Lover's Line

I'll write a Love Song
And paint a Masterpiece
I'll sing the Sweetest tune
And dance the best Moves

Song Sing Paint and Dance
That I'll do for you

I'll climb the tallest mountain
And cry out my Love
Write the most poetic Poem
I'll fly your name on every banner
And give you a Call

Climb Cry Write and Fly
That I'll do for you

You occupy my dreams
Make my dreams
You are my dreams
You are in every face I see
Your actions and ways
Takes me to worlds beyond

The Smile, Kindness, and Radiance
The Service and concern for the well-being
Of others teaches me Humility and Patience

That smile Oh that Smile
That radiance Oh that Radiance
A spirit that Inspires

Now I am free to Love for Love
Wings to fly and arms to rest on
A caress that awakens my soul
And lifts me up to sing a joyous song

Song Sing Paint and Dance
Climb Cry Write and Fly
A Lover's line to say
I Love You,
With Love,possibility is all I see.

All I can Give

There is nothing in the world I own
If I owned the Sun,
I will make it shine for you at all times
No darkness to follow the sunset's dawn.
If I owned the sky,
I will make it smile for you at all times
No thunder clouds to disturb the brilliant blues.
If I owned the mountains,
I will let them bow down, and give you a seat at their peaks
I will ask the green fields of the planes to caress your feet,
And the waves to soothe your skin, and
Call on gentle breezes to calm your spirits.

If only I owned it all,
I will beckon the nightingales to sing all day
Songs of my Love for thee
Carrying the message far and wide
Reaching every land.
These I cannot do because there is nothing in the world I own
But All I can give is my Word
And let my Love for Thee carry me through.

Life

Life is a Business
Life is Love
Life is a Journey

The business of day to day living
Today I am in pain, tomorrow I am fine
Bills to pay and money to make
I draw my calender and mark every date for its due
With every step I take, there is a call to make
To seal the deal for my next move
Everywhere I am, Anywhere I go,
I am in a time crunch to meet with deadlines

The Love of Life
Where its all about living
Flowers to smell and get drunk by sweet fragrances
Laugh at my silliness and enjoy the company of others
Sleep like there is no tomorrow
Dance like its my last day on earth
And play like a child with no cares and worries

And then comes the journey
The preparedness for things beyond
I meditate to find my inner self
Asks where I came from and where I am heading to
Every step I take, I dedicate to the mysteries of essence
Where the lessons become the practical
Love is sacrifice, Sacrifice is death and Death is Life

Whether Life is Business,
Whether Life is Love,
And if Life is a Journey
Let me Live It, for it is worth Living

Life

Some would say
Life is a tricky business
Others say it's Love
Yet another person
Would clap hands in the air
In prayer and being Grateful
for being Alive

From Picturesque drive to Persian Food

The evening was turning to a good one, coolly mild. Good jams in the car from world DJ's to Persian pop, kept us hitting the high notes of our musical enjoyment as we drove from Nashville to Knoxville. Smooth drive, less traffic after we've made sure some smoothies take on the responsibility of satisfying our tastes buds while walking the fine line of healthy calories intake.

By the time we arrived the city of Knoxville, the night sky was upon us and a few stars dazzled in distant parts of the horizon. We pulled into a porch neighborhood, parked the car and entered the beautiful house filled with beautiful people of different backgrounds and races. We gave and received welcoming hugs and smiling hellos. No sooner had I relieved my tired legs, before I was kindly ushered into an adjacent room to the kitchen, were to the satisfaction of my gastronomic dreams, before my eyes, a spread of Persian dishes were beckoning for consumption.

From the sabzi polo (rice with dill, cilantro and green onions) , zereshk polo (rice with berries) to the salad, plus the sweet chicken, my plate was filled. I sat down to good conversation, happily eating away the fine foods. Which made it easier for me to follow the presentation of the evening: a fantastic presentation (with visuals) on the significance of the year 1844 by Joel Price.

By the time the night was over, the camaraderie, the joy of meeting old friends, the pleasure of making new friends, and that air of "Its Good to be here" had enveloped my being, and I knew from then on my stay in Knoxville and surrounding communities was going to be great.

And Great Indeed it was. The colorful trees and hills of the area was as colorful as the welcoming spirit of the friends here. Their gratefulness, enthusiasm, hospitality and above all, a high spirit of service to humanity, makes it an inestimable Blessing to be in their midst.

Chicken Wings and TV

There is a time when ones attachment to TV is crushed by the sheer number of available TV's and programs. E.g the case of a sports bar in Pensacola Beach- FL.

I love TV, and rank it as one of the greatest invention of modern man including internet and cell phones, but when there is so many TV's around me displaying many programs at the same time, when I am supposed to concentrate on how flavor-full my teraki chicken wings are; I can't handle that.

