An honest day's work

I spent the day yesterday on the farm. It was SO good to get out there in the sun and get my hands back into the soil. Farming is one of the most fulfilling things I have ever done. One of the reasons is that it is so visual. In a few hours of hard work you go from having soil to having long rows of seeds that have already started turning into a crop. It is incredibly rewarding work. As a Baha'i, one of my beliefs is that work is worship. There is not a day that I spend out on farmland that does not feel like worship.

Yesterday I prepared this bed to plant. This involved flattening out the bed until it was level, marking out my three rows using string with stakes at either end (you would be surprised how hard it is to make a straight row without the string guiding you!), and then creating a shallow trench in the soul with a hoe.

It took me a while to get my rows sorted out, but I was pleased with them.

 

Once I had my rows sorted, divided up my bed into five foot sections. Five feet is an incredibly small amount of space. Back in Canada our rows extended much longer distances. But this is a small garden surrounded by a larger farm, so everything is on a smaller scale.

 Once my bed was divided into sections, I got out my seeds. I planted beets, chard, turnips and mixed greens. When I was farming in Canada I learned that each beet seed actually has two seeds in it. Isn't that cool? In addition to being cool it means that beets have to be well-thinned once they get established to one of the two plants growing in any given spot a chance to really grow. Beets, chard and turnips get planted between 1 and 2 inches apart. Greens can go as much as three seeds per inch. I am enjoying learning US measurements. Having grown up in the Mediterranean, and living in Canada for the last six years, I measure in centimetres, and the folks on the farm here have been well amused by my blank facial expressions whenever they give me instructions that involve measurements. I was grateful that Guy gave me a measuring tape. It was a BIG help!

These are chard seeds. They look a lot like beet seeds though.

 

Can you see my row of seeds? They look kinda like popcorn from this distance. Isn't it incredible that tall green chard stalks are going to emerge from those tiny things? 

I planted the greens last. It is hard to plant these tiny seeds as they blend in with the soil, which made it difficult to see where I had planted the last seed. It is odd to be planting greens in September. In Canada they would not survive, but here, I am told, they will be just fine. There is so much to learn when you move from one climate to another and attempt to farm. There is much to to understand about the seasons, the soil, the elevation, frost and precipitation. It explains why families that own farms stay in one place, deepening their knowledge of the land over many generations.

I don't have a photo of it, but after I planted this bed Guy and I installed the drip tape. I have had to learn how to install and fix drip irrigation tape since arriving in California. In Canada there was so much precipitation that we did not ever need an irrigation system, but here in California, even sitting right next to a river, we need water. The sun is blisteringly hot even now in September (99 degrees yesterday), and the plants wither within hours without plentiful supply of water. Guy got out a huge wooden reel and I grabbed the end of the drip tape and ran to the opposite end of the bed where I hooked the tape up to the valves that run off of the main water pipe. You have to get the pressure in the main pipe perfectly set or the delicate drip tape explodes when the water starts surging through it. The trial and error of figuring out how far to turn the lever gives you plenty of opportunity to learn how to repair (or replace) the drip irrigation tape! Yesterday, in the process of getting the drip irrigation tape hooked up, I reached down to move some soil that was obstructing the valve and ended up finding myself cupping soil that was moving. After I recovered from the shock of having picked up an enormous, and amazingly well camouflaged bull frog that had been happily enjoying the coolness of the water dripping from the valve, I hooked up the tape and turned the water on. I love the sound of water surging down the lines, and the image my mind creates of the rows of seeds beginning their journey up out of the soil. 

Before I left I harvested some tomatoes for salad, and some gorgeous flowers for the kitchen table. The sunflowers in the garden are towering beauties right now. They are their own solar system. The sun in the sky pales in comparison to their bright yellow brilliance. 

The mighty ones that towered above me I couldn't bear to cut down. But I brought a few smaller ones home. They are shining warm light all over the kitchen. 

Aren't they pure joy?

