Blissfulness and a bunch of amazing kids!

This week I taught children's classes, ages 7-10. Classes would begin at 915am and go until lunch with a 30 min break. We balanced the time with outdoor games (mostly tag which they all loved) and art projects such as making invitations to neighborhood children's classes that they could give to their friends. After lunch there was free time which I spent either watching/playing with the kids or planning other activities. We planned a scavenger hunt that went amazingly! Everyone really loved it.

Bosch Academy, a session which has high school grads intensively study Baha'i Writing together, was also going on and I got to know some of the youth involved in it. It is really inspiring to see such active and enthused young people who are on fire with the Love of God and who want to make a difference in this world.

During a conversation last night with Angie, the director of Bosch Academy, the topic of women's role as a mother came up. Angie talked about how Baha'ullah has elevated the station of motherhood and about how we are implored to regard the role a mother plays as equally as important as any of other occupation on the planet. When she was saying this I was reminded of a passage by Abdul-Baha (the son of Baha'ullah) I had read earlier this year about mothers. It states that:

"Women have equal rights with men upon earth; in religion and society they are a very important element. As long as women are prevented from attaining their highest possibilities, so long will men be unable to achieve the greatness which might be theirs."

I love the idea that as long as we favor the male gender in our society, neither sex is capable of becoming the shining stars that they are destined to become. Another law that Baha'ullah ordains is that if we have a choice we must first educate the girl children, because it they who will rear and raise their own children some day. It is the Baha'i belief that these laws will eventually cause all war to cease because when we finally reach the day when mother's have the right to choose if their child is sent to war or not, they will assuredly say no! to allowing the child they have raised to walk onto the battlefield.

"The most momentous question of this day is international peace and arbitration, and universal peace is impossible without universal suffrage. Children are educated by the women. The mother bears the troubles and anxieties of rearing the child, undergoes the ordeal of its birth and training. Therefore, it is most difficult for mothers to send to the battlefield those upon whom they have lavished such love and care. Consider a son reared and trained twenty years by a devoted mother. What sleepless nights and restless, anxious days she has spent! Having brought him through dangers and difficulties to the age of maturity, how agonizing then to sacrifice him upon the battlefield! Therefore, the mothers will not sanction war nor be satisfied with it. So it will come to pass that when women participate fully and equally in the affairs of the world, when they enter confidently and capably the great arena of laws and politics, war will cease; for woman will be the obstacle and hindrance to it. This is true and without doubt."

Open Mic

Bosch Baha'i School is for the next 4 days a very busy place. There are 4 sessions going on simultaneously. A big mix of people of all ages, it has been really nice to have so many new faces around. I have been assigned the task of babysitting/teaching a group of 7-10 year olds for the next 5 days. Today was the first day and we played lots of games and ran around a lot. Later I was asked to watch over a 7 year old along with another teacher who was watching an even younger child. We took a hike through the woods here, which are really spectacular. Tons of gigantic redwood trees, families of deer and magnificent glimpses of the ocean make walking the trails here a very nice time.

We had an open mic night tonight. Lots of really special acts. It was almost the end of the list of performers, and I got the urge to read some of my poetry (yes I write poetry sometimes!). Its funny how when you are leisurely watching a performance, all is calm and fine, but as soon as you are asked/volunteer to be on stage or present something, your heart starts beating so fast and your leg wont stop moving and all you can think about is how nervous you are! Well that is exactly what happened to me tonight. I ended up going last and afterward I felt so good. It was really a nice feeling to share a piece of myself with such a large group of people. I call this poem "I Will Be":

Sad people, angry people they are family

all from the same source, all from the same creator aren't they

just beautiful, each a great color and individually vibrant and radiant!

I want to unite my brothers and sisters with my knowledge that is

based on love and happiness for all, not merely for myself.

To question why we are here and how we are is to love

God, in all his glory and, might we be joyous that we are here, alive

and breathing the sweet melodies of life.

No one is alike, each is beautiful

with profound sense of the world and of their own genius, each wondering how

things are coming together, contentment is upon us.

To know someone is to know everyone, there are an infinite number of things to love

about people, o how we strive to discover them

all, with a moments contentment worth a life's wait, are in accordance with the supreme

law, of the land, of tears, of the heart and of the soul.

Each of us living our lives,

our choices are our reality, we make it what we believe it to be. There is nothing

save the spiritual reality upon us, if only we could

recognize it, to smell its fragrance would be the blissful aroma that excites

it, as she goes here, and I go here, with petals illumined with the light of knowledge and of comprehension, of study and

of experience. What is one to do with such a bounty, a monumental gift that transcends the

most glorious of beauties and the most gentle of breezes that are present ?

Slumbering in the dregs of contentment who's aroma was nothing

but the wallows of vain-desires and of false contentment, with endless rewards, for me

a sad place to be, such a hallowed existence that permeates true nature and

true home with God,

I know I am, and with God

I will be.

