You met Mona Mahmoudnejad in my last post (here). At this point in the story, she is 17 years-old, living in Shiraz, expecting to be expelled from her high school because of her Faith, and teaching Bahá’í children’s classes. On the evening of 23 October 1982, Mona was arrested together with her father. Although the… Read More #OurStoryIsOne: Mona Mahmoudnejad, 17 years old (part 2)
Although I was really young, I still remember the phone calls, usually late at night, during which the adults’ voices would increase in pitch: “Allo? Allo? Allo! Iran? Iran?!?” I should have been in bed, but I knew something was up. My memories of course are extremely hazy because I was a toddler, and the… Read More #OurStoryIsOne: Ten Bahá’í Women Martyred in Shiraz 40 Years Ago
One of the most beautiful things about humanity is the diversity of the ways we have come up with for doing the same thing. One easy example: cooking. Various parts of the world do completely different things with the same ingredients, and all have the potential to taste excellent. I for one love having access… Read More The Many Ways of Channelling Beauty
The concept of success is a curious one indeed. I recently ran into someone who asked me how my book was doing. I shared stories about a nine year old girl who found solace in my book because it reflected things she and her friends were going through; about a friend of mine who, after… Read More Redefining our World, one (or two!) Word(s) at a time: Success and Winning
I have had the amazing opportunity, in the last year or so, to both see and be a part of decision-making processes that were very different from what I had experienced previously. Those processes were based on one person convincing the others that his or her opinion was the best. It felt more like a… Read More Why Compete? Building on Strength as an Approach to Seek Truth
Punctuality is considered an important part of the character of a well-rounded person. Many are taught early on that being punctual is important. It reflects our own trustworthiness as well as respect for other people’s times. Many also learn that a pattern of constantly changing plans at the last minute reflects the opposite: that we… Read More The Balancing Act between Punctuality and Flexibility
The scope of the community building process is so large that there is a space for everyone to contribute their talents, whatever this talent might be. One can imagine my relief to know that my love for writing can be used for this same purpose. The question of course then becomes how. There is always… Read More Writing about the Normal Rather than the Abnormal: Youth Can Move the World
While not a parent myself, the well-being of children is a heartfelt concern of mine, increasingly so as more and more of my friends are having babies. While the Baha’i Writings offer excellent guidance on how to raise children, there is still a wide breadth of options available within it. And so, it is not… Read More It Takes a Village to Raise a Child: One Way We Can Contribute
As a blogger, I have gone through many phases. A recent one was defined by anger at the various and unfortunately numerous forms of injustice that exist. Long-time readers have commented on it before, and it has led to many an interesting, if not heated, discussion. While anger might light a fire in someone’s heart… Read More Reaching Over the Anger: Building on a Common Desire
I previously blogged about how stifling it can be, having too many ideas, and how it has led to periods during which I would not post much, if anything. I have entered such a period again. I blame my awesome friends for the amazing, eye-opening conversations we have been having! One recent conversation in particular… Read More World Peace: It Just Might be Even Simpler that We Thought…