And on that note, I will leave you with a tune from Luke Slot, called 'A few Honest Words.' 

I hope you all manage to get outside this weekend, and that the sun is shining brightly when you do! Have a great weekend, friends. See you here Monday!

20,000 chances to change a life

I found out late this afternoon that Vanessa Diffenbaugh, author of The Language of Flowers, which I finished reading late late last night, was giving a reading this evening at the library downtown, so I grabbed my book and headed out to hear her.

Vanessa's novel intrigues me for a number of reasons. Firstly, it is about using the language of flowers --the secret meanings that various flowers were given in the Victorian era--to express emotions and sentiments that are difficult (or impossible, as the case is for the main character in this novel) to express any other way. When I was a child I came across the Victorian definition for flowers. I do not recall now where it was, but I recall very distinctly making a list of flowers and their meanings on a piece of paper that I am certain is still stuck between the pages of one of my childhood journals. I distinctly remember the yellow rose, which my source said stood for jealousy (why I remember that flower in particular stumps me). I have not seen that list in many years, but the minute I read about Vanessa's novel, it took me back to the little piece of paper that I carried around with me (and no, in case you are wondering, I never gave anyone a yellow rose).

The second reason that Vanessa's novel interests me is the amount of re-writing she had to do to get it to the point where it was ready to be published. I could not be more grateful for the honesty with which she spoke about the process or writing and re-writing and re-writing, and then trying to get it published. Hearing her reaffirmed for me that people do actually make it through this process of writing and re-writing a novel, and come out the other end successful. For some reason in my mind I have this idea that the people whose novels are a success write the perfect first draft with no significant editing necessary. I know people SAY that they had to do a lot of editing, but I always had this idea that they were just saying what you are supposed to say when you publish a novel. But Vanessa confirmed it this evening. It is a hell of a lot of work to write a novel, and the writing is only the first step in a very, very long journey. It requires humility, and a dogged determination that THIS NOVEL is THE NOVEL you are supposed to be writing, and that you will keep working at it until it IS ready.

The third thing that interests me about Vanessa is that she is from Sacramento. She actually is from the neighbourhood that I currently live in. She grew up here. Also, as I found out this evening, she actually did a good deal of her writing sitting in a coffee shop that I sit in to write on a regular basis. Another misconception blown out of the water -- I always pictured published authors as living in exotic places, or at least big cities like Paris or New York. Wrong again. She has traveled to Amsterdam and Paris and London on her book tour this year, but before that she was sitting just down the street from me typing away at a table I may have been sitting at yesterday. Yes-- Vanessa has given me a lot to reflect on this evening.

One thing that had not intrigued me was the topic of foster children. Adoption is something I have thought about. Foster children I have never thought about. Not once. But it turns out that foster children are one of the reasons that Vanessa wrote her book. At age 21 the children she had babysat every weekend became homeless. Vanessa took them home at the end of the weekend and was met at the door by their grandmother who held out bags packed with their clothes and told Vanessa that she could not take care of them. I cannot imagine being given such an enormous responsibility at age 21. Vanessa took these children home with her and took care of them until she realized she was going to have to turn them over to the foster care system. She explained that it was heartbreaking to give them up, but even more heartbreaking to watch as they were moved from home to home, separated from each other, and made to live in truly sad living situations. From that point forward improving foster care became an issue that Vanessa has devoted her time and energy to bringing to people's attention. 

At the end of the reading tonight Vanessa explained that today over 20,000 teenagers in the United States emancipate from the foster care system every year, and many of these youth become homeless or incarcerated within two years. Many of these youth have dreams and skills and passions, but are simply lacking the support to pursue them. Often what they need to help them take the next step is something extremely simple. An example she gave was the story of a local youth living here in the Sacramento area who had been given a full scholarship to go to college, but he had decided not to go. The reason? He had no way to GET TO college, and he had nowhere to live between June when he finished high school, and when college actually started in August. Fortunately the young man connected with some of Vanessa's colleagues, and they hooked him up with a ride to college and talked the school into letting him move into the dorms early. Those two simple gestures of love changed that youth's life.

