Mind: Patience & Perserverance

Striving to build endurance and stamina
in the pursuit of patience.
Love provides a stronghold
fueling the heart and soul
whilst the mind focuses
on strengthening the will
to perservere
and the faith
to be wholly and patient.
When God wills
there is a way
in the direction
of His way
set gaze
turn to him
with praise
be poised
head raised.

From the Bahá’í Holy Writings:

He, verily, shall increase the reward of them that endure with patience. The virtues and attributes pertaining unto God are all evident and manifest, and have been mentioned and described in all the heavenly Books. Among them are trustworthiness, truthfulness, purity of heart while communing with God, forbearance, resignation to whatever the Almighty hath decreed, contentment with the things His Will hath provided, patience, nay, thankfulness in the midst of tribulation, and complete reliance, in all circumstances, upon Him. These rank, according to the estimate of God, among the highest and most laudable of all acts. All other acts are, and will ever remain, secondary and subordinate unto them....
-- Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah

Be Patient, for the Lord is patient.
It behoveth whosoever hath set his face towards the most Sublime Horizon to Cleave Tenaciously unto the cord of patience, and to put his reliance in God, the Help in peril, the Unconstrained.
--Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh

O SON OF MAN! For everything there is a sign. The sign of love is fortitude under My decree and patience under My trials.
--The Hidden Words of Baha'u'llah

From the Muslim Holy Writings:

O believers, be patient, and vie you in patience…haply so will prosper.
--Qur’an, III,200,P.99

Be patient; surely God’s promise is true.
--Qur’an 40.55

You who believe, seek help through patience and prayer; God stands alongside the patient!
--Qur’an 2.153-57

From the Hindu Holy Writings:

Though he be ever so tired by repeated failure, let him begin his operations again and again; for fortune greatly favors the man who perseveres in his undertakings.
--Laws of Manu 9.300

From the Buddhist Holy Writings:

Heedful among the heedless, wide awake amongst the slumbering, the wise man advances as does a swift horse, leaving a weak jade behind.
Forbearing patience is the highest devotion…
--Dhammapada 29, XIV, V.184,P.53

From the Jewish Holy Writings:

Scripture credits with performance not him who begins a task, but him who completes it.
--Talmud, Sota 13b

From the Christian Holy Writings:

Do you not know that in a race all the runners compete, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things.
--1 Corinthians 9.24-25

Body: To Get Rid of Sighs, Work Bis and Tris

Feel the tension build in each muscle
After much pain, relieve with a release
Pump the heart, move and hustle
Feel it beat and swiftly increase

Nothing like the rush of strength
To rid the frown and sighs
Lunge with lots of length
Curl and extend the bis and tris

Soul: Joy Gives Us Wings

While reflecting on both real frustrations and true happines, one recalls that joy can give us wings to fly and spirit to soar! Striving to seek joy in all things and at all times.

"The realm of joy hath been ushered in; be not sorrowful! The hidden mystery hath been made manifest; be not disheartened!" -- Bahá’u’lláh

"In this world we are influenced by two sentiments, Joy and Pain.
Joy gives us wings! In times of joy our strength is more vital, our intellect keener, and our understanding less clouded. We seem better able to cope with the world and to find our sphere of usefulness. But when sadness visits us we become weak, our strength leaves us, our comprehension is dim and our intelligence veiled. The actualities of life seem to elude our grasp, the eyes of our spirits fail to discover the sacred mysteries, and we become even as dead beings.
There is no human being untouched by these two influences; but all the sorrow and the grief that exist come from the world of matter—the spiritual world bestows only the joy!" -- ‘Abdu’l-Bahá

The world may be dark and gloomy
But inwardly, He is a blessing unto me
He gives me strength when I may be weak
He places the dimple in each cheek
He causes me to smile
And makes sure it lasts a while
He can be seen in the sun and the moon
Can be reached at dawn and at noon
He shines within and all around
Can be loudly heard or without sound
Provider of joy, creator of all things
Founder of the sky, and merchant of the wings

Mind: Mazloom Strives For Courtesy

FACT:
مَظـلوُم "Mazloom" is an arabic meaning "Wronged One"
Courtesy is a virtue

BACKGROUND:
This morning, I was engaging in some daily reading and reflection -- seeking encouragement to neither offend nor be offended as I start off my day. I came across the below and it has really help to set a great tone for the day.