After spending a few days with my mom, I get dropped off on I-40. I get a ride a mile down the road from a young guy who is going to work. I then begin drawing a sign that said Tennessee, and I got a ride from this old couple from TN. They were so nice, and I do not know how all 3 of us fit in that tiny cab of that truck, but we did! They dropped me off near the TN line, and I started asking truckers who were fueling up if they could take me west. Most said no, but one guy, who had originally said no, called me over and told me he was going to TX! And that was that! We hit the road and never looked back! What an exprience it is to ride up in a 18 wheeler, towering over all the tiny little cars on the road with you. We talked about all kinds of stuff, and I heard this man's life story. He told me how he is struggling to pay child support while working as a truck driver to how when he was younger he would get in fights and is not immune to high degrees of pain. Along the way we stopped at a truck stop to rest. It was late at night, and as soon as we pulled to a stip alongside all the other idling trucks, there was a knock at the door. It was a prositute, or as the driver Adam called them, "lot lizards". What a sad sight she was. She must have been at least 40, and was really hurting you could tell. We laughed after she left but it was really a sad thing to experience.

When I am hitchhiking I do mostly listening. It gets tiring after a while of keeping one's head turned to the left, but it is truly a part of hitchhiking that no one can escpae, nor should they, for it is a courtesy to the driver to appear attentive and interested in whatever they are talking about. Adam had a lot on his mind, and I was glad to be there to listen and partially agree with what he was saying. Some of the things he would talk about were totally out of my range of agreement, but it wasnt until Arkansas that I attempted to truly offer him my honsest opinion on things. It was then that we really started to bond and our relationship became a means of support for eachother. How crazy isnt it!? A 20 year old kid and a 35 year old truck driver from rural Georgia, becoming friends and talking about each other's lives with no concern of being judged or ridiculed. It really was a beautiful experience riding in that truck with that man. It made me realize that I have brothers and sisters all over this planet, but that I just have not met the majority of them!

Near the end of our trip together, Adam invited me to come and visit him in Georgia. His company has him working about 5 days in a row and then he was breaks. Something to note about all the truckers that I rode with: they all hate doing their logs, which requires them to record exactly when they stop and for how long. This is to ensure that they are taking their federally-required 10 hour break each day...the problem is, many times they are on a time schedule and do not want to/cannot stop for that long. We experienced the problem with this in Texas when Adam was forced to stop and kill 2 hours at a truck stop so that his recored logs were correct ( he had falsified them so that it appeared he had stopped and slept for a longer peried than he did, and if he was stopped he would be fined.) The sad part about it is that he is just a guy trying to make a living and this new law is making it hard for him to do even that!

One good thing that came from having to kill time was that we got to stop and eat a meal together. I had one of the best cheeseburgers ive ever had at this little truck stop in Texas. We sat down, and when I ordered the waitress asked me where i was from because I talked so fast! It was pouring down rain while we were there and the rain continued into the day. It was sad to leave him, but I was half way to my destination and ready to continue!

Outside Dallas I got a ride from a trucker from MI. A family man, we talked about life in MI and his family and such. On the way we stopped at a goodwill which he stops at every time he is in Texas (which is a lot since he does the same route each week!). It was fun! he flirted with the cashier...that was weird. The rain clouds above Dallas looked like a big mountain! Scary stuff but spectacular. Funny how the landscape changes...got really flat.

After getting dropped off at a BIG truck stop in Dallas I made a new sign that read CALIFORNIA PLEASE in big black letters. I began flashing it to the passing truckers who were comign inside to get more fuel (its crazy how much junk food truck drivers consume! I swear, it is like they are preparing for war, and the ammunition is lots of soda, coffee, and hot dogs!) After waiting a couple of hours, and fallin asleep in between, another hitchhiker came over and asked to use my marker. He was about 27, and he was trying to get to Phoenix. He told me a crazy story about how he had started in TN and had been on the road for about 3 weeks. Craziest part was how he had gotten stuck in a rural part of southern Texas and could not get a ride. He had spent a week getting soaked, living in the woods outside Paris TX. he said he had even built a shelter out of branches and leaves! His story really made me appreciate the rides I had gotten so far! I ended up giving him some of my trailmix and some of my protein bars. He was much appreciative. As it was getting dark, and the prospect of catching a ride quickly dimished, we decided to fly our signs in different places, to improve our luck. I ended up getting a ride first from a guy going to Amarillo, and I left my friend there. I pray that he got home safely.

After arriving in Amarillo early the next morning, I immediatly began flying my sign for CA. After about an hour my savior appeared, and his name was Terry! From the start I could feel that this was going to be a very nice experience. Terry was immediately warm and friendly, asking me about myself and my journey. We really hit it off! I honestly could write a book about Terry and our time together and all the things that we talked about!





