I walked a mile at Wal-Mart tonight, not
inside but out -- in the parking lot. I
measured it with the van’s odometer, put on my hat and scarf and my $16 knock-off
mP3 player from Hong Kong and stepped out into
the night, flashlight in hand so I wouldn’t get hit with parking lot traffic.
I do this because I need to, I’m diabetic,
type II - and exercise, mainly walking, is the best thing for it, cardio-workout and all that. And besides
avoiding chocolate candy, ice cream, cookies and other no-no’s it helps to keep
my blood glucose level down and shed some pounds at the same time. But the fresh night air makes it all
worthwhile with my favorite tunes playing in my own ear buds’ music studio.
But what I really want to say is what’s inside my head and heart while all this
is going on outside. A warm sense of
gratitude comes over me at times like this and my mind flashes from one moment
in my life to another with emotions churning and filling me with wonder that
I’m still alive at all! Not to mention
being happy with my life, my family and friends, my work, my music, my hobbies
and always trying to learn about and practice more of the teachings of the Bahá’í
Faith. I have several Bahá’í prayers in
my mind and heart which well up within me, giving comfort, clarity and
direction, sorting out all those moments from the Past and present with all
their bittersweet recollections of people and places from bygone times.
At this particular moment I’m feeling a bit overly serious about all
this reflection, so maybe it’s time for a little relief. A reporter from the big city asked an
old-time Mainer sitting out on his porch, “Have you lived all your life in
these parts?” And the gentleman
responded, “Not yet…”
And that’s’ about how I feel at this moment. Looking forward as much as back, knowing that
in December, coming up later this year, I’ll be singing, “Will you still need
me, will you still feed me…?” and feeling like it’s a true miracle how rich
life has been and seems to continue to improve.
We did have the “empty nest” for a short while and happily our daughter
and two beautiful grandchildren have made sure that we always remember our
child- rearing years!! I can’t say that
our home was quiet before - we always have had music playing either live or
recorded, and Leona has learned and perfected playing the 5-string Banjo in the
past five years, and we have the piano, a
keyboard and guitars are always handy - but there’s nothing quiet like the
laughter and unabashed playfulness of tw young girls, 3 and 7 – to keep things
lively!!!
Lastly tonight as I review this epistle, I
have been strangely moved by the reading of a very special Biography of the
Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith, Shoghi
Effendi, who did more in a short lifetime (he passed away at just 60 years
of age in 1957) for the future of humanity and our beloved planet Earth, than anyone
will ever know until future historians can get a clear perspective on the
evolution of Unity among all the races and nations of our world, still enveloped
in the painful birth pangs of a New World Order that Shoghi Effect propelled
with a “quantum leap” into a viable, functioning and divinely ordained
Administrative Order, outlined by the Prophet-Founder, of the Bahá’í Faith, Bahá’u’lláh
and His Son, the Perfect Exemplar of His Teachings, ‘Abdul’-Bahá during the past 150 years – with very few of our
world’s leaders, religious or political
have even begun to peruse.
So tonight I am a grateful man, with so much to be thankful for and so
much to look forward to. Please God may
I walk the straight path and keep my sights on the beautiful sun-lit horizon of
the Dawn of Peace and Unity for our beloved earthly home…. ‘night all
Larry
South Berwick, Maine
PS - these are my own thoughts and reflections not official viewpoints of the Bahá'í Faith, for further study of the Bahá'í teachings please check <www.bahai.us>
