taken for granted

I went out shopping this evening, looking for food to take to our community Intercalary Day party. In the Baha'i calendar the Intercalary Days (February 26 to March 1) are days for hospitality and giving of gifts, and they come just before the month of fasting.
It took me a moment to realise what was wrong. Not only were there no lights in the car park, there were no lights in the shop either - apart from someone waving a torch around, guiding those who were in the building to the exit. We so rarely have a power cut that we assume power will always be available to us. Our whole lives, it seems, are dependant on constant power - for our lighting and heating, public services, entertainment and everything else.
And yet, we are all so reluctant to cut our energy consumption or to use renewable resources such as wind or water power.

So much to do

We are living our lives so much in the electronic realm that keeping up with it all takes more and more of our time. Websites and Blogs to update, reading email, maintaining contacts with friends and colleagues through both professional sites and social networking ones - we risk spending such a large part of our waking lives with them that we leave no room for meeting in 'real life'.
Never mind virtual reality 'games' and such - I am off to meet living people! To the office where I meet the team I work with, then out for a meal with the family this evening.

family is important

I have not spent much time on my computer recently. Illness in the family has meant I have been more occupied with 'housework' - cooking, cleaning, shopping - and walking the dog.

But that does not mean that I have given up on the computer. Perseverance is a quality that we should all develop, along with kindness and compassion. And what better place to develop these than in the place that matters most, our family.

In the Baha'i faith, the family is a very important aspect of society life and we should all do what we can to preserve and strengthen family life.