June 5th, 2008. UC Berkeley Campus

Glorious day here in Berkeley, CA.
Knowing no one, but still happy.
Diversity is the word. Today and yesterday.
Searching for peace
So I bought this journal.
I was feeling homesick, not knowing anyone
I pictured this summer, back in NC
now I'm here, don't know what to do. this is a city, for sure. I was expecting...
I don't know. Been searching for something else...walking around, thinking of ways
to talk to people..."what do you people do around here," I think of asking all those people I see around me. I have been experiencing a good amount of unchaste thoughts as I have had a lot of time to myself...funny how our minds can wander to nonconstructive things when left to their own selves. I will read this later and laugh I know that!
I smell hamburger on a grill. food has been good around here.
Life is so complex. I hunger for "soul food", that is, good conversation and good people. CA is everything I expected...what a relief it is to be relaxed.

A Prayer

O my God,
Sustainer of all things,
How I love Thee.
You Cause me to soar
You allow me to recognize beauty.
With these hands
I do Your work.
To be a comfort to the downtrodden
To hug and appease the homeless
I want only to be of service.
I rely on ought else besides Thee.
What a comfort and solace it is to know that
You ary ae always there no matter what.
O Thou who brings me strength!
May my life be a living testament
to Thy Beauty to Thy indomitable strength.
I crave to love others and I have no desire for recognition.
I only ask for a place in the sanctuary of Thy protection.
O Abiding one, O Comforting One, O Thou Provider O Thou Comforter
Thou who art more friend to me than I am to myself. I dedicate myself to Thee, O Lord.
Some Trip Highlights/Experiences

Listening to reggae music in an 18 wheeler driving though Albequerque at sunset.
Relizing that no one is immune to pain, and that just being there to listen to someone is a very powerful way to serve our fellow man.
This is a BIG country and we have a LOT of land! A LOT!
I am so far from home. Sometimes we forget how there are people living their lives 2000 miles away, going through the same stuff you are, just in a different part of the country. We are all in this together, no matter if you call yourselves Californian or North Carolinian.
CA is a very fruitful and abundant place. This state feels alive...there is so much growing and so much produce...everything is alive and moving and bright and bustling. What a blessing to have this state as part of the USA.
Humanity is beautiful no matter what clothes they wear or where they live. God is present in everyone.
Spiritual strength is my base. Reliance on anything else other than God is useless.
Driving an 18 wheeler, even for a minute, provides for a great addition to any hitchhiking story!
San Francisco is, as they say in CA, is "hella" cool. Yes, hella!
There are hella Asian people in this area!
Eddie, my mom's old friend who I am staying with right now, is really into cars. His yard and house are full of car parts and its really messy. Hes got old cars in the driveway. He lives alone.
People watching is really fun! Ezpecially around here!
What I truly desire is to use all my skills and abilities to serve humanity in the most effective and effiecient way possible. This of course means being creative!
It is a joy and a privledge to be able to read and write and to have to drive to put my thoughts/feelings down on a page. How beautiful!

After attending a Baha'i meeting in Berkeley (Baha'i Feast), I wrote this:

What a refreshing thing it is to walk and talk with someone your own age and who is excited and enthused with the love of God! Plus, this person is a female, and an attractive one on top of that! Funny how much of a difference that can make to the conversation!
I really felt alive tonight. I have not felt like that for a while. What a great feeling, like a breeze of morning air. It was like night and day. From no one to talk to, to feeling, well, ALIVE! Sharing, listening, communicating...What a gift! Thank you!

Friday, June 16th 2008.

Late morning, I am feeling uncomfortable, like I am out of shape and that I am unhealthy. I am trying not to let my own selfish desires bog me down, but it is hard.

I am preparing for a big trip up north. Eddie laid an ultimatum on me today, that since I have just been, in his mind, hanging out and not doing anything while in Berkeley, that while I am here, I need to leave early in the morning and not come back until 8pm at night to ensure that I get a good experience. I appreacitate his thoughts, but that is not the way to get my to go out and do things! I am glad to be leaving this place. The feeling I get is one of sadness and depression, and not much kindness or love. I feel alone here in this house. I am ready to move on.

Before I leave I meditate to some hip-hop instrumentals and do some dancing to loosen myself up. My thoughts are these: Strength, faith, loe, glory and expansion!

June 7th, 2008.

What a great time! Vesh and Sid, stuedents I met on www.couchsurfing.com, picked me up in Richmond, CA at the bus station. We drove to Santa Rosa together and met up with Gweedo who allowed us to stay at his place while we all attended the Harmony Music Festival. The house is made to party, with a full bar and weed plants growing in the back. The house has lots of people coming in and out. About 6 people live here, and lots of others come by and hang out. In the other room the guys play video games ALL day, like I used to do in high school! We make a big thing of guacamole and have great conversation in the kitchen, hearing about our host's cross-country bike ride and how he volunteered along the way, helping to rebuild area in Louisana that were destroyed by Katrina, and how he and some others built a box city in the middle of town to gain attention for the injusitces that were going in with the government/funding efforts. Gweedo (justin) is really an awesome guy! I have to mention the game of football that we played in the street that night with all the neighborhood kids! What an awesome time! just good clean fun! I felt young again! No worries, just good times playing football. All the bright faces and smiles and laughter really made me happy! We stopped when it got too dark to see anymore, but we could have kept playing all night no doubt! I will never forget that night!

