[#12]
hey dear readers! so normally i don't really write much to accompany my HERE'S TO LONGING friday pieces, but this week, i felt the need to. i was with my dearest cousin, razi yesterday in 100* heat having amazing dialogues and being really honest with one another. it felt so good to just admit aloud some of the things i've been challenged with. and isn't it funny -- at least it happens to me -- where any time you verbalize your feelings or your tests, or your pains and vulnerabilities, that in some really huge ways, the weight has been lifted, your face feels less strained, your shoulders looser, your inner being lighter.
i hope that you all have someone with which you can trust to speak your mind, speak whats on your heart and the other person listens, receives, responds and loves. i am so thankful in my life that i have an incredible army of people with whom this is true.
while we were talking yesterday, razi introduced me to this mindblowingly amazingly powerful quote by Abdu'l-Baha, son of Baha'u'llah [Prophet Founder of the Baha'i Faith]. then after reading the quote aloud, i realized that this was the perfect longing piece to share this week. i hope you resonate with it, and if so, tell me a little more!
it goes like this:
"The spirit is like the bird; when it flies in the air it is always mounting, but the self is like the hunter who is thinking how to catch the bird. You will see that by one arrow, one shot, it will be brought low. This arrow is the connection with this world, the occupations of this world, the desires of this world, the honors of this world. In many ways the hunter will stop the spirit from ascending. That is why you must ask and implore and retreat: "O God! Protect me from myself".
no words, dear readers, no words for this. wow.
3 comments:
Powerful juxtaposition of words and photo--deeply moving! I survived bullying as a child and it's not hard to see how a lot of the savagery and injustice starts on the school playground--with parents and those with the power to stop it say, "well, that's what children do." I will say that I'm a better person for having endured it--otherwise I'd be like one of those parents! I'm glad there's greater awareness of the impact of bullying today.
Oh Layli! I LOVE it. I have never seen this Quote - beautiful! I really like your photo and the words that you placed with it. They are words spoken to one's self and reminders to remain detached. Our thoughts and the relationships we have with anger, anxiety, ego and doubt victimize and isolate us. By speaking about them, and the bad advice and lies these emotions give us, we feel a sense of release and lightness because they lose their power. Lovely job, precious girl!
thank you steve! i am so sorry that you had to endure bullying as a child. i am so happy you enjoyed this post!
tabasom - YOU GOT IT. EXACTLY. seriously. if i were to explain to someone what that photo means to me, that is basically exactly what i'd say. you are brilliant. xoox
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