New reality

Feb4

What are the tools of living in an
Interdependent world
Where diverse cultures and languages
and customs come together
And must co-exist?

We can’t go back in time
Or use the tools that worked in the past
Competition, looking out only for one’s own interests
Emphasis on material things and
Feeling superior to others
Won’t work
This is an interdependent world

Debating does not work
Listening and an open mind will
Competition won’t work
Cooperation will
Rigid thoughts and ideas won’t work
Flexibility will
Living isolated lives won’t work
Mixing and mingling will

The concept of “a leader”
As the one in control won’t work
The leader as servant will
Wanting all the power won’t work
Sharing it, however, will

Seeing and sowing division won’t work
Looking for similarities will
Patriarchy won’t work
Celebrating the feminine will

We live in a new reality
We need a new vision too
A vision in which we see our fellow man
As our brother and sister
Not the other
Not inferior

In this reality
The pain of someone else
Is our pain too
The misfortune of another nation
Ours as well

In this reality
Women and men must work
Side by side
cooperation is needed
Listening is important
Compassion is necessary
Truth is paramount
And service a must

The world has changed and
So must we!
Feb. 4th 2017IMG_4219.JPG

Grace

Jan27

Some days seem charged with a
Certain amount of electricity
A certain energy

I feel like I am being carried on
The wings of Grace
I feel the presence of my ancestors
I feel joyous in a deep loving way

Some days I feel like I’m floating on air
I feel uplifted

Some days are more special than other days
I call those days the days of Grace

January 26th, 2016image

Trust

Jan26

Revealing what’s personal
Takes guts
You have to be secure in yourself
Not afraid of being judged

Opening up
What friendships are based on
How we develop trust

Revealing what’s personal
Was so hard for me
For so long

But over the years
One step at a time
I’ve arrived at a place
Where I can share personal things
With those I choose to trust
One still takes a risk
But without deep friendships
Our lives would be so dull

Loneliness, lack of support
Not having those we can lean on
The disadvantages of not
Taking this risk

I’m glad my journey has brought me
To a place
Where I can confide in my friends
January 23rd, 2017

Ice age

Jan26

Our frozen world
Frozen from the lack of the sunshine of love
Frozen from the long nights of ignorance and prejudice

Icy cold is the world we live in
Hearts frosted over by greed
Cold from the scarcity of compassion and absence of brotherhood
Icy cold…
We shiver witnessing injustice and brutality
We long for the warmth of harmony and unity
Desolate, divided and ravaged
Is the world we live in

This ice age will not last forever though
It may be holding us in its grasp now
But spring is around the corner
Sunshine is around the bend
Warmth is nearby
The heat of the sun
Will melt this ice

And each of us can create some heat
Some warmth
By our loving words and deeds
By extending a helping hand to others
By caring for our fellow man

The flame within

Dec12

What is it that ignites your passion?
What is it that makes your heart sing?
What is it that brightens your day?
What is it that awakens your senses?

We start searching for our passion
When we are young
Sometimes we recognize it right away
Sometimes we find it but we forget
Sometimes we don’t pay it enough attention

But this discovery is important
Without discovering one’s passion
There is no joy
No motivation
No ziel and enthusiasm
No direction

Without discovering one’s passion
We’ll live ordinary lives
We’ll mark time
We’ll go through the motions of life

But as soon as we discover
What ignites that fire within us
The world begins to sing
The colors seem brighter and
One’s energy expands

It’s then that we can create beauty
Promote harmony
Make new discoveries
Develop our gifts
And serve our fellow man

That little flame is so powerful
It can start wild fires

December 11th, 2016

Kindness

Dec10

His kind words made me cry today
Kind words can do that you know

His kind words made me feel accepted and loved
I felt like I belonged
His kind words tore the veil of silence
And let in the light

Sometimes silence means complicity
Sometimes silence means we don’t want to go there
Things that are difficult to talk about
Remain behind the veil of silence

It takes courage to be kind
In a world that sometimes does not value kindness
At times, kindness is seen as weakness
What an absurd thought, I say

Kindness is like a river to the thirsty one
It’s life giving like sunshine
It’s like music that uplifts the soul
What more could one want?

One drop of kindness sweetens the ocean
Said the sage
This is the power of kindness

Kindness touched my heart today
A river of tears began to flow
Why tears as a response to kindness
I don’t know
I don’t know

December 1st, 2016

Good writing

Dec2

Good writing takes you to another world
You no longer hear
What’s going on around you
Or who comes and goes

Good writing can hold your heart
In its hands
Your emotions are held hostage
For a while

Good writing is hard to put down
Just one more line
Just one more line
Your heart cries

Good writing leaves its mark on you
Your world is not the same anymore

Good writing comes from
A place of vulnerability
The writer bears her/his soul

Good writing captivates you
And doesn’t let you go
Perhaps it highjacks your soul

Good writing
I’m in its snare
And will be for evermore

December 1st, 2016

Naked

Nov28

img_0343It’s winter
The trees have lost their leaves
Their branches stand naked
Nothing protects them from the glances
That are cast upon them

The nests built in the shadow of their leaves
In spring
Stand exposed

There is something sad about
The absence of the lush leaves
That decorate their branches

In the summer time
But there is beauty
In their new found transparency

Their branches are extended
With self confidence
Nothing weighs them down
At this point
They feel lighter
Even though they are exposed
No secrets
No hidden agenda

They are vulnerable though
Ice will cover their branches during
Freezing rain
Weigh them down and break them
They will feel the sharp jabs
Of hailstones more acutely
But there is always a price to pay
When baring one’s soul

November 25th, 2016

photo credit:  Masoud Atrvash

Stones

Nov28

 

img_0341

We live more isolated
More orderly lives
Various things separating us
From one another

Bigger homes
Longer distances to work
Less time for family and friends
Valuing independence
Fear of rejection
Old wounds of the past

The distances created between us
Make our communities feel colder
More organized perhaps
Less chaotic
But Loneliness is rampant

Instead of talking to friends
We call hot-lines designed
To help us cope

When we need help
We are weary of asking our
Neighbour for a hand

When we stand in line
We look down at our phones
Instead of at each other

Separation is cold, lonely and lifeless

Being more connected may be
More chaotic
Louder
Less comfortable at times

But it’s colourful
More lively
More cozy
More kind

And a helping hand is always nearby
November 28th, 2016

 

Collage of me 2

Nov21

We search for our identities
Especially when we are transplants in society
We try to find out how we fit into the world
To what cultural group we belong
What values we espouse
And how other people see us

What if such a rigid identity is not to be found
We are all born with intrinsic personalities and abilities
After that, our experiences, our education
And our efforts make us who we are

Our ‘self’ is fluid
It changes as we learn and grow
Our experiences shape us
And this will continue all our lives

I find this liberating
Because now I don’t have to find out
Where I fit in, to which group I belong
Who accepts me and who does not

I am unique
As everyone else is
I am who I am because of the places
I have lived
The languages I’ve learned
The books I’ve read
The people I’ve met and befriended
Where I was born factors into this too
It’s one of the many things that makes me me!

I am Eastern
I am Western
I am Persian
I am Canadian
I value art and poetry
I value friends and family
I value honesty, compassion and equality

I’m an adventurer
I am a rebel of sorts
I am curious
I want to learn
I live and write in English
More than in my mother tongue
But there is no discrepancy in all this
They all make up the collage of me

November 11th, 2016