The next day we attend to festival. I split off and go on my own. The place is wild! people dressed up in far out ways. The biggest and most alarming thing to me is how seemingly everyone is either stoned or drunk, yet there are a lot of kids around as well. For real, one cannot escape the smell of burning marijuana in this place...its blantant and in your face, and everyone seems to be doing it, young and old, together. The music is good, however the big acts are hard to see/hear because there are so many people!

"Im finding that I am most stimulated when I am engaged in good conversation. Truly my heart and soul are hurting when I am bereft of people. What about solitude though? What role dose it play? My head hurts! Too many drugs around here! Weed smoke fills the room here...they have been smoking all day! I am sorry for them! It is part of the culture it seems."

On my mind is UNC, my HOME in NC, my mother and her worries and woes, questions about myself...self-consciousness is not a bad thing if utilized correctly is it??? Good people, lots of learning going on. Academics + people = beauty. Thoughts + scripture = communication.
Spirtual truths being renewed + discussed = true communication.

About to head north, hopefully do some camping/reflecting and couchsurfing. O and hiking too!
I just gotta get going! Its easy to hang out in civilization, especially when everyone else is hanging out and they have no plans! Alright, GO!

In the morning I get dropped off by Vesh on Hwy 1. I immediatly get a ride from a young guy and girl who are headed north to do some cave searching...The girl works for burning man festival, and she gives me her card and invites me to come and hang out in Oakland with her! CooL! After that I get picked up by an awesome man named Chris from Ukiah. He was driving back from a seminar/conference for men only, which he said had really changed his view of his life. Chris and I immediatly connected on a very deep level, and our conversation was really nice. He told me about how he does healing and meditation, and studies the 7 differnt shakras in the body. I learned from Chris that there are different ways of doing things in this world and that it is of the utmost importance to keep one's eyes and ears open to new ideas and new thoughts. While we are having this conversation we are driving though some of the most beautiful coastline I have ever laid my eyes on! steep cliffs that are bombarded with big waves, the water crystal clear and shining bright with the midday sun. Hwy 1 is magnificent, with all its deep curves and winding road. What a gift!

Along the way Chris and I stopped and picked up 2 more hitchhikers, a guy and a girl. They were a little loopy but cool nonetheless. We all shared food and told stories from our trip. They were headed to the Lost Coast and then to Vancouver. Chris decided to stop at a lighthouse along the way and take a break. It was chilly on the coast, but so beautiful! The cliffs and the water crashing onto the rocks made for a very peaceful experience. We stopped again later at a beach and walked around together a little bit. It was really nice. Chris and I were especially thankful for having met each other. HERE is a picture of them.

We arrived in Mendocino, CA and all split ways. The minute I got out of the car I knew I needed to put on some more layers. It was really getting windy/chilly up there! As soon as I sit down to pull out my jacket, an old fellow (probably 40, looks 50) comes up to me and starts conversing with me. At first I am really skeptical of this guy, but after a while I realize he is no harm and he just wants someone to talk to. His name is Frank and he claims to live in "Mendo" and be a upright citizen. He is however somewhat demented, and continually talks about how he is going to get the town drunk locked up for good because of the punch he threw at him last week...We end up walking around town together, which is I might add, not much to look at. It is however right next to the ocean. Frank shows me the local grocery where we (I) buy us a bunch of day old buffalo wings and a big pork roast. It was really cold out there and as Frank and I walked down to the beach to set up camp, those wings were really tasting good! We made it to the cliffs and as we are sitting in the dark eating our dinner together a kid walks up to us (about 18) and tells us about how he got his backpack and sleeping bag stolen. He walks off and we start a fire on the beach.

After I get a fire started Frank pulls out a laptop (I had asssumed he was a vagrant, but this is CA, and even the homeless people have fancy electronics!) and starts telling me about how he picks up women on the internet all the time and how much he loves doing it. He then starts to play some music and then proceeds to view a slideshow of naked women, which I kindly decline to view with him. We sit by the fire for a while and talk about life, all the while together enjoying that succulent pork roast...so fatty and warm and delicious...it hit the spot on that cold night for sure! Frank eventually departs and tells me he will see me in the morning. I never see him again, but I feel that the connection we made is still present. I am happy to have met him, despite his cynical and twisted way of viewing life and his other nasty habits! He was really a beautiful soul. I hope he finds what he is looking for.

