A strong woman works out every day to keep her body in shape ...
But a woman of strength kneels in prayer to keep her soul in shape...

A strong woman isn't afraid of anything ...
But a woman of strength shows courage in the midst of her fear...

A strong woman won't let anyone get the best of her ...
But a woman of strength gives the best of her to everyone...

A strong woman makes mistakes and avoids the same in the future...
But a woman of strength realizes life's mistakes can also be God's blessings
and capitalizes on them...

A strong woman walks sure footedly ...
But a woman of strength knows God will catch her when she falls...

A strong woman wears the look of confidence on her face ...
But a woman of strength wears grace...

A strong woman has faith that she is strong enough for the journey ...
But a woman of strength has faith that it is in the journey that she will become strong...

The duty of kindness and sympathy towards strangers and foreigners...

When a man turns his face to God he finds sunshine everywhere. All men are his brothers. Let not conventionality cause you to seem cold and unsympathetic when you meet strange people from other countries. Do not look at them as though you suspected them of being evil-doers, thieves and boors. You think it necessary to be very careful, not to expose yourselves to the risk of making acquaintance with such, possibly, undesirable people.

I ask you not to think only of yourselves. Be kind to the strangers, whether come they from Turkey, Japan, Persia, Russia, China or any other country in the world.

Help to make them feel at home; find out where they are staying, ask if you may render them any service; try to make their lives a little happier.

In this way, even if, sometimes, what you at first suspected should be true, still go out of your way to be kind to them - this kindness will help them to become better. After all, why should any foreign people be treated as strangers?

Let those who meet you know, without your proclaiming the fact, that you are indeed a Baha'i. Put into practice the Teaching of Baha'u'llah, that of kindness to all nations. Do not be content with showing friendship in words alone, let your heart burn with loving kindness for all who may cross your path.
Abdu'l-Baha, Paris Talks, 1911

It's in the air...

I can smell it, the summer is going away. It's leaving early this year...and it arrived late too. The wind is howling outside, bringing back bittersweet memories about the first days of school, the smell of textbooks and pencils, the excitement over a new schoolbag and the feeling of responsibility slowly sinking in.

For the first time in my life I look forward to the winter. Finally I feel like I'm studying something useful. And one of my teachers is the best teacher I've had. Now I only have to decide what to do when I get my BA in two years. Oh...decisions, decisions...

Every fall my parents go picking blueberries. When I was younger I went with them every year. We would drive out of town and find a good spot to pick berries. Then we split up, everyone would find their own place and we started our quest for the biggest and the juiciest. Just like every other kid, I ate most of my berries, well to begin with at least. My sister then challenged me to a competition, Who Can Pick Most Berries.

After a couple of hours my mother called us together and we would eat sandwiches and juice she had prepared earlier. We would then continue for a little while, but us kids were usually tired by that time.

When we got home we needed to pick out the grass and an occasional spider from the berries, everyone would sit around the table in the kitchen and us kids would listen to the grown ups telling stories and chatting. When we were finished, my parents made jam and soup from the berries. We would have so much it lasted the whole year, until next time we went picking berries again.

After a day like this, when I got to bed and closed my eyes, a picture of thousand berries was engraved in my head and I would even dream of them too.