Mid-Summer Night's Dream...

Bahji, Israel

Courtesy Paul Aziz Netherwood

via Nineteen Months

Once a home, always home... now it's just closer than my life's vein.

Wise Guy...

Just Einstein - No Biggie

Pretty sure that Albert Einstein is one of my all-time favorite people. Sense of humor, deeply spiritual, didn't take himself too seriously...? So awesome.

A Year in the Life....

A year ago, dear friends, I left the Holy Land.... seeking parts unknown in places I navigate with my eyes closed. And so began a year of transition. In many ways I feel like I had unrealistic expectations [6 months. Definitely only 6 months and then I'm good to go!] - but I've been learning how to be more gentle and understanding with myself.

 East.

West.

Some funny and some true stories (anecdotes? tales?) from my year of transition:

It may be helpful to know that, while I moved nearly every year as a kid, I did most of my "growing up" in Orange County... and yet people still ask me where I'm from. I know that the Baha'i World Centre has its own accent going on [the result of the in-gathering of hundreds of people from hundreds of countries communicating and making themselves understood in a single language]. It's somewhat a mash-up of the Commonwealth accents, with incredibly heavy American overtones - and all sentences end up sounding like a question, as though you're making doubly sure that everyone understands you. So yeah. We sound (to my ears) Canadian. Many people have confused me for a well-educated mainland European ex-pat who either went to an American school or watched a grip of American TV.

When I slide into my BWC accent (never apurpose, I assure you) lately, however - local folks ask me if I'm French. French. Well, merci beaucoup to you and you and you! [But it's still weird. Trust.]

I really (really) love the service opportunities I have here. You should know that I miss Haifa, like, e.v.e.r.y.d.a.y - but! I had a really interesting dream yesterday (the actual and factual one year anniversary of my last day in Israel). I dreamed that I was back in Haifa, and I really felt like a fish in water - so natural to be there, and 2 weeks into my visit... I was offered a chance to stay. Permanently. And my first thought to the people I serve with here. To the children and youth I mentor (but who really mentor me), to the friends who help me - everyday - to be the best person I can possibly be... and without hesitation, I felt that I should decline the offer. An offer that at alternating points in the last year I'd have jumped at. I'm not saying that missing the Holy Land is easy... but I realize that (particularly as a result of prayer and service) it is closer to me than my life's vein. Confirmations abound.

This has been a year of learning for me. Learning how to be a gentler person, learning how to detach from those things you thought would make you whole... would make me better, learning how to learn. Road rage is an irksome beast... but there's always the hope that my next community will have public transportation and be pedestrian friendly! Until then, if you happen to be in south Orange County, don't cut off the girl in the '90 Ford Bronco. The Bruiser doesn't slow as quickly as some would like!

For Serious...

 Mid-hike photo-op...

 More nature exploration... this time: tide pools in Dana Point, CA

 Junior Youth and animators in the park...

Thinking 'outside of the box' about the creation of a moral structure...

So I have been taking a small hiatus from 'sharing deep thoughts with the internets' as of late... but I have been roused from my figurative slumber.

You may wonder why I include pictures in which I am in full-swing field trip mode (errr... exploring nature!) and frolicking in the park. Well, that's because those are the pictures that tend to survive such things as children's classes and junior youth spiritual empowerment programs.... 

But I think the fact that they are not very remarkable at all, other than as mementos to those actually in the pictures, is what makes what I'm about to tell you all the more profound.

7 youth and young adults were arrested in Iran (at least one is being held in Evin Prison in Tehran) on Monday for doing the exact same thing you see my friends and I doing in the pictures above.

Again? Okay... 7 youth were arrested on Monday for such crimes against humanity as teaching children's classes and for empowering junior youth. They might also have had the crazy notion that they should go to university.

Service to one's community and seeking higher education are not the hallmarks of criminal activity... but those arrested happen to be Baha'i. Like me. If you, like me, recognize the injustice in this treatment of Iran's largest religious minority, I encourage you to speak out - city officials, congress persons and representatives, news sources, your FB wall (or twitter, tumblr, blogspot, wordpress site). Tell your friends and family!

The internet is a useful medium, and your voice is a powerful tool. To Justice!

May I Present....

So remember all of that exciting news I mentioned? This is a small part of it: the tip of the excitement iceberg? Okay. Weird analogies aside - I was in a play last weekend.

Set in 1912, the play chronicles the events surrounding Abdu'l-Baha's epic visit to the West and the profound impact that visit had on the early American Baha'i community. I had the opportunity to play Juliet Thompson - and had so much fun working with my new friends! [ps. we are none of us professional actors - but we had a GREAT time!]

 Backstage: finishing touches complete!

 This is one of my favorite photos!

Lua! (she seemed to say)

 Meeting the press...

 Candid shots (amidst the melee) are the best!

 With our director!

 Catching some pre-show vitamin D

 Last minute running of lines

"...I have a confession to make"

 The ladies

 Nancy, chilling in the green room

Painter's bag: check!