Adding to the multiple screen displays I was surrounded by, was the loud volumes of the sets, the deafning cheers of football fans rooting for their teams, and most annoying, the odd variety of music playing clamorously in the "background".

This, after an intense enjoyment of waves splashing on my body, salty ocean water cleaning my taste buds, salinating my flesh, and the Florida sunshine basking some much needed tan on my skin (hahahaha). I love Vacation spots

An Operatic taste

My late Sunday morning was fast becoming a lazy one, and the fact that Chelsea lost to Manchester United 0- 2 wasn't going to help either.

Then came that phone call,
"Gustaff would you want to watch a live simulcast of an Opera at the arts center?"
I immediately agreed for the benefit of having some fresh air and participate in something I have never done before-- watch an Opera.

Opera to me: was listening to the radio and hear high pitched vocals and trained tenors sing out sad love stories in Italian. And it was a hobby of Old rich people who didn't know what to do with their spare time. End of story.

That all changed after watching the live simulcast of La Boheme
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_boh%C3%A8me

It was a performance at the Washington DC Opera house, and I was watching it in Gainesville-FL--Thanks Technology!!!!!

I enjoyed it mostly because it was a passionate love story with intricate lessons. A poet falls for a seamstress who dies at the end because of an illness? In addition to that, there is Marcello my favorite guy-- he is the photographer (A painter in the original version as written by Puccini) whose love story is filled with broken hearts, with a good sense of humour.

The director of the show gave the original an update, bringing the characters lives similar to modern days. A milky-white couch as a prominent stage prop--something the college students can relate to, symbolizes college life and all that associates with it.

The goal of the simulcast to Universities and High schools across the country was to reach out to the younger generation and get them interested in Opera.

I would say for sure, they got that goal met. From that Sunday afternoon September 23 2007 at the Phillips Arts cennter then on, Opera is no longer a hobby for old rich people who don't know what to do with their spare time. Opera is more of a passionate and lively display of love stories?

Shadows

Shadows on the walls
Of no reflection
Crawling along a hollow path
Of diced bricks, cobbled with pointy rocks
Leading into a dark room
Filled with the stench of misery and abandon

Memories of hate and famine crouching
On the faces of wasted hangers
Piles and heaps of dirt flirting
With the angers of scavenging insects
Who’ve built an empire of a flourishing garden
On the foundations of a desk of fine carpentry
With an inside rot giving way to the tempo of collapse

Shadows on a wall
Of no reflection
Rages on the backs of a mountain
Of macho granite crushed into sand dunes
By the fancies of flamboyant storms

Memories of hate and drudgery
Plastered as rickety carvings
Waiting to be swept into oblivion
By the bulldozers of woeful codes

May It Be

There are times when you think things are not moving along
When you scratch your head for answers, but get more questions
When the path is narrow, dark and uncertain
When you think that the journey you've undertaken isn't worth the patience
And that your input and energy may have been of waste,
But
When your heart is still connected to your Life's goal
And your dreams are alive
And you are certain and believe in the Goodness
Of your sincere endeavours,
With glorious certitude,
The light will shine and bring you the dawn
You'll see the glimpse of a day of abounding Grace
And
Through your moments of meditation and reflection,
You wont give up.

Someone did an incredible job, visually bringing to live a wonderful song by Enya. A song filled with Hope, evokes Beauty and the reach of a Promise.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ww8wqEgFIA8&mode=related&search=
Hope by sharing this, Your soul will be uplifted in your moments of Meditation and Reflection and keep you grounded in your Life's goal.

Light on Her Face

In an empty room
A half-naked kid leans
On a shattered wall
Riddled by shells and bullets
Darkness over her frail body
Subtle lightning on her face
Mother, father, sister and brother
Lie lifeless on the floor
Their white clothes colored in blood

Where’s the light
Within this heartless scheme
What’s this light
Where is the promise of salvation

Her painful tears
Shake off the worst her eyes have seen
The quiet sounds of Peace,
A distant Cry of her Dream
Her hands consoles
Her patched lips,
Reminding her belly not to wait for food
For Cornmeal days are over
Gone with the sounds of Hawks
She knows her day is near
But she dives through the crumbling windowpane
To seek the source of light shining on her face

Where’s the light
Within this heartless scheme
What’s this light
Where is the promise of salvation

Kindness of a Stranger

There are times when having enough one dollar bills in hand is worth more than the fifty dollar bill in your wallet.

