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description= I charge you all that each one of you concentrate all the thoughts of your heart on love and unity. When a thought of war comes, oppose it by a stronger thought of peace. A thought of hatred must be destroyed by a more powerful thought of love. -Abdu l-Baha;

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Text of the page (random words):
ha i blogging challenge for a while you ve probably noticed that i fell off the wagon with daily posting this last week a combination of health challenges job loss and garden variety stress combined to create a perfect storm of overwhelm i even quit reading and anyone who knows me in person knows that s a really big deal i usually read 1 2 books a week i m hoping to get back in the saddle but regardless of my posting schedule over the next several days i wanted to let folks know that i m still here and okay categories from life the sign of love tough times and the songs that get us through november 16 2017 0 i ve been dealing with a fair bit of upheaval in my life in the last week or so honestly people are surprised that i m taking it as well as i am especially when i regularly crumble when faced with less serious crises the thing is i m ornery by nature if people around me are comfortable i have this unbearable itch to point out the flaws in our precious plans when they re sad i m inexplicably cheery and when disaster strikes i m at my best calm collected and organized i should work in an emergency room except that needles make me woozy and i can t stand up for longer than an hour without my hip giving out or function without consistent sleep okay i should definitely not work in an emergency room so i don t have a ton to share right now except that this song by luke slott has kept me going through a lot of trials over the last several months something about the combination of the words the voices the contemplatively shifting time signature that gives space to hold it all it just works for me whether i m sitting alone or walking outside it ll get stuck in your head in the best way reminding you that struggles and sadness aren t unique they re necessary the lyrics are from the hidden words a brief book of aphorisms written by baha u llah half of them were written in arabic while the other were written in persian this is arabic hidden word 48 o son of man for everything there is a sign the sign of love is fortitude under my decree and patience under my trials tags crisis and victory music prayer categories from the web on email seriously november 15 2017 0 you know what i didn t expect to be such a huge part of my service as a coordinator email i send a lot of emails emails asking questions emails inviting people to various spaces trainings and gatherings emails sharing information emails clarifying the information that was already shared reminder emails encouraging emails i love meeting in person i love visiting people and talking on the phone but wow is email ever useful it s not a revolutionary new thing it s not fancy and it s not spiritually enriching or personally engrossing it s really not an exciting topic that makes everyone want to read your blog post but it can be helpful if done right and i feel like it s something i ve learned a lot about so here it is what i know about writing excellent emails make your subject line obvious if you re writing marketing emails you might want to be coy and try to make people curious enough to open the email and see what you re selling that kind of hidden agenda doesn t work if you re trying to build a culture of honesty and open consultation if it s about a prayer gathering on december 5 call it december 5 prayer gathering perhaps with a you re invited as well it s not the best place for creativity if you re asking for something ask in the first paragraph and repeat it towards the end things i often need to ask for are for people to register for an event to fill out a survey to attend a gathering to respond to the email to write a summary or to gather and share some kind of data if there s a link that needs to be followed make sure it s repeated as well if something is important make it stand out i like to use bold type for dates and calls to action larger font size can be used sparingly as well all caps definitely stands out but comes across with a rude undertone that i m not normally comfortable with in emails where i can t clarify that i m being facetious in my aggression it s easier to avoid context is important but it goes in the middle the why of your request is important someone s motivation for acting on your request is just as important as whether they do it so give it some thought but it s incredibly frustrating to receive a pile of context before understanding what it s supposed to be in relation to your high school english teacher was right when she said you needed an introduction with a thesis statement a body and a conclusion if you find yourself becoming long winded write an outline most confusing communication could be vastly improved if people just took the time to outline their points in advance and i say this as someone who has coached a lot of people on their writing bullet points are your friend on the other hand that same english teacher probably also demanded full paragraphs with grammatically correct sentences if you can say something in bullet points instead it will probably be all of the following easier to read more compelling better organized easier to write see what i mean and when you re using bullet points it s generally understood that a subject and verb are not required quote the guidance when you can but do it briefly it s an email not a deepening but it s always helpful to draw on the language we ve been given look at how the universal house of justice quotes the writings for excellent examples of how to quote beautifully in the middle of an explanation always be encouraging always end on a positive note never miss an opportunity to share your appreciation and love even if you re just shooting off a quick question about whether you need to print agendas for a meeting a thanks for all your help can go such a long way accompaniment doesn t stop just because you re not meeting face to face don t abuse reply all if it s not necessary to bother everyone with your response to a chain don t make sure that you re only writing to the people you really want to hear from you bonus if you re offering an invitation and you have the time people always respond better to beautiful images can it feel silly to design an invitation with photos of happy people engaged in a meaningful conversation when all the information is available in the body of the email yes do people respond more positively to beautiful images anyway absolutely just like a vase of flowers can make a gathering feel festive a thoughtfully designed image makes an email feel important if you ve got even a little bit of skill or can bumble your way around canva it can create a little oasis of beauty in someone s inbox and that s what i ve got there s nothing amazing here that hasn t already been said by others but if you re looking to brush up on your online communication this is a solid place to start i hope it s useful to somebody tags accompaniment service writing categories from life on beautiful messes and organic growth november 14 2017 0 a group of friends was discussing how a program grows in communities at varying stages of development and the term organic growth came up and needed some clarifying in the beginning growth is often a bit of a mess somebody tries something somebody else tries something else something catches on