I won't even try to explain the title, except later on maybe. You'll see. In the unlikely event that anyone reads this but me, the reason it looks like I'm talking to myself is because I'm talking to myself. I've decided to try to have the kind of conversation with myself that I'd like to have with someone else. Of course I would love even more to actually have that kind of conversation with someone else.
This might be very confused and confusing. I have a feeling there are a lot of things I'd like to talk about, but I'm not really sure. It's just a feeling. I'll start by just listing some topics that come to mind.
- Baha'i feuding on the Internet.
- Candles and thralls.
- Framework for action.
- I'm not trying to be an ally, but I wish I could learn to be a better friend.
- Promoting my House of Justice.
- "One Common Faith."
- The Advent of Divine Justice, especially the three vital issues.
- Walking and working with abused and marginalized people.
- Changing my character and conduct.
- Training institutes: practices and a passion for teaching.
- Learning to be the kind of friend I'd like to have.
- What I might have learned on The Weed's blog.
- Gays and me.
- Baha'i liberators and me.
- Stuff I've already written about on this blog.
Those are some things that come to mind. I have a nagging feeling I'm missing some that I might like to talk about as much as those, even more than some of those. I'll trust that they'll surface as we go along. If we go along. We meaning me and me.
Snapshots and pieces of some of my projects
I'm mostly talking to myself, and to some imaginary friends, in this blog. If anyone wants to know what I'm talking about, feel free to ask.
About Me
- Jim Habegger
- What I'm doing about violence, injustice, cruelty, and other ugliness all over the world: Helping to develop training programs and support networks for people who are working to spread peace, justice, kindness, and beauty, and to make them accessible to everyone.
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17 comments:
Yeah, right away another one came up. I think a lot in pictures and feelings instead of words, and I'm having trouble putting this into words. It's about what's wrong with the Baha'i community, and it's related to news I just heard about a friend who withdrew, and to Baha'i feuding on the Internet, and to the Talisman liberation movement. It's about the lack of social justice within the community, and the lack of interest in doing anything about it. There was more, but it drifted out of sight while I was writing.
Jim, what about that title? Can you explain it now?
- Imaginary Friend
Well, when I think of the kind of conversation I'd like to have with someone, I think of Frodo in Rivendell, or Dorothy in Oz, talking to their friends there about their adventures.
Okay, since you put Baha'i feuding first, let's start with that. What feuding are you talking about?
The feuding that was going on some years ago, on the Talisman list, at Beliefnet, and on talk.religion.bahai.
If it was years ago, why do you still want to talk about it?
I'll give some reasons I'm aware of. There might be others.
1. I just want to. It was a big part of my life. I've always wanted to talk about it with someone who would understand and care what it meant to me, and I never have.
2. I still haven't seen the issues associated with it addressed openly within the Baha'i community, and I think that undermines our moral leadership.
3. I see it as an outgrowth of divisions in the Baha'i Community that still need to be addressed as much as ever.
4. I still see the feuding going on, in less obvious ways, and I still care about the people involved in it, and affected by it.
On the second point, I'll amend that to say I haven't seen the issues addressed openly and responsibly.
You say you've never been able to talk to anyone about it the way you wanted to. Could you try now?
This is embarrassing, but actually I'd rather not go there now. I'd rather talk about one of the others. Candles and thralls, I think.
Okay, what about candles and thralls?
Wow. Where to start.
As I see it, the promises in the writings of Baha'u'llah, for each of us individually, and for the world, are not in "Baha'i teachings." "Baha'i teachings" are no better than any other propaganda, and just as harmful as any other, apart from loving and trusting God in Baha'u'llah.
Baha'u'llah says His mission is to "seize and possess the hearts of men." (Whatever happened to "i before e except after c"?) Abdu'l-Baha calls Baha'u'llah's followers "servants" and "thralls" of God.
I'm very conscious of this thralldom in myself. I can give reasons and explanations for following Baha'u'llah, but my impulse to do so goes far beyond any explanation I can give. I can say I've learned to love Him and trust Him, but I don't think that tells the whole story either.
I'm looking for ways to nurture my love for God in Baha'u'llah, in myself and in others.
What about candles?
I like thinking of hearts seized and possessed by Baha'u'llah as candles, which God can use to light other candles. Abdu'l-Baha talks that way too sometimes.
I see my flame as very weak. I'm not sure it's even lit at all. I see myself as more of a wannabe candle than an actual candle. All I can think of to do is ask for God to light it and make it brighter, and look for ways I can help, and put myself where God can use me to light other candles, if mine ever gets lit.
Don't you think you're exaggerating your defects a little?
Maybe. I don't know. Maybe. I just never feel like I see myself doing anyone else any good. Or okay, sometimes maybe a little, but it just looks really pitiful to me, not enough to claim to be a candle.
You said "loving and trusting God in Baha'u'llah." Why not just "Loving and trusting God"?
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