Vanessa is using her novel as a way to highlight the ways that regular people, like you or I, can help these youth to make that transition, and move on to lead happy, successful lives. That a new pair of shoes, a ride, or even a ten dollar bill could save a youth's life. Small things really, when you think about it, in comparison to the capacity that these kids have to change the world when they are empowered by their community to be agents of change. 

At the end of the reading Vanessa signed books and passed out blooming bookmarks (yes, they actually bloom flowers if you plant them in the soil and water them) to promote an organization that she is spearheading, along with a few local dynamite friends. The organization is called Camellia Network, and the group's mission is to invite you (and me) to be part of these kids' stories. Sound inspiring? That's because it is. And apparently a number of former and current foster kids think so too because a number of them turned up at the reading tonight to support this initiative. If you are interested in finding a way to be of service to your community, check Camellia Network out. It is a practical, personal way that we can build stronger, richer, happier communities.

So glad I took the time to go down town. If you get the chance, do pick up a copy of Vanessa's novel. It is a great read, and hopefully it will inspire you to reach out to a foster youth in your community. Maybe not as a foster parent, but there are so many other ways to support these youth as they begin their lives as adults.

Have a great day! And see you on Friday!

The language of flowers

 

The sun is shining through my window as I write this. It is yet another clear blue hot sunny day here in California. I am sipping a hot cup of tea with milk and honey. The flowers in the photo above are ones I planted from seed, grew, and harvested from the youth garden at Soil Born Farm, where I volunteer. Over the last few weeks Guy has invited me to harvest vegetables and flowers to take home. There is something magical about flowers that you grow with your own hands. Flowers that you have seen in a garden, peering at you over the tomato vines, buzzing with feeding bees in the sunshine after the drip irrigation has gone off and everything smells sweet. I experience all of that when I look at this vase of flowers on the table.

I am started reading a novel late last night called The Language of Flowers: A Novel, by Vanessa Diffenbaugh. I had seen a review of the book in the paper, and then last night I came out to dinner and there it was, sitting on my chair at the dinner table, a gift from my mother. After a weekend of working all day and half the night both Saturday and Sunday researching an article that is due to an editor on Wednesday, it was heavenly to be able to climb into bed last night with a new novel, especially one with such a gorgeous title.

I have been practicing gratitude lately. I keep thinking that I will forget, but every night before I fall asleep I lie in bed and come up with five things I was grateful for that day. Last night I was totally exhausted, and feeling slightly frustrated by how long the research for the article I am working on was taking me, so I was surprised when I managed to come up with my list relatively quickly (yes, sometimes I have to really think. Hard).

My list last night was:

1. The delicious supper of pasta and large, colourful salad that my parents prepared last night while I worked on my research.
2. The novel that my mom had sitting on my chair when I came out to join them for supper.
3. That I am another day closer to finishing this article I am working on, which is in a genre that I am realizing has taught me a lot about writing and editing, but is not bringing me as much joy as writing about food and drink or more creative fiction or non-fiction pieces. I am grateful that I have persisted in getting this article written even though it is has been a bit grueling.
4. The way the sun shone through the trees and dusted the back garden late yesterday afternoon when I wandered outside barefoot for a breath of fresh air, and to look at the sky for a while, instead of my computer screen.
5. My parents. Their never-ending love and support no matter what. 

I have been noticing that taking the time to be grateful is slowly but surely increasing my conscious awareness of the good things in my life. The light. Friends. My family. It is definitely making things shift. I am not sure how this will reverberate out into other areas of life, but I will keep you posted. For now however, I am going to sign off, enjoy the rest of my cuppa tea, and tune into my dear friend Ahava Shira's Monday afternoon radio show, Love in the Afternoon (1pm, every Monday).

