2011

This has been the most incredible year of my life, so I thought it would be nice to dedicate a little part of my new year’s eve to sharing some of my experiences with my friends and family. I’m in my cozy, warm bed so I wouldn’t be surprised if I fall asleep and blogging ends up being the only thing I do tonight. But hopefully I’ll manage to venture outside and watch the fireworks from the top of Baha’i terrace gardens in Haifa .

I spent every day of 2011 in Israel–the Holy Land for Baha’is and most other world religions. And it’s been amazing! I’ve loved every part of it from praying and meditating at the Baha’i Holy Shrines and gardens at least a few times per week, to working the hardest I ever have in my life, to making friends with wonderful (and I really mean wonderful) people from around the world, to gaining a much deeper appreciation and understanding of the Baha’i Faith, to eating delicious hummus everyday and never getting sick of it, to dodging cat poop and illegally-parked cars when I go on jogs, to hiking through the dessert, and walking up and down so many stairs that I can’t even imagine what it would be like to live somewhere flat again.

Some of this year’s most memorable moments were praying for my grandmother in the Baha’i Shrines just as she passed away from this world, fasting alongside over 600 other Baha’is, visiting the Garden of Ridvan (one of the most beautiful Baha’i Holy Places) for the first time, learning to formally translate correspondence from Portuguese and Spanish to English, bringing a dead-looking orchid back to life, spending a weekend in a kibbutz, eating mangoes almost every day for about five months, celebrating the anniversary of the passing of Baha’u'llah right by His shrine during the middle of the night, painting something on canvas for the first time, teaching courses on nutrition and health, taking a course online that’s training me to become a health coach, getting accepted into graduate school, spending a weekend in Jerusalem Old City with my sister, and spending Thanksgiving with a group of friends that feel like family.

In a way, this last year has been like going to university. But instead of getting a degree in something like biology or pubic health, I’m learning what it means to be a good person and what it takes to be truly happy. Every day I am challenged–by myself, by the people around me, by simply living where I live–to work harder, to be kinder to others, to be more patient, to be detached from my own ideas and desires while also not being afraid to speak up and do what I know is right, to be more productive and proactive, and to be more loving. This is what trying to be a Baha’i means, and I guess because I live in the Baha’i Holy Land, with several hundred other Baha’is, I cannot help but to try day by day to be a better Baha’i. It’s hard and there are plenty of moments when I feel like I’m completely failing or when just get tired and apathetic, but overall it’s been an incredibly uplifting and freeing experience.

Above all, I’m learning to let go of my fears and worries and to put my trust in God. I’m also learning that negative attitudes about myself or others only limit my capacity to make a difference in the lives of the people around me and in the world. There’s nothing humble about expecting less than what you are capable of or to feeling guilty for making mistakes. True humility, I think, means trusting that there is a reason why God has given you the capacities you have. It means that, while recognizing and accepting that you will never be perfect, you try your best, for the sake of God and humanity, to utilize your capacities, learn from your mistakes, and make a contribution to the world. It also means knowing that what you know is not all there is to know and recognizing that your opinions and feelings are only one piece of an enormous, complex, and incredibly interesting puzzle.

Alright, I only have a couple of hours before midnight, so I better get up and figure out what I’m going to do for the evening.

I wish to whoever reads this a beautiful, exciting, and happy new year, and lots of love to you from Haifa!

xoxo

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