As a Human Resource Developer, I find it so interesting writing and the processes of building the capacity of the individual and its implication to community building.
In this article, we will be looking at some of the priceless gems in the community.
In one of its quotations, the Universal House of Justice wrote to the Baha'i of the World dated 26 November 1992:
Disunity is the crux of the problems which so severely afflict the planet. It permeates attitudes in all departments of life. It is the heart of all major conflicts between nations and peoples. More serious still, disunity is common in the relations between religions and within religions, initiating the very Spiritual and moral influence which it is their primary purpose to exert.
No man is an island is a phrase frequently quoted the world over. Alone, none of us can get very far. Community life is an essential part of our existence.
In a community that enjoyed much warmth and unity, one individual became discouraged and kept away from the others. The local council asked a friend to help him overcome his feelings of estrangement. Soon the friend invited him to his house for dinner and, most naturally, showered him with kindness. It was a chilly night, and the following dinner the two sat in front of the fire sipping tea and watching the flames.
After a few minutes, the host had an idea. He picked up a brightly burning piece of wood with a pair of tongs and moved it to a corner of the fireplace. He sat back in silence while his guest kept watching. Along, the ember began to lose its fire until there was the last glow and then coldness and death. Before the evening was over, he moved the cold deadwood to the middle of the fire where it became a glowing ember once again.
Not a word was said all evening about the whole matter. But when the guest was almost out the door, he turned around and said, Thank you for the fiery lesson. At the next community gathering, everyone was happy to see a friend who had been sorely missed.
The following are further questions are designed for reflection and deliberations.
What should friends do when they feel that, for some reason, they are becoming estranged from one another?
What is a community life?
There's a beautiful quotation from the writing of the Baha'i faith about unity which is key for a flourishing community.
"Shut your eyes to estrangement, then fix your gaze upon unity."
The Universal House of Justice, in its message to the Baha'i of the world Ridvan 2000 mentioned;
Children are the most precious treasure a community can possess, for in them are the promise and guarantee of the future. They bear the seeds of the character of future society which is largely shaped by what the adults constituting the community do or fail to do concerning children.
They are a trust no community can neglect with impunity. An all-embracing love of children, the manner of treating them, the quality of the attention shown them, the spirit of adult behavior towards them. These are all among the vital aspects of the requisite attitude.
Among the precious gems of the community, children stand out to be key because of their innocence and purity.
Of course, we are aware that the flower is easily trimmed when it's very tender and becomes challenging to trim it when it has matured into a tree.
Another precious gem of the community is that of collaboration between the institutions, the individual and the community.
When the three protagonists are working in harmony and Unity it becomes a prosperous community. And this prosperity is a coherent one that is been manifested in both material and spiritual aspect of life.
Thought it wise to end this article with the quotation of Shoghi Effendi which said that you can segregate the human heart from the environment and said transformation can take place from one dimension without the other.