I think I already know what one of my five things on today's list is going to be :-)

Have a great, gratitude-filled week friends!!

Creating a vision

“.. almost everything – all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.” - Steve Jobs

I love this quote by Steve Jobs. He has given so much to the world by being a living example of his own advice in this quote, too. Walking the talk.   

Wednesday evening the group of women that I usually join for devotions on a particular spiritual virtue met up to make vision boards for our lives. Our host, Robin, had baked delicious quiches (and she made me my own little quiches that looked like egg muffins, but were really cute little quiches without the crust!); one of the other women brought a salad, and I brought Lady's Slipper iced tea. We enjoyed our supper outside on the patio next to a sign that read: "Hippies use the back gate." 

After supper we pulled out all our art materials and spread out across the living room, covering it in sheets of stickers, pens, magazines, paper, scissors, sparkles, and glue sticks. The next four hours we worked and played, talked and laughed, all while creating a vision for the next year of our lives. 

We cut and pasted, flipped through page after page of magazines, ripped paper, wrote, and reflected on our process out loud with each other. 

It was a really enjoyable evening, with lots of laughter, and time seemed to rush past. By the time we left at close to 11pm, our eyes were fluttering shut. Not everyone was completely done, but most of us were most of the way there.

The images in this photo are the property of Ariana Salvo, and are not to be reproduced

I am very pleased with my vision board, which is now firmly mounted on the wall at the end of my bed so that I am staring at it when I wake up and go to sleep every day. 

Images in this photo are the property of Ariana Salvo, and may not be reproduced without permission

My mom took a rather less literal approach to the project. Her board represents the spiritual journey that she is on. 

Some of the other creations were incredibly beautiful and inspiring: 

This photo is the property of Ariana Salvo, and my not be reproduced

This photo is the property of Ariana Salvo, and may not be reproduced

This photo is the property of Ariana Salvo, and may not be reproduced

Aren't they incredible? I was inspired. I have heard so many stories about the power that visualizing something daily has in making it happen. So when I look at the various components of my vision board: 

Photo is the property of Ariana Salvo. May not be copied or reproduced.

...I think about what an important role perspective plays in accomplishing goals, how many big, rich, joyful dreams I have, and how much richer, more joyful my life will become as I integrate all of the things on my board into every day, like gratitude, taking the time to enjoy the natural world and relax, owning my own farm, having or adopting a child, being courageous, being excited about the unknown of the future, falling in love, being the change I want to see in the world, writing and writing and writing, and having the courage to call myself a writer, writing in my journal, radiating confidence, being playful and joy-filled....

This photo is the property of Ariana Salvo and may not be reproduced

...travel to placed I have yet to explore, surrounding myself with strong, graceful female friends, enjoying many more summers, staying fit with running and yoga, strengthening my relationship with God, writing novels, becoming financially sustainable....and finding a home and community to settle in (which is what Louise Mould's painting, Upton Farm Butternut Tree, in the bottom right corner of this piece symbolizes to me.    

As I work on staying true to my heart, and continuing to develop my writing career, every little thing I do to reinforce and encourage myself is a step towards accomplishing my goal. The vision board helps me to keep my goals foremost in my thoughts every day. 

Another thing I am contemplating signing up for is Karen Walrond's course that will help people in transition to find their passion in life, and take practical steps towards realizing their goals. Her course begins in September, but apparently if you register by Monday at midnight, it is only 55 dollars. Given the amount of experience Karen has with transitions and pursuing her passion for photography and writing, I'd say that is a steal. I encourage you to check out her website and blog (which I read daily). 

And with that, I wish you all a long and gorgeous weekend! I hear it is raining on the east coast. What I wouldn't give for some rain in the land of endless sunny days. It's funny how you start to miss it when it happens so rarely! 

Happy Friday friends! Whatever the weather is doing, have a great weekend, and see you all back here on Monday!

