8. O SON OF SPIRIT!

There is no peace for thee save by renouncing thyself and turning unto Me; for it behooveth thee to glory in My name, not in thine own; to put thy trust in Me and not in thyself, since I desire to be loved alone and above all that is.

does this mean that God is a "jealous" God? no, we already know that God loves us, regardless of what we do. instead we have to look at what really is best for us - we have to let go of our own ego and focus on what God wants for us. that's what is meant by loving God alone and first, and letting go of our own ideas and thoughts. an excellent quotation from 'Abdu'l-Bahá:

Whosoever has lost himself, has found the universe and the inhabitants thereof! Whosoever is occupied with himself is wandering in the desert of heedlessness and regret! The master-key of self-mastery is self-forgetfulness. The road to the palace of life is through the path of renunciation.

easy art

check out qbesq.com - a really easy way to create beautiful, symmetric art!

this took me approximately 10 seconds to create:

a great challenge for us all

The Blessed Beauty [Bahá'u'lláh] often remarked:

“There are four qualities which I love to see manifested in people:

first, enthusiasm and courage;

second, a face wreathed in smiles and a radiant countenance;

third, that they see all things with their own eyes and not through the eyes of others;

fourth, the ability to carry a task, once begun, through to its end.”

attempt to torch Bahá'ís in Shiraz

here's another frightening attack on the Bahá'ís in Iran... read this post and read here about the persecution of the Bahá'ís in Iran.

it's scary how human beings can do something like this.

is bubblewrap your thing?

then check this out. you'll enjoy it.

cool/addictive game

here's a small addictive game if you have nothing better to do.

best shot ever

I cannot explain how proud I am of this photo:


it was actually taken almost 6 months ago, on the 1st of november. I still haven't taken a better pic since then.

7. O SON OF MAN!

If thou lovest Me, turn away from thyself; and if thou seekest My pleasure, regard not thine own; that thou mayest die in Me and I may eternally live in thee.

I'm not sure how much more there is to say except for what's already written. isn't it quite clear what we have to do?

in regards to this, I talked with a friend of mine about the aspects of personal development. and simply put, there are two aspects of it:
1. doing less of the wrong thing.
2. doing more of the right thing.

obviously the two are interconnected, as doing more of the right will cause you to do less of the wrong, and vice versa. but it's a very interesting way of looking at things, and to look at oneself to see if one is progressing in the right direction. am I doing more good things? am I doing less wrong things? good questions to ask oneself every now and then.

not much happening

been a bit of a slow as of lately, falling into a bit of a routine. not that I don't like it, but not much to write about. football and champions league going on, been quite exciting to watch, and it's enough to still my need for football. haven't been able to play except for two weeks ago due to schedule clashes, but definitely looking forward to more of it. am compensating with basketball instead, which is more than good enough. weekend coming up, will include quite a bit of different stuff - classes, information, volunteering, etc. it'll be nice.

straightening things up

sunday evening we were invited to a nice dinner and stuff, and ended the night with straightening my hair. not exactly sure how it came about (ok, I suggested it myself...), but it turned out quite funny:


didn't last very long though, as the humidity curled it back up and I also showered the day after. but it was fun while it lasted!