O SON OF SPIRIT!
Vaunt not thyself over the poor,
for I lead him on his way
and behold thee in thy evil plight
and confound thee for evermore.
–Baha’u’llah, The Arabic Hidden Words
(photo from Corbis Images at borgenproject.org)
Hidden Word no.25, the poor
November 18, 2009hidden words no.23-24
November 16, 200923. O SON OF THE SUPREME!
To the eternal I call thee, yet thou dost seek that which perisheth. What hath made thee turn away from Our desire and seek thine own?
24. O SON OF MAN!
Transgress not thy limits, nor claim that which beseemeth thee not. Prostrate thyself before the countenance of thy God, the Lord of might and power.
(Baha’u’llah, The Arabic Hidden Words)
It seems strange that we would turn away from something that lasts eternal, and desire something that is doomed to perish. No one would do that if they could tell the difference. The eternal is a mystery that none can explain. It simply is what it is. And yet there is another part of our being that can appear to be the most reliable, can take over and keep us so busy that we keep the eternal part at bay. I think that anyone can feel that eternal part. It appears when one lights a candle and becomes lost in its beauty. It professes its existence in a sunrise or sunset, those times that in themselves are the bridge to another time. Darkness becomes morning, the sun later moves beyond our reach to another part of the world. There is a moment when time ceases to exist, when we are caught in between this stage and the next and are aware of the beauty of it.
There are times when every person is aware, there is something beyond ourselves. There is something unexplainable, and we must be at peace with that. All is not logic and proven by mathematical formula.
The second verse — when there is that understanding of a Power greater than ourselves, then our happiest moments are in recognizing our station, being at peace with ourselves and realizing we do not have to figure everything out, or know it all. Yes, we have a mind and a spirit and the Greater Power, whatever we call it, expects us to use them. But there is a love of Him for Who He is, an expression of love (prayer) a desire to be closer to Him/Her/It, and prostration of our whole being before the Lord our God in thankfulness.
Veteran’s Day Nov.11th
November 11, 2009
George Plantenga was my grandfather, my mother’s father. He was the oldest of 11. His family never celebrated his birthday, I think because he was conceived nearly 4 mos. before his father married his mother. He had nothing to do with that, but his father was a mean, old Dutchman. That’s the truth. My grandpa hated his father. Once my grandpa was grown and left home, he would come back and visit his mother but not his father. He once came home and found his mother, my great-grandmother, crying in the kitchen. School was ready to begin, and she didn’t have enough money to buy the children shoes. So my grandpa went out and bought all his younger siblings a pair of shoes to start school in.
I have many stories about my grandpa which I will not tell tonight, but he joined the Army when he & his buddies thought they would get a better deal than waiting to be drafted, was sent to France and then sent behind German lines on a mission, partly because he could understand Dutch, which was close enough to German. He & 2 buddies went behind German lines. George, my grandpa, was the only one who made it back out alive. For this, he earned the nickname, “Lucky”. I have his hand written story he wrote many years later, “Twenty-one Days Behind German Lines.” Just 1 story in it is about stealing an ambulance, wrapping his head in bandages to act like he couldn’t speak, and going into a German food bar where they gave him some whiskey and bread for free.
He came back to the States, as it happened, on his brother’s wedding day and couldn’t find any of his family members at home. Someone finally told him they were all at the church for his brother’s wedding! My grandma, Cena, who was waiting for his return to marry him, heard someone say, “Here comes George!” and she didn’t believe them. It was her fiance. She said more people surrounded him at the reception than they did the wedding couple.
grading
November 10, 2009it is 2:02am.
schedules and time
November 7, 2009Last evening was spent in Charleston seeing an old friend. Though he and my husband talked for 7 hours and I felt most of the time that my presence was not needed or really part of the gathering, yet it was a good evening.
Tonight we go to see other friends in northwest South Carolina. Tomorrow late afternoon I have another appointment.
I feel such a deep need to have my own time without interruptions and other appointments.
the weather – end of 1st week of November, highs in the 60s, lows in the high 30s. Our house gets uncomfortably cool but not cold. The sun is still shining. Trees are turning but the colors are not vibrantly bright, like in the north. I long to see BRIGHT reds and leaves the colors of shimmering golds and pumpkin oranges, with many falling to the ground a mixture of all 3. Here, they are just drabbly dark orange and dim red to brown.
Hidden Word no.23
November 7, 200923. O SON OF THE SUPREME!
To the eternal I call thee, yet thou dost seek that which perisheth. What hath made thee turn away from Our desire and seek thine own?
(Baha’u’llah, The Arabic Hidden Words)
caught in a moment of time
October 31, 2009
Caught in a moment of time
We are caught in a moment of time,
Each of us on the road
To the rest of our life,
For some, it may be over tomorrow
For others, many decades to come,
Some of us are nearer the end of our journey,
But whose journey is longest
None can tell,
We are here in this brief moment together,
That is all we know for sure,
What shall we do with it?
“I’m the Mummy!” Halloween memories
October 30, 2009This year, I will see none of my grandkids on Halloween. They live in 3 different states, counting Joseph, my step-grandson. And I am in a 4th.
I am thinking this night of Halloweens past. Let me be a bit self-indulgent.
My husband doesn’t believe in holidays. Nothing in any way not a holiday based on a true meaning. Anything connected to a pagan past, where the church tried to take some ancient ritual and make it into a religious holiday–forget it. Then it’s based on hypocracy.
I agree, but I’m sorry, some holidays are just for fun. I don’t care what it’s history is, really. My kids deserve to dress up and walk a few streets and get some candy too. It’s just fun. So every Halloween, every single year, I walked our kids around the neighborhood. I don’t think they ever went out alone. I always went with them. Alone. And we had fun.
We were always poor in those days when our kids were little. I never had money to go out and buy new costumes. We were always trying to make do with nothing, which meant, buying some silly hat and make-up and trying to make the rest out of old clothes or Dad’s baggy shirts. I feel somewhat bad about that. I suck at making costumes or being imaginative and creative like that. Absolutely horrible. So the kids probably made more of their makeshift outfits than I did. But they went out.
On Perrin Ave., there were a few who really did it up right. One year, a guy sat on his front porch dressed as a mummy. When kids would come up on his porch, just as they were about to ring the doorbell, he would reach out his arm and say, “You want some candy?” Then his kid came out on the porch with a phone and said, “Dad, it’s for you!” The dad tried to ignore him, but the kids said it again. He finally, disgustedly said, “I TOLD you not to bother me!! I’m the mummy!” It was hilarious.
I have never gotten a birthday gift my entire life, from my husband, except a couple times when I think the kids pressured him. When I turned 50, I got roses. That’s because you’re “supposed” to buy gifts on birthdays, and it’s just the greed and materialism of our capitalistic culture that tells us we have to buy someone a gift. No gifts. No Valentine’s Day presents, that’s too expected, no Mother’s Day gifts — that’s Hallmark-made. After awhile I stopped buying him a birthday gift. So we just go out for dinner.
I know his reasoning and it all makes perfect logical sense. But it’s just no fun.
So happy halloween all you little creatures. Be safe. Dress up and pretend, and have fun. Light the pumpkin with a real tea-light candle. 
Boo!
Doctor Grandma 