Savouring the last drops of summer

The sun is low in the sky on another hot, clear blue sky day. It is amazing to me that the summer is almost over. It has sprinted past me this year--probably because it is the first summer in years that I have not gone home to Cyprus. I associate summer with swimming in the Mediterranean and lounging at outdoor cafes sipping Nescafe frappes and chatting with friends for hours on end. Yeah. So I've been spoiled. I am a bit of a summer snob. The Mediterranean has given me high standards for summer. 

All that said however, I have done a number of things this summer that I would not normally take the time to do if I were in the Mediterranean:

I've read way more novels, which is always a luxury of the best variety, in my opinion.

I have been able to keep my Wednesday morning writing dates with my friend Ahava, which is encouraging me to make a good deal of progress on my novel, which I otherwise might have dismissed for the summer. I am also making lots of progress with the research for my novel, which is set in Europe in the 1940s, and have had multiple life-changing conversations in just the last few weeks with a woman who survived the Holocaust and has gone on to be an artist and healer. If I had not been here, we would never have connected.

I have been around to attend the women's devotional gathering that I am heading off to again this evening with a group of incredibly funny and wise women.

I am writing in my journal daily.

I have more time to volunteer.
 
My mother and I have been able to enjoy more blended blancos together at our favourite local coffee joint :-) 

And I am getting to know my local community better. Having conversations with folks that I might otherwise never have stopped to talk to.

Speaking of doing things this summer that I would not ordinarily do, it's time to go meet the wild and wise women in my women's devotional group.

What are you filling the last days of your summer with? Whatever it is, I hope you are savouring every last drop of the heat and golden sunlight. The first leaves on our street have already started falling, reminding me to notice and enjoy what remains of the season. I'm heading out to do just that! 

Gratitude Mondays

I have been meaning to write this post since Friday, but was in need of some time away from the computer screen, so I practiced self compassion, and took a digital sabbatical over the weekend,  indulging instead in a number of other delicious things including yoga in the park, and reading my novel, The Invisible Bridge (Vintage Contemporaries), at the kitchen table, while lounging on the living room couch, curled up with a duvet on the back porch in the late afternoon sunlight, and even out in the garden under the walnut tree. I sipped golden tipped Assam tea and munched on sun dried apricots while I read, and when I got tired of reading at home I grabbed my journal and my novel and headed over to a local coffee house called Old Soul for a hot chai with my friend Dionne and her son Lucas. It was a sublimely relaxing and rejuvenating weekend.

I was reading a blog entry by Karen Walrond about gratitude the other day. She has a blog that I read called Chookoloonks, but she has a number of other gigs, including a page she is writing now for Babble Voices called Bliss Your Heart. Karen is an incredible photographer, so her blog focuses on her gorgeous photos, however her Friday Bliss your heart features focus on gratitude, and what she is grateful for in her life. Scrolling through her entries left me feeling incredibly lighthearted, and I thought to myself--"why don't I have a gratitude day on my blog?" And so here it is. My gratitude day is going to be Monday (officially), but I am hoping that by practicing on Monday I will get better at being more conscious of what I am grateful for every day. I may or may not always include photos, as what I am most interested in is writing, but I am hoping this will create a bit of a domino effect, you know? Make you think to yourself "maybe I should make a gratitude list..." Maybe you should!

Here's my list this week:

1. I am grateful for my dear friend Dionne and her gorgeous son Lucas. I only met Dionne this year, but I already feel like I have known her for years. She is great company; is incredibly inspiring as a mother of a 6-month old baby boy (read: patience and perseverance beyond ANYTHING I have even begun to experience in my life) and an athlete (she runs nine miles every other day....did I mention that she has a 6-month old son? Well she runs those nine miles pushing the little fellow, and she is training for a half marathon)....In addition to inspiring me, Dionne makes me laugh at life; we both love to read novels; we are doing a spiritual study of the Baha'i Ruhi materials together; we pray together; we hit yard sales together, and she is one of the most devoted (and encouraging) readers on my blog (Louise, you are the other one!)

