's meeting three of us attending that visited the homes of these children to tell their parent's about what we were doing on the street. The Hilltop neighborhood will never be the same, given the influence these children will have on the world in the years to come. That's how powerful the spiritual education of children is. And it wasn't just kids at the table. Two parents sat coloring as well, Kim and Giana. -gw