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Thoughts for the New Year
Dec. 31st, 2004 03:20 pmWell, this isn't really my new year (that's in March - March 21, the vernal equinox), but I can't pretend to be completely apart from the society in which I live, so I like to think of it as a sort of mini new year. I focus most of my thoughts of self-renewal and self-assessment during the Fast (which precedes the Baha'i New Year) of course, but I still like to take some time to think about and gather my energies for the upcoming year at the Gregorian calendar New Year.
This morning my family and I sat together and said some prayers (including some for those hit by the tsunami) together and visited for a while, and we read a quote that I found quite inspirational and thought I would share with all of you.
"O ye beloved of the Lord! Commit not that which defileth the limpid stream of love or destroyeth the sweet fragrance of friendship. By the righteousness of the Lord! Ye were created to show love one to another and not perversity and rancour. Take pride not in love for yourselves but in love for your fellow-creatures. Glory not in love for your country, but in love for all mankind. Let your eye be chaste, your hand faithful, your tongue truthful and your heart enlightened."
- Baha'u'llah, Tablets of Baha'u'llah, p. 138-139
I'm a very blunt and opinionated person and sometimes come across as harsh when I'm sharing my thoughts and feelings with others. Lots of times I also speak without thinking, so things come across differently than I really intend. It's something I've been working on and will continue to work on, but it's hard sometimes not to get caught up in feeling bad about how I say things. I try to always be aware of my motivations (as much as I can; that's also something I will always be learning how to do) and be sure that I am motivated by love. Anyway, I'm hoping to focus on the thoughts in the quote above, remembering that we were created to "show love one to another". So I guess you could say that's my New Year's resolution.
Happy New Year everyone!
This morning my family and I sat together and said some prayers (including some for those hit by the tsunami) together and visited for a while, and we read a quote that I found quite inspirational and thought I would share with all of you.
"O ye beloved of the Lord! Commit not that which defileth the limpid stream of love or destroyeth the sweet fragrance of friendship. By the righteousness of the Lord! Ye were created to show love one to another and not perversity and rancour. Take pride not in love for yourselves but in love for your fellow-creatures. Glory not in love for your country, but in love for all mankind. Let your eye be chaste, your hand faithful, your tongue truthful and your heart enlightened."
- Baha'u'llah, Tablets of Baha'u'llah, p. 138-139
I'm a very blunt and opinionated person and sometimes come across as harsh when I'm sharing my thoughts and feelings with others. Lots of times I also speak without thinking, so things come across differently than I really intend. It's something I've been working on and will continue to work on, but it's hard sometimes not to get caught up in feeling bad about how I say things. I try to always be aware of my motivations (as much as I can; that's also something I will always be learning how to do) and be sure that I am motivated by love. Anyway, I'm hoping to focus on the thoughts in the quote above, remembering that we were created to "show love one to another". So I guess you could say that's my New Year's resolution.
Happy New Year everyone!
