Playthings of the Ignorant November 4, 2008

Have you ever done what I was doing the other night – gone through an old photo album and been horrified at the clothes you were wearing?
What was I thinking? How could pink leg warmers ever have been attractive? Or pastel-toned lycra shell-suits? Not to mention the hairstyles!  What was that windswept Farrah Fawcett [...]

Physical and spiritual power November 3, 2008

Have you ever forgotten something really important in your life? We may forget birthdays or anniversaries, but would anyone forget how much they have in the bank?
Our life is totally dependent on money, but only up to a point, because, as the saying goes, you can’t take it with you.
The Egyptian Pharaohs certainly didn’t take anything [...]

It’s wonderful October 31, 2008

Philip was an elderly Bahá’í friend who passed away a few years ago. He was a colourful, larger-than-life American who made everybody laugh. One of his favourite expressions, which captures his life right to the end, was: “It’s wonderful.”
Even as Philip lay dying, his wife told me that he kept saying: “It’s wonderful” over and over again, [...]

Suffering for perfection October 30, 2008

A few weeks back, while reading a book by Somerset Maugham,  I was struck by a comment made by one of the characters about suffering. He said: “It’s not true that suffering ennobles the character; happiness does that sometimes, but suffering, for the most part, makes men petty and vindictive.”
Well, I have to say it got [...]

Investigation and immersion October 27, 2008

I am often asked how an Irish Catholic girl ended up a Bahá’í. Well, I was always a questioning type, even to the point of being called a doubting Thomas. But that’s no surprise, since asking questions about your religion in Ulster can be seen as a lack of faith.
It’s sometimes assumed that religion is what [...]

Diving for pearls October 24, 2008

A young graduate friend of ours has escaped the rat race for a few months and opted for life on the paradise island of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean. He’s involved in a conservation project there and I’ve already received three postcards from him. These were no “wish-you-were-here” greetings – but in-depth accounts of his deep [...]

Grains of Wheat October 21, 2008

I watched a programme on TV recently about an exciting discovery in an ancient tomb. In among all the gold and treasures, they also found some grains of wheat. And why are grains of wheat worth mentioning?
Well, as you can imagine, these were special grains. Not only were they two thousand years old, but scientists managed [...]