The next morning the fire is smoldering. I warm my hands and my muffin up with it, and then pack up my stuff. There are other homeless people on the beach now with me, im not sure if they see me. They have started a fire. This beach is obviously used for big parties. Frank had mentioned how on the weekends they have big fires and lots of drums and crazy people dancing all night. Sounds like a lot of fun! As I walk back into town, I sit down on a bench next to a church and begin saying my morning prayers. From behind a building the same kid from the night before emerges. He kindly offers me a banana and we end up walking around town together. He tells me about how lots of young people come to Mendo to just hang out because it is so chill. People smoke pot everywhere up here...just walking around in the morning we came across two groups of people toking up, always offering us a hit. He tells me about how people grow marijuna up here all over and during harvest season (September) you cant give weed away it is so abundant. We split ways back at the grocery store from the night before and I head for the highway. Menodcino is a beautiful town, and a lot different than any town I have ever been to.

I get a few more rides and then get stuck on a bad part of Hwy 1, not much traffic. I end up walking down the highway, which is dangerous but necessary. I get a few more little rides and then take a nap on the side of the road under a tree. It is really nice along this road, with lots of big tall cedar trees and views of the ocean. As I am walking under a particuarly beautful stretch of road which is covered with old cedars on each side of me, I get picked up by a guy named David. David is from I forget where but he now lives in Rocky Mount, NC, pretty close to me, and he is on his way up to Seattle. He is transporting 2 expensive bikes in the back of his rental van. He tells me how him and and his buddies enjoy renting cars and adding the $5 extra insurance and then taking the cars off road and doing crazy stuff with them. Very amusing to hear about.

He is a vegan and has a bunch of wierd foods that he shares with me. I enjoy the cherries the most. He is a nice guy for sure. Along the way we stop and veiw some beafutiful elk. David really likes his new iPhone by the way. He offers to take me all the way to Seattle, but I decide to stop in Crescent City and explore the Redwood forest, which is right along the coast. Here is a picture of David. It truly is beautiful as I walk along the tiny road up the mountain. I decide to head down the hill and set up camp on the beach as the sun begins to set for the day. The beach is foggy but I walk for a while and find a shelter made of sticks and branches that has lots of fire wood available.

In the morning I walk about 4 miles into town. Crescent City blows, literally. The wind is killer, and the sun is really shining bright. I did not realize how much the wind takes our of you! I finally get to the highway, only to realize that I need to keep walking to get to the ramp I want. I decide to head over to I-5 in order to head south more quickly.

Along the way, I get dropped off in the middle of no where, and I wait a couple of hours sitting on the side of the road. As I am waiting, another hitchhiker comes over and chats it up with me. Then, as we are talking, ANOTHER hitchhiker starts hitching from the other side of the road! 3 hitchhikers on one little road, with ONE little gas station. Finally I get picked up by a really nice guy who turns out to be Jehovah's Witness. He is a new believer and is on fire with the Word of God. We talk about religion and spirituality the whole time. The Baha'i Faith and Jehovah's Witnesses have a lot in common in terms of laws and beliefs. I am really happy to have met him. He drives me down I-5 and offers to give me a book entitled "What Does the Bible Really Teach?" I meet his brother who is just arriving at his home, and we sit down and talk about Christianity and life for a bit. He then drops me back off at the interstate after we exchange phone numbers. What an awesome and sweet-hearted man!

After a few more rides I get stuck in Yreka, CA. After warming my body by doing stationary exercises (mostly jumping up and down and singing Bahai songs to myself), two young guys about my age walk up the on ramp towards me. They are brothers it turns out, and they too are hitching around! I am skeptical at first, but as they tell me about how they rode down steep I-5 sitting on their SKATEBOARDS next to 80mph traffic, I am so excited to hear more about them that we decide to hitch together. Its getting dark about now and I am really getting cold. The younger brother offers me his sweatshirt, which I still have! Instead of camping out there, we end up walking together down the interstate, right next to traffic. It really is a rush to be walking like that with cars and huge trucks rushing past you! WHOOO WEEE!

We end up walking a few more miles, stopping for water along the way. These guys have really nice equipment I might add, from their packs to their shoes. They are friom Washington and have been traveling around for about a month. We end up setting up camp behind a wal-mart ( it got really cold up there, and I woke up to frost on my sleeping bag...I staying warm inside though and by the morning it had thawed and I was hot inside of it!) . The next morning we share the food that we have, make some signs and head towards the on ramp. We wait about a couple hours, telling jokes and making of the people who keep passing us depsite having buttloads of room in their big SUVs. The brothers then decide to walk/skate down a side road instead of hitching with me, figuring Id have better luck on my own. We part ways and wish each other the best!

I wait about 20 minutes and get a ride from an old guy who just retired from UPS and is now traveling around in his Honda SUV, hiking and biking around. We talk about life and living it to the fullest. After him I get a really great ride from Nancy. Nancy is 75 years old, grew up in Mexico and has two daughters who go to Stanford and UC Berkeley. She owns her own restaurant business too! She is really an awesome lady! We stop along the way to Sacramento and she buys me a big burrito! We sit together outside a taqueria and enjoy the breeze.