In case there was any confusion... my favorite part might be the dressing up part. Just saying.

Lend Me Your Ears...!

Ashley Judd is my new hero.

Seriously. The mind trip that our culture puts us through - that we have been trained to put ourselves through (!!) - is crippling. Crippling in every way, shape and form.

That she would passionately and eloquently challenge cultural norms is, to me, so completely inspirational. You can read more about it here.

...because sharing is caring.

Thank You For Taking Action...

Education Under Fire

Most of you who know me know that I am a member of the Baha'i Faith. It is, after all, the reason I spent 4 glorious years living in Haifa, Israel and the reason why I continue to incorporate service to my community in my daily life. If you check in here periodically, or if you read the news... you'll know that the Baha'i community in Iran is under intense scrutiny and that members of that community face persecution daily.

One of the most tragic ways that the Iranian government seeks to cripple the Baha'i community in their country is through the blatant denial of access to higher education. Yes, you heard me right. All Baha'is are summarily denied access to college or university education.

Ever resilient, Baha'i students have managed to matriculate remotely through accredited universities in the United States and elsewhere - clearly via distance learning. [Three cheers for technology].

Now the government of Iran is arresting these students, their mentors, and even their lawyer in further attempts to quash their spirit.

So I have joined thousands of people, including Nobel Laureates Desmond Tutu and Jose Ramos-Horta, in a call for change. A peaceful request that all students in Iran be treated with justice, equality and fairness.

What number will you be?

Monday Morning Musings...

Courtesy C'etait Salement Romantique

The more I read about Marilyn Monroe, the more I think I would really have liked to be her friend.

Like a Boss...!

Courtesy A Cup of Jo

So I just finished Tina Fey's classic rendition of her life until now: Bossy Pants. As she predicted, I borrowed it from "a woman at work"... and I loved it!

I particularly love the way that she talks about the women she has worked with: everyone from YMCA ticket takers to Amy Poehler. She's totally respectful of their work and talks of their contributions with a sort of dignity that more people should use. And her bold assertion of how we need to not tear each other down all of the time made me want to vote for her.

Another awesome woman on the topic of "why we don't ask Donald Trump what it feels like to be the boss of all those people" (that's me, paraphrasing Tina Fey) is Nicki Minaj. Whose body of work I honestly don't know that well. But I like what she has to say about the difference in attitudes about what happens when a man tells it how it is... and when a woman does it. You can watch the interview here.

#Baws.

...Keeps the Doctor Away

All images courtesy {this is glamorous}

Notwithstanding the fact that I own (and am still learning to properly use) an iPhone... this article from Saturday's NYTimes gives me serious pause when I consider the incredible mark up. [Workers in China who build the fancy gadgetry we're gaga over earn $17 a day.]

But the folks at Apple do know a thing or six about design. I present to you the Apple store in Paris.

Forks Over Knives...

Have you seen this movie?! I totally plan to. If you're up for a movie night, holler at your girl.

Carrot sticks are the new popcorn?

Lead On...!

Courtesy Melody Ehsani

Words and their definitions really fascinate and amuse me. And they lead my thoughts in new and sometimes unusual directions... which is always good because it's important to keep your mind nimble. So there you go.

Today's word of the day is more interesting for the root of its definition... more than for the definition itself. To wit:

educe [ih-DOOS], verb:

Related to educate, educe is derived from the Latin roots ex- meaning "out" and ducere meaning "to lead." Shakespeare was the first writer to use it in the sense of "to provide schooling" in Loves Labours Lost.

So if educate and educe are essentially "to lead out"... then what are leaders meant to do? And how are we to treat our educators? And what of curriculum? How can students be effectively "led out" if we insist on recycling lessons designed simply to lead them to a single test and a limited outcome?

Kind of interesting thoughts in this time of political maneuvering, no?

Arts and Crafts...

Courtesy Luckybeans

So now that I'm back in the States, one of my favorite things to do is to work with the children and youth in my area - learning cool things and making new friendships. Accordingly, I'm always on the lookout for cool arts and craft ideas or science experiments to try.

And one of the best sources I've found is Luckybeans.

You know... just paying it forward: one creative person to another!

P.S. Children's Class is totally making these stars this week: for my shining stars!

On A Moment of Silence...

What does a bill like PIPA/SOPA mean to our shareable world? At the TED offices, Clay Shirky delivers a proper manifesto -- a call to defend our freedom to create, discuss, link and share, rather than passively consume.

Freedom of speech is something that I sincerely hold dear... I don't sneak around whispering at home, and I won't sneak around whispering on the internet, either.

Also, for those of you not in the States: look alive. They're the world wide interwebs....

Little By Little, Day By Day...

via Bitte Ein Kuss

Some friends and I began studying a book in the Ruhi series this weekend. We're learning to elevate our levels of conversation with the aim of having an impact on the discourse of society. Excepting myself and 1 other, everyone studying this book is in high school. I have the highest faith in their talents and capacities to effect a paradigm shift in our culture.