Watching Dionne with Lucas has been teaching me a lot about continuing to do your best, even when you aren't sure how you are going to keep trying. Lucas himself has taught me about joy. He is a non-stop source of it. When he smiles at you, his eyes smile. My entire day shifts on its axis when this little man smiles.

2. Prayers. The ones in my Baha'i prayer book most especially. The ones I whisper in the morning before I start my day, and at the end before I sleep. They bring me back to my true self -- my spiritual reality. It is really good to be reminded at least twice a day.

3. My community. The folks that I go out to breakfast and dinner with. The people who join me for movies. The people I teach children and youth classes alongside. The people I go to the beach to collect pebbles with. The ones I eat ice cream with. The ones I write with. The ones I dance with. The ones I farm with. I cannot imagine this life without them.

4. My writing. I write daily now, and it is such a blessing to be able to put pen to paper. There are few things I love as much as writing. Taking the time to stop and be present with what is around me, and to record its tiniest details.

5. The free yoga in the park classes that I go to on Saturday mornings. Starting my weekend outside under a blue sky with birds singing in the trees around me and the smell of roses in the air is truly incredible. I leave feeling full of joy and energized for my weekend.

6. My volunteer work on a local organic farm. There is really almost nothing that makes me happier than spending the day with my hands in the soil growing and harvesting colourful, healthy food.

7. The women that I do a women's devotional gathering every other week with. I love the level of unity that exists in our group despite the fact that we all come from completely different cultural, ethnic and faith backgrounds.

8. The crunch of the leaves beneath my sandals as I walked to the movie theatre last night in the golden summer light, and the same sound as I headed home again later at night, the trees all lit up from beneath by the yellow streetlights, the starry sky laid out crisp and clear above, and the gushing sound of sprinklers shooting water back and forth in arcs across the lawns on my street. 

9. The sound of semi-eaten walnuts, discarded by careless squirrels, falling from the giant walnut tree in the back garden, hitting our roof with loud thuds like it is hailing golf-balls, and then rolling down the slope of the roof and falling down to the ground. I do not know why, but despite startling me (every. single. time), the sound also makes me smile. August is the month of raining walnuts.

10. The breeze that blows into my bedroom at night while I sleep. Having grown up in Cyprus, where no such breeze blows during the summer, it is incredibly refreshing to sleep with a cool breeze blowing and blowing, and to wake up snuggled up warm with the cool air all around me.

What are you feeling grateful for?

Spiritual beings having a physical experience

I promised to write about the Association for Baha'i Studies Conference that I attended in San Francisco this past week, so here I am to fulfill that promise. The conference was entitled 'Transforming Habits of Thought,' and was about precisely that--how to re-envision everything we are doing within a spiritual framework.

There were over 1,500 individuals at the conference from all over the world. I even ran into folks there from New Zealand. There were a number of talks given in the main hall, and then in the afternoons there were multiple, simultaneous breakout sessions on rethinking our habits of thought in every area of our lives. In the evenings we enjoyed incredible music performed by professional musicians. It is hard to identify specific elements that made this conference so incredible, but I will try to mention a few things that stuck out to me, as well as my overall impression.

So many of the presentations were excellent, but a few stuck out to me, and are still making me reflect on how I think about particular issues and ideas. One was the first presentation I attended, by Keyvan Geula, a marriage and family counselor from the L.A. area. She is Iranian, and is dynamite! She addressed how to build and maintain happy, strong relationships with humour and great insight and wisdom, fully integrating the Baha'i writings into her presentation. She spoke about the importance of looking not only at whether we speak to each other, but at HOW we speak to one another; the distinction between emotions (unconscious) and feelings (emotions you are conscious of and must therefore take responsibility for); our lower, or physical self and our higher, spiritual self; the difference between empathy and sympathy; the fact that although we do have genetic predispositions, WE decide how we express our genes; the fact that marriage is a moral and social institution; the nature of our interactions--what is the spirit of our interactions with our partners/friends/colleagues, etc; and the faculty of meditation, which the founder of the Baha'i faith, Baha'u'llah, said is a characteristic of a human being (and the person who does not develop this faculty cannot be called a human being). Strong ideas to reflect on, for sure.

