The Wonder of Writing

Writing to reach you
Originally uploaded by andre_mts.

Writing is the most amazing invention. I mean, the very idea of creating a physical expression of our thoughts and meanings, a physical expression that transcends us and binds us, is staggering. (As a means of recording and storing ideas for later use, it stands virtually unparalleled in the annals of human history. Even on the scale of a single human lifetime, its usefulness and efficiency are incredible.)

My memory for words is ever changing. My french vocabulary, spoken and written, has diminished from lack of use. And yet, were it to remain completely unused for another 50 years and were I then to read a french text, I would immediately recognize those symbols and understand the meaning carried by the words they symbolize.

Writing transcends our own memory. It allows us to leave to posterity a record of our thoughts and ideas which others, in centuries and millenia yet unborn, will be able to recognize and understand and, more important still, will be able to learn from and relate to.

Mona's Dream

Mona Mahmudnizhad was a 16-year old woman who was killed for her beliefs in 1983. Her moving story was told in a 1985 music video called "Mona with the Children." Now, the full story of Mona and her companions will be told in a feature film to be produced this year. Please take a moment to visit the film's site and learn about their story and why they were willing to give their lives.

If — a poem by Rudyard Kipling

What an inspiring poem. Or perhaps it's sad. I haven't decided yet.

Deeper beauty

I quote the NYT:

the world we see around us is, as the Nobel laureate physicist Steven Weinberg has put it, “only an imperfect reflection of a deeper and more beautiful reality.”
(Where Protons Will Play, by Jim Holt, January 14, 2007)

Now doesn't that sound mystical and metaphysical and all that? Incidentally, I'm reading a great book by Dr. John Hatcher titled Close Connections: the Bridge between Spiritual and Physical Reality that goes into some detail about the nature of the link between physical and spiritual reality. Warning: it's for the serious reader only.

My American accent is...

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The West Your accent is the lowest common denominator of American speech. Unless you're a SoCal surfer, no one thinks you have an accent. And really, you may not even be from the West at all, you could easily be from Florida or one of those big Southern cities like Dallas or Atlanta.

What American accent do you have? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

Which Superhero Are You?

From seriousness we turn now to frivolity (what a great word).

Your results:
You are Superman

Superman 80% Spider-Man 65% Robin 62% The Flash 55% Hulk 50% Supergirl 50% Wonder Woman 40% Iron Man 40% Batman 40% Green Lantern 30% Catwoman 20%

You are mild-mannered, good, strong and you love to help others.

Click here to take the Superhero Personality Quiz

Immigration & the Oneness of Mankind

The more I follow the news, the more I realize this is becoming a serious issue in N. America and in Europe. Just this morning, I read an article in the New York Times that highlighted once again how difficult it seems to reconcile human rights with societal obligations. The subject of the article, an African immigrant to Sweden who was appointed minister for integration and gender equality, expresses an opinion which conflicts with that of other immigrants in her country. One recalls also the recent and ongoing debate in the United States about illegal immigrants, the Paris riots last year and the fury over satirical cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad in Denmark.

This question is one I've been thinking about more and more. It is a sign of the integration of the planet into one common land, and it is stretching our political, legal and most importantly our social systems beyond their breaking points. Something is going to have to give. The question that must be answered is this: what happens when my personal beliefs and practices intersect other people's beliefs and practices? The search for a universal set of values that can be adhered to and applied anywhere in the world will have to be recognized and pursued vigorously by leaders of thought and of nations. (I believe Dr. William Hatcher laid a foundation for this in his seminal book Love, Power and Justice: the Dynamics of Authentic Morality.)

As early as 1931, in words at once challenging and prophetic, Shoghi Effendi, the Guardian of the Baha'i Faith, expounded on the principle of the Oneness of Mankind:

Let there be no mistake. The principle of the Oneness of Mankind—the pivot round which all the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh revolve —is no mere outburst of ignorant emotionalism or an expression of vague and pious hope. Its appeal is not to be merely identified with a reawakening of the spirit of brotherhood and good-will among men, nor does it aim solely at the fostering of harmonious cöoperation among individual peoples and nations. Its implications are deeper, its claims greater than any which the Prophets of old were allowed to advance. Its message is applicable not only to the individual, but concerns itself primarily with the nature of those essential relationships that must bind all the states and nations as members of one human family. It does not constitute merely the enunciation of an ideal, but stands inseparably associated with an institution adequate to embody its truth, demonstrate its validity, and perpetuate its influence. It implies an organic change in the structure of present-day society, a change such as the world has not yet experienced. It constitutes a challenge, at once bold and universal, to outworn shibboleths of national creeds—creeds that have had their day and which must, in the ordinary course of events as shaped and controlled by Providence, give way to a new gospel, fundamentally different from, and infinitely superior to, what the world has already conceived. It calls for no less than the reconstruction and the demilitarization of the whole civilized world—a world organically unified in all the essential aspects of its life, its political machinery, its spiritual aspiration, its trade and finance, its script and language, and yet infinite in the diversity of the national characteristics of its federated units.

It represents the consummation of human evolution—an evolution that has had its earliest beginnings in the birth of family life, its subsequent development in the achievement of tribal solidarity, leading in turn to the constitution of the city-state, and expanding later into the institution of independent and sovereign nations.

The principle of the Oneness of Mankind, as proclaimed by Bahá’u’lláh, carries with it no more and no less than a solemn assertion that attainment to this final stage in this stupendous evolution is not only necessary but inevitable, that its realization is fast approaching, and that nothing short of a power that is born of God can succeed in establishing it.

(The World Order of Baha'u'llah, Selected Letters, p. 43)

As I understand them, these statements call for a radical change at all levels of society. Thus the 'problem of immigration' is not separate from other world developments nor will it be solved by the means currently available. No law, no government programme, no call for mutual tolerance and good-will can ultimately succeed in binding together diverse peoples, cultures and nations.

Weihnachtsmarkt

Weihnachtsmarkt
Originally uploaded by International Man of Mystery.

I never could understand how an economy can grow and shrink if the number of people wanting/able to work is roughly constant. Tonight I had a small insight I thought I'd share.

Have you ever noticed how some cities feel so alive and vibrant while others are calm and quiet? I'm sure you have. Well consider two such cities, each the same size and with the same demographics. The vibrant city would have what we'd call a vibrant economy because people are willing and wanting to go out and do things, whereas the quiet city may have a stagnant economy because there isn't a sense of innovation, of creating something new. Hmmm... this seems to tie into my previous post about imagination. Perhaps economic health is related to a people's capacity to imagine, to have hope and faith in better things and to strive for those things.

On the power of Imagination

In the light of Antiquity
Originally uploaded by International Man of Mystery.

The Baha'i Writings state that imagination is one of the mental properties of the soul. The other powers are thought, understanding and memory. Imagination has always struck me as the odd member of this set. It dawns on me however that without the use of the power of imagination, one's life becomes dull. Reading books (particularly novels), watching movies, playing games, ... all these activities exercise the power of imagination. We call it play or leisure and we think it is less important than work, thought, reasoning. The lack of play seriously diminishes one's quality of life, one's ability to envision a better life, one's ability to create and appreciate beauty. Beauty fires the imagination. I want to be surrounded by beauty. And now I realize why it has always seemed so important to me to spend time away from work. To spend time alone, or with friends, to drink coffee, to go for a walk, basically to rest and give my soul a chance to drink from the fountain of beauty and imagination.

Einstein's words in this regard seem particularly apt:
Imagination is more important than knowledge...