One of the things we read last night really stuck with me.

"O wayfarer in the path of God! Take thou thy portion of the ocean of His grace, and deprive not thyself of the things that lie hidden in its depths. Be thou of them that have partaken of its treasures. A dewdrop out of this ocean would, if shed upon all that are in the heavens and on the earth, suffice to enrich them with the bounty of God, the Almighty, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise. With the hands of renunciation draw forth from its life-giving waters, and sprinkle therewith all created things, that they may be cleansed from all man-made limitations and may approach the mighty seat of God, this hallowed and resplendent Spot."

From the Writings of Baha'u'llah

Bon Jour, Mes Amis...

Courtesy the perennially lovely Garonce Dore.

So I'm looking at studying a new foreign language this year... and it's a toss between French and Italian. I know. My house is an hour from Mexico - why not Spanish? Or why not solidify the tenuous grasp I have of German, Persian or Hebrew? All excellent questions.

I'm in the process of learning Spanish with a friend, so this frees me up for a concentration in either French or Italian.

It sounds a little zany, even to me (my iPhone doesn't hold regular conversations with me, afterall - yet?), but I think my google.reader has a pretty strong opinion on the language I learn. Because I look at so many blogs [definitely not because I'm lazy], I like everything in one place. One of my favorite fashion blogs is Garance Dore - who, despite currently living in NYC, just so happens to be French. Long story short, I accepted google.reader's offer of translation.

Except it now tries to translate everything else I look at into English.

I know, you may be wondering how many French language blogs I read. Just the one. And yes, that means that my reader sees the English on the page as French and translates it to... English. At first I thought that everyone had gone off their rocker - it is, to a line, idiomatically and grammatically incorrect. But now the fun game is to figure out what the writers were meaning to write when they wrote what they wrote.

Quirky brainteasers aside... any plans for 2012?

I Can't Get No...

Courtesy Samimi-Extremie

Wow. This is likely the best thing I could have seen today. I've been thinking a lot about resolutions: who I want to be and how to get there.... And I realize that I need to do what ever it takes to stay hungry for more. Knowledge. Love. Understanding. Movement. Growth.

So this year I resolve to give thanks for the people in my life who help my wounded spirit try again in those instances I pause too long, get too comfortable and backslide.

Anthropology...

A hilarious ethnography on upper-middle class (lower upper class?) urban women who are kind of liberal but whose friends all look like them.

Even though I'm only kind of liberal, I realize that I've said everything in here at least once - with the exception of the stink-eye aided "I'm on the phone" ...because that's just rude.

And to all of my friends who work in computers, I'm sorry.

...Let There Be Light

Maybe it's because these photos from NASA (courtesy A Cup Of Jo) are so lovely and serene, or maybe it's because our days will start to get longer and warmer (crosses fingers...) - but I feel a little reflection is in order.

East

West

So the biggest change in my life this year is the cross-globe move I made from Israel to the States at the beginning of August. I tell you that there was not a small amount of nervous excitement in that move. But I'm finding that the smaller ripple changes that resulted from that move have been correspondingly profound.

One of my biggest challenges has been holding on to the lessons of material detachment I learned (emphasis on earned) in Israel, particularly now that I'm living in a capitalistic society again. Being able to put that lesson to the test, so to speak, really makes me proud of myself. I also find that I'm thinking about and appreciating the idea of capitalism in a much different way... mostly by reevaluating what it is that I'd like to foster and invest in.

Which brings me to the true joy I've found in my new "extra-curricular" activities. At least once a week (but now that school is done, I aim to spend more time), I work some of the smartest, coolest, and kindest people I've ever met. As a team, we're learning how change our culture and society in positive ways: we examine things like the effects of unity and friendship versus the destructive effects of gossip and "cliques". We think about our impact on the world socially, materially, and spiritually and really think long and hard about the kind of people we want to be: how to be a true friend; how to be wise stewards of our environment.

I am learning so much from these people, who, by the by, are between the ages of 9 and 11.

Spend some quality learning time with children and youth, yourselves - it's the best investment I've ever made!

The Wednes Monster...

Okay. I know... sometimes my ability to be corny and to abuse any and all "pun making" privileges astounds even myself. But I have my very last class and final today... and I'm a little giddy. It may or may not have something to do with the fact that in order to work my full day of work and still get to class on time, I have to come in to work at 5. In the am. As in "oh -dark-thirty" for those of you on military time. But my early morning, first cup of coffee thoughts led me in the direction of how similar Wednes and Loch Ness are - and why do we say "wins-day"?

So I guess we can say that my ability to run with a tangent is equally astounding.

Which brings me to the impetus for this little post. This song is the business. It is equal parts meditation and inspiration - really excellent for all kinds of things. Like writing papers, cramming for finals and/or working.

Big shout out to El Ten Eleven for being awesome and just what I needed. Cheers.