The next part of my trip is truly a wonderful experience. On my way through Sacramento I meet a wonderful man named Shane. Shane and I begin chatting. He has just arrived in Sacramento after spending some time in San Francisco. He and another guy had hopped a train, and he has the dirt to show for it. I share my trail mix with him as he and I sit behind in the manicured lawn in front of a car wash, chatting about life and such. He immediatly begins to share with me personal struggles in his life, such as how he used to be addicted to herion (he has the scars to prove it) and how he cannot cross the Mississippi river or else he could be extradited immediatly to prison. Despite all the crazy stuff he shares with me (which by now is really nothing too disturbing having met so many vagrants on this trip), we become friends and decide to camp out together in the woods near the interstate.

After we find a good spot Shane mentions how he has really bad pain in his back, and he can hardly sleep. Something noteworthy is how so many homeless people I have met refuse and/or are scared of getting medical attention...Shane is no exception. I ask if he would like me to massage his back, and I end up giving him a huge back massage, which he groans and sighs with. I think to myself how wild an experience this is, me massaging some guy's back who I just met. I think there is something special to that, especially in a world that today is so uptight and cautias about trusting "stranger". Honestly, I felt closer to Shane that night than I have ever felt to some of my own blood-family members...We just had a deep connection. I think a big part of our bond was the fact that I was not afriad to sit there and listen to his story. I think that meant a lot to him, and though that he understood that I loved him.

I ended up sharing with him a lot about the Baha'i Faith, and he was so deperate for the love and family that I spoke of that he wanted to come with me to Santa Cruz.

Shane had educated me about how to properley prepare for and engage in hopping a train. I had the same day contacted some family in Modesto and I was planning to head south to stay with them for a few days. Shane earnestly desired to come along with me, but we both decided that it would be best to part ways. I had seriously considered hopping a train with him to Modesto, but it was clear that it would be faster to hitch there. In the morning I bought us some breakfast and we ate together behind a gas station. So sadly Shane and I parted ways. I gave him my contact info and told him to call me. He has yet to do so. I hope whereever he is he finds himself a place he can call home.

Childrens Academy

IMG_1931
Originally uploaded by Julian Bach

What a spectacular culmination to an intense week of action! The children's academy wrapped up with an early morning wake-up by the girls and their air horns around 5am. I was exhausted from the night before, which least to say was more than I ever expected to experience! This amazing and deeply spiritual conversation was immediately put aside when a friend here let it be known to us that there was something very important on her mind that she needed us to hear. It is funny how tumultuous times can bring people even closer and form immediate bonds between people that only a moment before appeared to be out of the picture.

The counselors at the children's academy were all about my age, and at first it was tough to get to know them, as I was given the role of teacher and did not have much time to spend with them. I was gradually able to get to know a few of them, and almost overnight I began to make strong connections with all of them. It is really nice when so many people have such nice things to say about oneself, and there was no shortage of compliments coming from the youth here, attesting to what a great person I am! Really, I have a hard time sometimes understanding why people love me so much! I am just a guy trying to live his life in a decent way and do good things while I am at it. This shower of love that I am experiencing has reinforced the idea in my head that we are all one big family that is meant to love and to support each other no matter what. I feel that I have brothers and sisters here in CA, a place where when I first arrived I knew no one.

What a wonderful feeling it is to be so comfortable with someone, so at ease that you feel you could talk about anything all night long with them. I met someone here who I admire so much that it hurts, and who I already care for so much that it scares me. It is going to be very hard to leave here, but I feel confidant that if I rely on God and trust that He has a plan that things will work out how they should. I will most definately miss this place and all the amazing memories here, but I am also very hopeful and excited for the future and am ready to get back to NC and start back working where I left off!

The only logical explanation of why I have been experiencing what I have is that when one immerses him/herself in the Word of God and lives his/her life according to the laws of God, he or she is rewarded in ways that were not expected! Truly, you could not give me any amount of money or sum of wealth or fame in exchange for the feeling of genuine love and friendship that is present in my life today. I feel deep spiritual connections with the people here, ones that I know will without a doubt last for a very long time.

Rest thou not for a moment, seek thou to draw no easeful breath.

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Originally uploaded by Julian Bach

Today in class we were reading over some quotes about youth and how to go about living one's life, and this quote from Abdul Baha particularly touched me:

Be thou a summoner to love, and be thou kind to all the human race. Love thou the children of men and share in their sorrows. Be thou of those who foster peace. Offer thy friendship, be worthy of trust. Be thou a balm to every sore, be thou a medicine for every ill. Bind thou the souls together. Recite thou the verses of guidance. Be engaged in the worship of thy Lord, and rise up to lead the people aright. Loose thy tongue and teach, and let thy face be bright with the fire of God’s love. Rest thou not for a moment, seek thou to draw no easeful breath. Thus mayest thou become a sign and symbol of God’s love, and a banner of His grace.

‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, p. 26

What a challenge! To "share in their sorrows" is such a profound idea. We are not usually taught to empathyze with others, but rather to take care of our own needs first and that if we do that, all will be well and everyone else will be taken care of. This of course if not true: to care for others is to care for oneself! The more love we give out, the more love we get back in return. I have experienced this first hand. Sometimes that love you give, in whatever form you distribute it (be it helping someone with their homework, or just listening to someone vent their feelings, etc.) is not always felt by you immediatly and is not always returned in the way that you gave it out, but sooner or later, God takes care of you and rewards you for your good deeds.

Make this youth radiant

So today was a beautiful day at Bosch Bahai School. After a hearty breakfast and a morning walk I began tutoring book 5 to two young Bahais, ages 13 and 15. We are studying quotations about the high station of youth and the requirements and responsiblities that are placed upon them to serve humanity today. We are having some amazing conversations! These kids are really advanced and are well aware of what it means to live a life according to the ordinances of God! I wish I knew what they know at 15!

We all decided to memorize a prayer together. I had heard the prayer a lot before because a group called the Dawnbreaker Collective put it to music. It is really a beautiful prayer. It goes like this:

O Lord! Make this youth radiant, and confer thy bounty upon this poor creature. Bestow upon him knowledge, grant him added strength at the break of every morn and guard him within the shelter of Thy protectin so that he may be freed from error, may devote himself to the service of Thy cause, may guide the wayward, lead the hapless, free the captives and awaken the heeldess, that all may be blessed with Thy remembrance and praise. Thou art the Mighty and the Powerful.

-'Abdu'l-Baha'

To love thyself is to love thy creator.

"At breakfast tea a beloved asked her lover,
'Who do you love more, yourself or me?'

'From my head to my foot I have become you.
Nothing remains of me but my name.
You have your wish. Only you exist.
I've disappeared like a drop of vinegar
in an ocean of honey'

A stone which has become a ruby
is filled with the qualities of the sun.
No stoniness remains in it.
It if loves itself, it is loving the sun.
And if it loves the sun, it is loving itself.
There is no difference between these two loves."

This is from a poem entitled "The Ruby" by Jalaluddin Rumi. I find it to be very beautiful. The idea that to love oneself is to love God, and to love God is to love oneself is a basic Teaching present in the Baha'i Writings, and I love the way that Rumi's words compliment the words of Baha'ullah, the founder of the Baha'i Faith.

Baha'ullah states in the Hidden Words:

"O SON OF MAN!

Veiled in My immemorial being and in the ancient eternity of My essence, I knew My love for thee; therefore I created thee, have engraved on thee Mine image and revealed to thee My beauty."

Both are speaking to humanity, telling us that we must love ourselves in order to become close to God. Another idea in both Rumi's poetry and in the Writing of Baha'ullah is the idea that if we love ourselves, and we love God, we will be given added strength and power in this world and in the world to come. In the Hidden Words Baha'ullah states:

"My love is My stronghold; he that entereth therein is safe and secure, and he that turneth away shall surely stray and perish."

What a beautiful thought to know that we can love ourselves and by doing so we are then better able to live a happy and joyous life! I really love this idea because it brings me hope, especially because I find constantly find myself almost infatuated with myself sometimes, that is, I am in awe of what I am able to do and what I am able to accomplish in this world. This is not to say that we are to be selfish and full of pride and arrogance, but really it is a confirmation that the closer we get to knowing ourselves and what makes us happy, the closer we get to God and to attaining true, everlasting happiness! YA!

So these last few days have been really inspiring. I have come to love this place and what it does. It serves a purpose, and that is to provide a space where people can come to experience what life should really be like and how we are meant to treat each other. A place that is virtually free of hate, backbiting, spitefulness, jealousy, prejudice, greed, and materialism, and is FULL of honest and outright love. Bosch Baha'i School is a paradise of sorts. Kids running around, happy faces everywhere.

Worked hard all year, And then I came here To see what all the fuss was about. Things started slow and I did not even know if I had made the right choice. Lots of people my age here, but there was no action, no zeal. I was saddened sort of, because I came here to learn and to grow and to experience all that the Baha'i Faith has to offer.

It has only been in these last few days that I have begun to realize just how special a place this school really is. After a huge carnival/dance party filled with face-painting, bubbles, clowns, and lots of youth (myself included) dressed up like fools, I stopped for a moment just as the sun was going down, and sat by myself to take in all the joy that I had just experienced, and also to the peacefulness that was present. The moon was gradually growing brighter as the sun set, thin in the sky like a wink saying "your welcome". I had to lay down on the pavement and look up at the stars, because I was literally high, that is, I felt SO good! I did not the night to end. I could hear the youth laughing in the lodge down below, and I took another minute to say some prayers of thanks, and then proceeded to descend to the lodge for a snack before bed.

These last few days have been really uplifting. The campus is crawling with active young people and the energy is very high. Today the kids arrived, all 60 of them. Last night was a pool party of sorts, and I was able to enjoy the water along with all the other counselors and teachers. Felt really good to swim under the stars!

