Bliss

I already shared in the Brimmering post how moved I was by the purity of heart of some of the youth I met and spent time with recently in the UK.  But there is more. 

I have been serving at the Baha'i World Centre for three years and during my time here many close friends have come and gone, and I have only ever cried once--saying goodbye to two of the first people who befriended me my first week here and who were my favorite couple at the World Centre.

Just once in three years. 

So last week two brothers who were participants at the UK seminar came to visit their oldest brother who is serving here.  I got to spend a little more time with them and May so it was a mini-retreat back into the feelings we experienced during those 11 days gathered together at Arundel.  The day they came by my office to say goodbye, I cried.

I thought about this for a long time.  Why in three years saying goodbye to some of my favorite people in the world had I not been moved to tears, but saying goodbye to these two sweet brothers I felt such profound sadness?

I thought about the bonds that forged our friendship.  Twenty-two days (including the previous year) spent together learning about transformation, about building the world anew, about sacrifice and devotion, about seeing the nobility in each and every  human being, about increasing our love for God, about expressing that love in serviceto humanity, to His loved ones. 

Yesterday I was studying a letter from Shoghi Effendi where he speaks of the urgency of the hour and tells us that "all, without exception and in every sphere of activity, however modest, restricted, or inconspicuous, must participate and labor, assiduously and continually, until every ounce of our energy is spent, until, tired but blissful, our promised harvest is brought in, and our pledge to our Beloved fully redeemed."  

Tired but blissful... I never understood until very recently in my life exactly how blissful service can be.  Exhausting.  Sometimes very challenging.  But serving alongside people like the youth I have met at all the seminars?  Forging deep and enduring bonds of friendship and affection grounded in love for God? 

Bliss.   

Image courtesy May Lample

Image courtesy Erfan Fadaei

Image courtesy Erfan Fadaei






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