anonymous cowgirl » social action http://www.mollusc.org/wordpress "If a man thinks that a woman who can ride broncs is too much for him, he's probably right." Wed, 30 Jun 2010 17:16:23 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 Maturity, systematic action http://www.mollusc.org/wordpress/maturity-systematic-action/ http://www.mollusc.org/wordpress/maturity-systematic-action/#comments Thu, 27 May 2010 15:19:07 +0000 lev http://www.mollusc.org/wordpress/?p=576 Wasn’t my wife’s last post well done? She’s such a good example of putting meaningful thoughts on this blog. She’s also left me the perfect segue to a new post on maturity.

As the growth of the junior youth empowerment program continues in our region, and as Negin and I look at the next few years, it seems like we’re entering a new phase. As such, I’ve been seized by an organizational bug – trying to arrange my hopes and goals for potential doctoral programs, trying to be more systematic about the continued growth of junior youth groups, even going to bed earlier! The following passage from Baha’u'llah sums it up nicely:

...man's distinction lieth in the excellenth of his conduct and in the pursuit of that which beseemeth his station, not in childish play and pastimes.

]]> http://www.mollusc.org/wordpress/maturity-systematic-action/feed/ 0 Junior youth spiritual empowerment: Baha’i social action http://www.mollusc.org/wordpress/junior-youth-spiritual-empowerment-bahai-social-action/ http://www.mollusc.org/wordpress/junior-youth-spiritual-empowerment-bahai-social-action/#comments Fri, 13 Nov 2009 18:49:05 +0000 lev http://www.mollusc.org/wordpress/?p=302

Copyright © 2008 The Ruhi Foundation. All rights reserved.

Last Saturday, the junior youth group in Lowell got together. We said a prayer, and then took a walk down by the canal, which had recently been emptied. M. talked about wanting to make the neighborhood better for her younger siblings and for the other children. Over the course of the conversation, we identified two lines of action:

  1. Offering homework help on Fridays to the younger kids
  2. Helping with children’s classes on the weekend

So it looks like M. will start helping us teach children’s classes! When we finally got down to the canal, Negin noticed a purse with its contents strewn about the path. While M. and I talked about the power of expression and how it can be used to transform the world, Negin was quietly sorting through the contents of the purse. When we walked over to her, she explained that the purse could have been stolen, and M. decided that we should try to contact the owner. When that proved difficult, we set out to drop the purse off at the police station and explain what we had found.

Copyright © 2008 The Ruhi Foundation. All rights reserved.

We could tell M. was excited and nervous about actively engaging in this endeavor. During the walk over, she practiced explaining what we had found. Watching her gather up the courage to talk to the police officer was very inspiring, and seeing the excitement on her face after following through on her commitment was even better.

We hope that in a small way, M. saw how the power of expression can be used to make our communities better.

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