something else doesn t maybe people talk to each other about what they re doing and maybe not patches of activity sputter to life and die out again conversations happen or they don t people usually individuals but sometimes small groups do what they can in whatever ways seem to open there s not a problem with these initial messy efforts it s a beautiful mess after all seeing growth where there wasn t any before and it makes little sense to compare a community at this stage and feel terrible comparing with more advanced communities that have all kinds of structures in place teams focused on specific lines of action coordinators for educational programs committees thinking about quarterly cycles of activity annual calendars budgets resources all these things develop with effort and experience and time but sometimes in an effort to avoid comparisons and feel better about where we are we say things like well we re growing organically right now and that s not necessarily accurate organic growth of course isn t the same thing as frenetic growth it doesn t mean the same thing as without structure or without a plan anyone who has ever gardened or taken regular walks in the woods has seen organic growth in action a plant will absolutely adapt to the local environment as it sprouts and grows taking advantage of light moisture space and support wherever they may be found but there is still a structure and an order to this growth stems grow before buds leaves appear at particular intervals in relation to one another regardless of the circumstances roots go down stems up every individual is different and yet they all follow a comprehensive plan there is a framework for organic growth why does this matter because if we conflate organic growth with frenetic growth the opposite of organic becomes systematic when it comes time to grow beyond one or two or five little hubs of activity we re unable to step forward because the next steps are what we have viewed as the antithesis of our strengths we cling to freneticism in the name of naturalness not understanding that growing into structure over time is also natural systematic in turn doesn t mean rigid hierarchical forced or even complex systematic can mean taking notes after your children s class so that a substitute can help fill in when you re sick systematic can mean you and a group of friends get together over dinner once a month to talk about what you ve been doing and reflect on what you ve learned systematic can mean choosing your next steps on purpose having looked at the needs and resources around you rather than responding in the moment to real or perceived emergencies or panicking about growing in all ways at all times regardless of your ability to address each area of growth effectively sometimes in learning to grow from beautiful mess to systematic growth we forget the emergent and adaptive quality that is also at the heart of an organic approach we appoint someone to coordinate an activity when there is nothing yet to coordinate we push a particular line of action without stopping to consider whether there is a foundation that can be built upon we cut off an area of strength in order to adhere to an unhelpful conception of balance we insist on a single approach rather than providing a framework and seeing what emerges if complacence keeps us stuck in the stage of beautiful messes it s impatience that drives us to the other extreme organic growth requires a calm sense of urgency that s not particularly encouraged in today s society it s something i struggle with on a personal level myself often mentally swinging between everything must happen now and here is the exact method for achieving it and forget this i m just going to do what s pleasant and convenient regardless of the need it s consultation with others that helps keep me a little more focused and level thanks y all organic growth is about creating an environment that challenges and encourages it we weed we water we provide trellises or light or heat and the plant grows we know what roses or tomatoes or oak trees need but the circumstances are always a bit different on the ground perhaps the soil here is more acidic or the drainage is poor this valley is prone to floods in may this particular plant is prone to blight but the only way we learn these things about our local conditions is to get out there and start a garden and if we ve only read books about gardening n the past it s probably going to be a mess at first mud and tears and fits and starts it will be amazing when the whole world has gained so much experience that we can all move smoothly into true organic growth from the start until then we ll keep working through the stage of beautiful messes and into something appropriate and new doing our best to help our gardens grow tags garden growth organization service categories from life humility practice and capacity building november 13 2017 0 let me tell you a story i started playing the cello in elementary school orchestra i was lucky to go to school in a district that took the arts very seriously more so than the sciences even somewhat to the detriment of stem inclined students like my sister and so orchestra was an option beginning in fourth grade every year my teacher would recommend i take private lessons but dance and gymnastics were more important to me at that point so there was never time for one more thing still i had a decent theoretical and intuitive understanding of music thanks to my pianist father so i did fine in middle school i started developing joint pain gymnastics fell victim first followed by ballet i managed to keep up enough for theater but by my junior year i wasn t even engaged in that the same way so at 16 i started private cello lessons my teacher who had his pick of brilliant students agreed to take me on because i was interesting i could read music fluently in multiple clefs i could handle complex rhythms i was keeping up with the other members of my high school orchestra and as long as i did my technique had never been dealt with i was going to have to start over from scratch my first lesson i wasn t allowed to play a single note after bow hold exercises i held the bow in my right hand with both hands resting on my knees i picked them up and placed them correctly on the instrument drawing two wide loops in the air i put them back on my knees i put them back on the cello i put them back on my knees the next lesson i played open strings the lesson after that i played four note scales then eight notes then i finally had music placed in front of me suzuki book 1 the first song twinkle twinkle little star i started to cry just looking at it i had been playing the cello for seven years it was so humiliating my friends were playing bach and here i was playing baby music my teacher bless him didn t seem phased by this he explained that we d move through relatively quickly but that my technique needed to be addressed at a foundational level before we moved on to more complex things and that it would require hard work and practice and a huge dose of humility but never humiliation there was nothing to be ashamed of in striving to be better no matter what it looked like to someone on the outside i stayed after school every day and practiced by myself twinkle twinkle french folk song the song of the wind the happy farmer minuet in c my orchestra teacher commented that it was so nice to hear the old songs again i did move quickly practicing every day and i improved the next year i found myself a section leader my teacher moved to another country but i ve never forgotten the lesson in humility he taught me when he watched me cry to se...