QUOTES:

Bahá’u’lláh says:—

O people of God! I exhort you to courtesy. Courtesy is indeed … the lord of all virtues. Blessed is he who is adorned with the mantle of Uprightness and illumined with the light of Courtesy. He who is endowed with Courtesy (or Reverence) is endowed with a great station. It is hoped that this Wronged One, and all, will attain to it, hold unto it and observe it. This is the Irrefutable Command which hath flowed from the pen of the Greatest Name.—Tablet of the World.

Again and again He repeats:—“Let all the nations of the world consort with each other with joy and fragrance. Consort ye, O people, with the people of all religions with joy and fragrance.”

‘Abdu’l-Bahá says in a letter to the Bahá’ís of America:—

Beware! Beware! Lest ye offend any heart!
Beware! Beware! Lest ye hurt any soul!
Beware! Beware! Lest ye deal unkindly toward any person!
Beware! Beware! Lest ye be the cause of hopelessness to any creature!

Should one become the cause of grief to any one heart, or of despondency to any one soul, it were better to hide oneself in the lowest depths of the earth than to walk upon the earth.
He teaches that as the flower is hidden in the bud, so a spirit from God dwells in the heart of every man, no matter how hard and unlovely his exterior. The true Bahá’í will treat every man, therefore, as the gardener tends a rare and beautiful plant. He knows that no impatient interference on his part can open the bud into a blossom; only God’s sunshine can do that, therefore his aim is to bring that life-giving sunshine into all darkened hearts and homes.

Again, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá says:—

Among the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh is one requiring man, under all conditions and circumstances, to be forgiving, to love his enemy and to consider an ill-wisher as a well-wisher. Not that one should consider another as an enemy and then put up with him … and be forbearing toward him. This is hypocrisy and not real love. Nay, rather, you must see your enemies as friends, your ill-wishers as well-wishers and treat them accordingly. Your love and kindness must be real … not merely forbearance, for forbearance, if not of the heart, is hypocrisy.

Such counsel appears unintelligible and self-contradictory until we realize that while the outer carnal man may be a hater and ill-wisher, there is in everyone an inner, spiritual nature which is the real man, from whom only love and goodwill can proceed. It is to this real, inner man in each of our neighbors that we must direct our thought and love. When he awakens into activity, the outer man will be transformed and renewed.

REFLECTION:

Running deep, a sincere love for humanity

Person to person, our differences, true beauty

Differently, we appear, we act, we believe, we seek

But I honestly believe we are climbing to the same peak

Each one finding their own direction

Along winding pathways, a massive collection

Of differing perspectives and beliefs

Choosing to soar in the sky or swim in ocean reefs

Whether of the school of fish or the flock of birds

May feel much different than the cows that run in herds

But at the end of the day, we're one in the same

Witnessing His Glory through perhaps a different name

In order to love one another, having faith and trust

In God as well as each other is quite a must

Courteous ways, an open mind, and a kind heart

Striving. Perhaps one can bring together that which is apart

Body: Hip Set

Stride by stride, we took our run
Dips and squats, we lifted for fun
Kettle bell squats, down, up, and thrust
In my body, I placed a whole lot of trust

Grieving the potential break in my workout routine
Training causes my mind to be both clear and serene
Wanting to leap forward, increase my pace, and sustain
Very difficult to see how this pain will cause me any gain

Hips set in place, shoulders down and back
Tail bone tucked in, Chest popping out the rack
Have prided myself in perfecting posture and stance
Feeling like a ballerina who can no longer leap or prance

Forcing me to relax, to center, to take a break
Forward fold, deep breaths and stretches by the lake
Praying these hips will heal soon
So I can sing to my usual tune