There is an image
in my thoughts,
this person who is me,
who is lost, who is not enough,
who lives in perpetual struggle
with phantoms and demons.

This is a picture
hovering in my brain,
a glossy magazine photo
of who I wish to be,
so perfect, effortless, noble,
who never falters, only shines.

There is a reality
beyond any of this,
a truth that shines
amidst the turmoil
inside this soul.

There is a light
within each of us,
a beauty we cannot comprehend,
a destiny so great,
nobility quietly waiting
to be expressed.

God loves each of us,
just as we are.

He has opened the door
for us to discover
our true nature,
but we walk past
and choose another path.

If only we could
dig beneath these layers
of misconception
and see the brilliant light
within ourselves, within each other,

how quickly this world
would be transformed
into paradise.

Tortured beings that we are
with hearts built for desire

we burn relentlessly,
some brilliant searing lights,
others but dull embers.

We have a choice:

to endlessly chase
flickering flames of illusion
and live that we may die,

or we may lose ourselves
in the fire of the love of God
and die that we may live.

In either path
we face a life of pain.

On one path
this pain is a horrible curse,
on the other
it is the sweetest gift.

I pray that God
will give me eyes to see
the end in the beginning

that I may choose the right path
and not suffer in vain.

By the fire of the Love of God the veil is burnt which separates us from the Heavenly Realities, and with clear vision we are enabled to struggle onward and upward, ever progressing in the paths of virtue and holiness, and becoming the means of light to the world.

~Abdu’l-Baha, Paris Talks, p. 81

A shadow mistaken for a friend.

We grasp at phantoms
in the cold night air,
believing ourselves to be right,
to be justified,
when we are but lost children.

A brilliant ray of truth
shines in our midst,
too close for us to see.

We crawl through the wreckage
of a crumbling city,
desperately seeking a drink of water
while a shoreless ocean surges
through our hearts.

If we could only see
the wondrous light that we are
this broken world
would soon be whole.

I wrote this today at a coffee shop here in New Delhi. I was reading about how so many of the world’s problems come about because we fail to truly investigate reality. If we could clearly see the truth, we would live in unity because truth is one and indivisible. Abdu’l-Baha said it better than I could:

Reality or truth is one, yet there are many religious beliefs, denominations, creeds and differing opinions in the world today. Why should these differences exist? Because they do not investigate and examine the fundamental unity, which is one and unchangeable. If they seek reality itself, they will agree and be united; for reality is indivisible and not multiple. It is evident, therefore, that there is nothing of greater importance to mankind than the investigation of truth.

~Abdu’l-Baha, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 62-63

In addition to coming together with a unified understanding of reality, we would also recognize the inherent light and nobility in ourselves. Once we are clearly able to see that within ourselves, it would only be logical to see that the same light exists within everyone else. There is a passage I particularly like from The Seven Valleys where Bahá’u'llá notes how the light of God is hidden within our hearts:

… the splendor of that light is in the hearts, yet it is hidden under the veilings of sense and the conditions of this earth, even as a candle within a lantern of iron, and only when the lantern is removed doth the light of the candle shine out.

In like manner, when thou strippest the wrappings of illusion from off thine heart, the lights of oneness will be made manifest.

~ Bahá’u'lláh, The Seven Valleys, p. 23

Of course, I can’t claim to have reached that state where I can always see that light and fully understand reality. That’s a lifelong endeavor. However, it is something that I aspire to.