Song of Nightingale

  I used to flop at mindfulness. Sometimes I still do. But this has been a good year (I know, I sound like a potato harvest). The notion of mindfulness, with its deep roots in the Buddhist tradition, is indeed a profound and powerful idea. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá reminds the Bahá’ís too that “prayer and fasting is the cause…

“…were all the sorrows of the world to be crowded into my heart they would, I feel, all vanish, when in the presence of Bahá’u’lláh. It is as if I had entered Paradise.” – Prince Zaynu’l-‘Abidín Khan The calmness and serenity of the infant was such as to amaze the mother. Khadijih Khanum could not recall if he…

“His life is one of the most magnificent examples of courage which it has been the privilege of mankind to behold…” – A.L.M. Nicolas What would call for a musketry of 750 riflemen to riddle a mild-mannered young man of thirty-one, a kindly demeanour and a peaceful purpose to a pulp of flesh and bone? What would cause a…

“Why do we suffer?” is one of the most human of queries. Without fail, we tend to ask the question in the 1st person: “Why me?”  But what about the 3rd? “Why they?” Why is it always the greedy varlet that winds up blessed with superb health and abundant wealth, and the meek tiller of a barren field who dies…

“If religion becomes the cause of enmity and bloodshed, then irreligion is to be preferred. For religion is the remedy for every ailment, and if a remedy should become the cause of ailment and difficulty, it is better to abandon it.” – ‘Abdu’l-Bahá (1844-1921) My sister lives in Norway with her family right in the…

“We spend our lives trying to unlock the mystery of the universe, but there was a prisoner in Akka, Palestine, who had the Key.” – Leo Tolstoy, 1908   A prisoner once wrote to a queen. His hands were shaking. The trembling was not due to fear nor trepidation. The ill-effects of the poisoned food…

Sam
about

Sam Karvonen

A globe-trotter, a truth-seeker and a wise-cracker. A ridiculously fortunate husband and a thoroughly entertained father undeservedly worshipped as a hero. I mean, can you boast a fan club of one? Oh, and a Bahá'í of course.

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