Another presentation that influenced me deeply was one given by a wonderful African American woman named Billie Mayo, about changing our habits of thought and practice around race. Billie has been transforming classrooms around the country through a program called Ubuntu (and I remember that word because she had the entire audience of 1,500 repeat it OUT LOUD -- I'm telling you, the woman is a genius). She is challenging educators to question their own attitudes towards children of different races, and how these attitudes influence the achievements of the children, the point being that if the teacher expects little, the children will aim low, whereas if a teacher has noble, high expectations of a child, the chances that the child will succeed are much, much higher. She followed her presentation up with having the entire room split into pairs and discuss our assumptions and experiences of people from various racial groups as we grew up. Having grown up in a country with very little racial diversity, and a lot of racial prejudice, this exercise still has me thinking about how I unconsciously treat people of different races without even being aware I am doing anything differently.Making change requires that we first become conscious of how we are thinking, right? So I guess I am on the right track. Lots to think about.

There were two other presentations that made a big impression on me. One was given by Fariborz Sahba, the architect of the Baha'i lotus temple in India and the terraces of the Baha'i World Centre on Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel. The man has completely revolutionized what is possible in the world of architecture, and contributed works of tremendous beauty to the world. As he said, he has lovingly interpreted each place he has built in, bringing one of the names of God (beauty) into the physical realm of existence. He bases his creations on the idea, presented in the Baha'i writings by the Bab, that human beings have the duty of refinement--that it is forbidden to bring something into being in a state of imperfection when it could be made perfect. Perfection is his task rather than compromise, he explained, because beauty is a reflection of God on earth, and God is perfect.

Mr. Sahba also spoke about the four main dimensions of architecture: height, width, depth, and movement, mentioning that there is, in reality, a fifth dimension, which is the relationship between all things, because relationships are inherent in the reality of everything. He explained that for him, beauty is created through relationship, and that for him, the aim is not to have just a beautiful garden, but to have a garden that creates a space that speaks to the spirit. He highlighted the fact that God is in the details, which means that even the tiniest details that we cannot see are important. It was a truly impressive presentation, and his slide show of his creations was even more impressive. I have included some of them in this blog entry.

The last presentation that is still lingering with me is Rainn Wilson's. Rainn is an actor who plays Dwight on the T.V. show 'The Office.' He is also a Baha'i, which I think is excellent because he adds a great deal of humour to the Baha'i community. The man not only knows how to make people laugh, he knows how to make us laugh at ourselves, which is SO vital in any community. His presentation was about the intersection of art and faith, and he spoke extensively about Soul Pancake, an online community that he helped create that provides a space for young people to explore life's big questions through the arts. It is a super resource with loads of good ideas. I highly recommend checking it out if you have a minute. Rainn also reminded us of the Baha'i teaching that we are spiritual beings having a physical experience, not the other way around, and that as such we need to keep spiritual reality at the core of everything we do as artists. As Abdu'l-Baha said, "Art is Worship." To illustrate this point, he shared his favourite quote by Rumi: "The true work of art is but a shadow of divine perfection." He also encouraged the audience to allow their children to follow their hearts, quoting Oprah's favourite quote by Howard Thurman: "Don't ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive and do that. What the world needs is people that have come alive." Point well taken. And well illustrated by a performer from the Canadian prairies with some powerful pipes who charmed the entire conference hall with her tunes. Munirih Sparrow is going places, fast. Check out her music here (my favourite piece is Midnight Prayer).

It was an incredibly thought-provoking conference this year, and I am happy I made the trek down to San Francisco to attend. Have you had any experiences/conversations, read any books or seen/heard works of art that have made you think differently about something lately?