This morning, after arriving 2 minutes late to dawn prayers!, a fellow service member and I drove to the airport to pick up about 8 of the kids for the program. It went very smoothly. We returned to a whole bunch of new young faces and the activities officially began at 4pm with intro games and lots of running and laughing. Ryan, a new friend of mine who I really look up to had just returned from a wedding which he described as the funnest wedding hes ever been to. It got me thinking about what I picture my wedding looking like, if I desire a big one or small one, and where I would have it. What a beautiful thing it is to see two people dedicate themselves to each other.

Dinners here are really good...Tonight was a whole assortment of pastas and different sauces and of course the awesome salad bar! The chewy brownies topped off the vibrant conversation that was going on outside on the deck.

A young man about the age of 10 began talking to me during one of the games and asked me if I would help him find some prayers to say for his mom who has just had surgery. He is really an amazing kid...he sings and plays piano and is full of joy and hope. All during dinner he was motioning to me that we needed to get together to find some prayers to say, and we made plans to do so tomorrow morning.

After dinner the kids went to class and I had the privledge of helping to tutor a ruhi book 5: for those who do not know ruhi is a curriculum centered around the Baha'i Faith which has a series of books, each pertaining to a certain core activity. Book 5 is about engaging junior youth (kids ages 11-14) in groups that are concentrated on spirtual empowerment and enhancing their power of utterance. Very fun stuff!

First post

So today after having shared my recent travel stories with a new aquaintence I was inspired to begin an online journal of sorts in hopes that I can 1) Accurately record all the amazing things that I get to experience on a day to day basis, and 2) maybe inspire some people along the way!

I will briefly recount what has happened in the last 3 months of my life. After having studied my butt off these last two years at Durham Tech I finally was able to say thank you and goodbye to the place. I received my Assosiate of Arts degree and I secured my place as a junior at UNC Chapel Hill this fall where I plan to study Anthropology ( and other things!). After living with an assortment of amazing guys over the last two semesters our lease was up and it was time to pack up and move out. The hardest part of it all was having everyone leave at separate times, which made leaving a somber thing to do. As many of us can attest, that house has so many awesome memories that it would take a year at least to recount them all. But it served us well, and I am so thankful for having had the privledge of living there with the people I did.

I moved some stuff into a friend's place in Carrboro and headed up to the mountains to visit my mom in Boone, NC. After an awesome visit with her I, OK do not freak out...I started a cross-country hitchhiking trip in route to CA! I arrived in 5 days after having utilized truck stops mostly along Interstate 40, and then proceeded to hitch up and down the whole state of California (Pictures of the trip can be seen here . I will say now that it was a spectacular experience and that I learned a whole lot and saw a whole lot. I am still deconstructing what I actually experienced in those 3 weeks or so out on the road, roaming around from city to city. I was able to record the many highlights of my trip in a journal, and I will follow this entry with an in depth description of what went down!

So...after travelling around for a while I ended up in Santa Cruz, CA, my final destination. While I was back in NC I had been coordinating with the staff at Bosch Baha'i School about serving this summer for a month of so. I was able to secure a spot as a childrens class teacher, and my service was to start on June 20th and end around July 24th. I have now been up here in the mountains for about 2 weeks and I am truly happy to be here.

I had been feeling very bogged down and Monday night I decided that I would begin a fast in which I would for the next few days abstain from any kind of food and comsume only water. I read a lot about it and also have experience with fasting from being a Baha'i, which asks its believers to fast for about 19 days each March from sunrise to sundown. This fast I decided to end after about 42 hours without food. After getting over the initial hunger pangs I began to feel a new sense of energy. I desired to be detached from not just food but also from all material universe that I am subjected to daily. Fasting brings me into a place that I am usually not able to experience when I am eating normally and moving and shaking during the day to day life. Things slow down and one realizes that we do not need food as much as we think we do. When I fast I attempt to put all my reliance in God, and trust that He will take care of me. It also clears my mind of the worry of having to go and collect and consume food, and I am left to concentrate my thoughts and energies on more important things. I found that my body is calmer, my movements smoother, my limbs more relaxed, and my thoughts more deeply and well-composed than when I am attempting to do the same things while eating normally. I spent most of my time either reading, meditating, praying, and also took a few walks through the beautiful redwood forest, stopping at steams and clearings to peacefully admire the marvelous beauty and eye-catching complexity of nature. I did have a hard time waking up in the morning, but I felt refreshed after napping into the morning and then beginging my day with sweet prayers. I decided to break my fast around 3pm because there was a bar-b-que happening that night and I decided that it was best to be fresh and able-bodied for the event. I am very happy I decided to fast, and I look forward to fasting more in the future.

Today brought new faces and a fresh feeling that youth bring along with them. About 20 Baha'is from around CA arrived today in order to volunteer their time for a 5 day session hosted by Bosch. This session is a Children's Session and we are expecting about 60 young girls and boys ages 9, 10, and 11.