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Its amazing how incredibly appreciated a little kindness, honesty, trustworthiness… basically any small but direct application of the virtues we are asked to incorporate into our lives… how incredibly far we can go in applying them. It seems too ridiculously simple. And in my naïveté’s(sp) (innocence maybe?... well... nahh... immaturity?... maybe...) I always, even this far into my life, assume that the virtues were basically the default mode for those I am surrounded by… that this is what most use and operate with as a base and that there were a rogue few who didn’t. The reality is that it is the rogue few that who do and most don’t for the most part… This is how it seems to me anyway... maybe it's just jaded filters I have
have developed… And I am constantly in awe how we people respond to these virtues applied, how immediate the response is...
It's also really interesting to see how awkward things can become right at the point where someone realizes that some virtue is being applied to them… they react semi defensively… "don’t go out of your way", "no rush", "don’t worry about me", etc… Or a suspicious mode kicks in… "he’s being nice… what does he want?" … and atleast for me the moment gets awkward… and it's those moments when I pray and hope that I can keep acting in the same way, that I won't disappoint them as well as letting myself down ... I tell myself the best thing is to just keep going… executing in the same way and show, demonstrate, exemplify, embody, illustrate, and make obvious the motives of the act... and well... sometimes I do and sometimes I don't. 
But again, it seems so ridiculously simple... apply the virtues in our dealings with others and with ourselves and everything will glide... And yet I keeping asking myself, why is it so foreign or strange a concept? Why aren't we talking more about it? Why aren't our conversations filled with new ways of applying these concepts? Is the weather really that important?
Ok, I am rambling... sorry but I just started a new job a couple of months ago and I am in the throws of establishing new relationships and connections. It's just so interesting to watch this process... both within me and other's reactions... And now with those random thoughts come some random pics
I had to include some visuals of the energy we battle against each night that consistently starts with the words, "ok guys... c'mon. Let's get ready for bed" 
A month ago or so I finally went out and found a new replacement bike for the old Kona that I retired in Costa Rica... The Kona is still operational and I left it in the attic for David to try to tempt him to taste the sweetness of the trails he has at his disposal there in Ciudad Colon (or something like that... David do whatever you want with the thing...). The bike was a birthday gift from Britt, Ericka and Alfie. I had only a few quick chances to "estrenar" the new bike and all the rides I did were by myself. Today Alfie and I went and pounded the stuffing out of ourselves for 3 hours on trails that start right from the house. Here are the before pics. Meanwhile, since the kids were at the friend's Aiden's house for most of the day, Britt took her bike down the hill to Amherst and rode from there to the town of Northampton 8 miles away and back. Then she went on for another 10 miles or so more on the bike path going the other way. We all came back exhausted but happy. Alfter all the past month's activities, it seems as though we are all beginning to take our first deep breaths, the air goes in alot smoother, the rhythm a bit more constant, the heart a bit calmer, the buzzing in our ears subsiding, the pace slowing slightly, and the souls getting a bit lighter. The process will go on for a while but the beginnings of it are starting to be felt. 
The memorial service was followed the next day by a small ceremony that consisted of a Baha'i prayer, a song and the spreading of part of his ashes at the top of a mountain here called Sugarloaf. Alfie and Ericka sang Steal Away and I read a prayer that Britt picked out which I include below
O Thou, my God! Who guidest the seeker to the pathway that leadeth aright, Who deliverest the lost and blinded soul out of the wastes of perdition, Thou Who bestowest upon the sincere great bounties and favors, Who guardest the frightened within Thine impregnable refuge, Who answerest, from Thine all-highest horizon, the cry of those who cry out unto Thee. Praised be Thou, O my Lord! Thou hast guided the distracted out of the death of unbelief, and hast brought those who draw nigh unto Thee to the journey's goal, and hast rejoiced the assured among Thy servants by granting them their most cherished desires, and hast, from Thy Kingdom of beauty, opened 167 before the faces of those who yearn after Thee the gates of reunion, and hast rescued them from the fire of deprivation and loss - so that they hastened unto Thee and gained Thy presence, and arrived at Thy welcoming door, and received of gifts an abundant share.
O my Lord, they thirsted, Thou didst lift to their parched lips the waters of reunion. O Tender One, Bestowing One, Thou didst calm their pain with the balm of Thy bounty and grace, and didst heal their ailments with the sovereign medicine of Thy compassion. O Lord, make firm their feet on Thy straight path, make wide for them the needle's eye, and cause them, dressed in royal robes, to walk in glory for ever and ever.
Verily, Thou art the Generous, the Ever-Forgiving, the Precious, the Most Bountiful. There is none other God but Thee, the Mighty, the Powerful, the Exalted, the Victorious.
- 'Abdu'l-Bahá 168
Its amazing how incredibly appreciated a little kindness, honesty, trustworthiness… basically any small but direct application of the virtues we are asked to incorporate into our lives… how incredibly far we can go in applying them. It seems too ridiculously simple. And in my naïveté’s(sp) (innocence maybe?... well... nahh... immaturity?... maybe...) I always, even this far into my life, assume that the virtues were basically the default mode for those I am surrounded by… that this is what most use and operate with as a base and that there were a rogue few who didn’t. The reality is that it is the rogue few that who do and most don’t for the most part… This is how it seems to me anyway... maybe it's just jaded filters I have
have developed… And I am constantly in awe how we people respond to these virtues applied, how immediate the response is...
It's also really interesting to see how awkward things can become right at the point where someone realizes that some virtue is being applied to them… they react semi defensively… "don’t go out of your way", "no rush", "don’t worry about me", etc… Or a suspicious mode kicks in… "he’s being nice… what does he want?" … and atleast for me the moment gets awkward… and it's those moments when I pray and hope that I can keep acting in the same way, that I won't disappoint them as well as letting myself down ... I tell myself the best thing is to just keep going… executing in the same way and show, demonstrate, exemplify, embody, illustrate, and make obvious the motives of the act... and well... sometimes I do and sometimes I don't. 
But again, it seems so ridiculously simple... apply the virtues in our dealings with others and with ourselves and everything will glide... And yet I keeping asking myself, why is it so foreign or strange a concept? Why aren't we talking more about it? Why aren't our conversations filled with new ways of applying these concepts? Is the weather really that important?
Ok, I am rambling... sorry but I just started a new job a couple of months ago and I am in the throws of establishing new relationships and connections. It's just so interesting to watch this process... both within me and other's reactions... And now with those random thoughts come some random pics
