A different perspective in changing times
Now I am in a faith that has its own religious holidays, and Christmas isn't one of them. We don't have anything that is similar that occurs around the same time of year. We celebrate the Birth of the Bab on 20 October and the Birth of Baha'u'llah on 12 November, and we have a time for gift giving during Ayyam-i-ha, which runs from 26 February to 1 March, but that's not considered a holiday.
So then, where does Christmas belong in my heart?
Christmas Eve is one of those in-between days that people haven't quite figured out what to do with. Is it a holiday or not, or is it maybe a "half-day?" For me, it was a regular workday. Which didn't really bother me.
One of the reasons for my recent lame posting habits has been lack of sleep. It used to be that my sleep habits resembled that of the baby dolls many remember playing with as children. Make the doll horizontal and the eyes close. If you made me horizontal, I'd be out like a light. But not recently.
Reflecting on my one year has a Baha'i seems like the appropriate thing to do for my final NaBloPoMo post. It's snowing out on this quiet afternoon, I have a Christmas CD on, and I'm in the mood for writing.
I must admit that I was a bit nervous about posting that I felt the presence of God while in the Baha'i Temple yesterday. There's the notion of believing in God, but it feels like I'm walking a razor-thin line when I say that I've experienced God. That kind of stuff can get you in trouble. As such, I feel like I need to expound more on this subject.
If someone tells me they are having a negative experiences with something, I'm inclined not to question it in most cases. I can never claim to be able to put myself fully in someone else's shoes, and as such I am inclined to validate their feelings and experiences unless I have really good reason not to.
Living in this neighborhood, I frequently smell wood smoke--more often than I have in other places I've lived. I've also seen some rather huge bonfires in people's back yards and sometimes even front yards. I've looked at some of these fires and said to myself, "This can't be legal."
We talked about the objections to the name change at the house meeting, though almost half the house was absent from that meeting. We lacked quorum, and as such, could not make any official decisions. But we talked about the issue and we agreed that we should both talk with the concerned individuals one-on-one and also develop a unified house statement which, unfortunately, we could not develop that evening.
I walked outside my old co-op house at about 7 p.m. tonight and was delighted to see cascades of snowflakes falling from the sky. The streetlamps lighting up downtown Madison revealed night air filled with little moving white dots that felt as alive as they were quiet. They were sticking to the ground and making lawns, cars, and rooftops white, but not really accumulating much beyond that.
It is taking a while for it to fully register what has just happened.