Yep that happened to me on Sunday Aug.26.07. I woke up that morming- very early, unusually early (6AM), got ready so as to catch the trirail from West Palm Beach to Ft. Lauderdale-FL. I got to the ticket place hoping to see a human being selling tickets, instead I found a machine (I had forgotten I was in the U.S.A-hahahaha). I looked into my wallet, there was two dollars and one fifty dollar bill. At that moment the fifty dollar bill was useless since the machine does not accept anything above twenty.

The cost of my fare? four dollars. I looked around, asking the nearest guy behind me if he coud lend me two dollars, he had nothing, just his fare amount. Looking desperate, another guy who had overheard me asking for two dollars, came up and gave me two dollars, saying I should not worry about it.

Yep!!! I got my ticket and walked to the platform to wait for the train. I was moved by his kindness that I thought he deserved something. Since I had with me my drum and music CD's, I gave him one and thanked him enormously. We stroke a short conversation, just before the train made its arrival.

I hopped in and sat thinking to myself, what a way to start a Sunday morning.

In the Middle of the Lake

He was at the middle of the lake loafing over the gentle waves in a kayak he had paddled all the way. The breeze tingling his tightly curled hair, that has been begging the visit of a comb since the official announcement of the hurricane season.

An island forty five hard-stroke paddles away, flourishes in trees and shrubs of a tropical caliber he has no clue what they are. Pines maybe? The spread of a golf course, bike paths and well intentioned green lawns that make up the park, contrast the water, posing as a fantastic backdrop of an ideal picture for someone in a kayak in the middle of a lake.

The sun was up, generously delivering its heat, to swell up the body temperature, that generates perspiration at a rate known only to those who are blessed by Florida sunshine and cooled by its humidity.

A lovely bird in dark green and a blue beak drank joyously at the bank of the lake, carefree and anchored on a branch. Water lovers in paddle boats,relaxing and conversing.

From a distance, the lovely couple Vahid and May synchronize their paddles and chart their course along, making their away around the island.

He follows their move to circulate the island the second time. With over thirty minutes under his belt, it was time for some soccer in the park. He paddled to the shore.

With green grass and a lively soccer mate (Vahid), he played for a while, took a break, drank some water and continued playing goaly and kicker in turns with a youth (introduced as Alex) in red shirt and jeans who knows his way on the soccer field. Flanked by a family having BBQ at the park, and a fire rescue team in training, there was a lot more to see and hear, but soccer was all that his was into.

He heard the call, "Time to go, Lets go." He waved goodbye to his soccer mate and rushed to the car, sweat cooling off like drippings of water from a cold bottle left on a counter.

At home he took a long shower, thought about the tasty Pei Wei sweet and sour chicken waiting for him, he murmured under his breath, "What a good day. I feel so vivified, refreshed and off course got a good workout."

And that is the story of how I spent today with May and Vahid at the Okeeheelee Park in West Palm Beach Florida.

I'll Give My Life for You

I will give my life for You
I will do whatever it takes to be with You
There is something about You that keeps me on my feet
The calm and drive You bring to my life is Imense
You inspire me into Action, provide cautious advice,
treat me with kindness and shelter me in Love.
The things you do; how you do them is beyond belief
You never cease to Tickle my Imagination,
The strength that exudes from your Charming personality
is gentle, yet Penetrating,
the Power it provides nourishes
and the exuberance it Generates,refreshes.
Words are incapable to clearly define how much you mean to me
Thankfulness and Grace are remote
descriptions of the depth of Adoration I feel towards you
May we continue to leap from strength to Strength
heaven to Heaven and
From bliss to Bliss

Service the Way to Go

Whao!!! It's been a while since I penned a few words. I am back from a summer and travel hiatus and hopefully by the will of Grace and Blessings I'll be writing more often.

Let me get to the point. What do you think about Service?

I am sure there are myriad of thoughts going through your mind and many ways of responding to the question. All what you are thinking is true and exact.
After spending the last two years on the road, playing music, giving presentations and engaging in many other Fun and Artistic endeavours, I have come to the realization that Service is the best way to go.

Imagine a world where everyone is in Service to everyone. And when I talk about Service I mean that Human Virtue (Spiritual Quality) of giving to others and making a difference in their lives, making the world a better place. That attitude of looking for ways to be of help, working with a spirit of joy and enthusiasm, of doing your very best, contributing to the advancement of the world; be it in small or big ways.

Imagine a world, where people get up in the morning and their thoughts are fixed on making the world of their neighbor a better one (and in this age of superfast internet connection, that neighbor can be anywhere in the world).

Just imagine the joy and excitement it will generate when people consider their jobs,professions and other means of livelyhood as a channel of Service to Humanity rather than a duty, a source of income.

This might sound like am a preacher on a pulpit. I am saying this because I've experienced that kind of environment. It was four years ago in Haifa-Isreal, where I did Voluntary Religious service at the Bahai World Center. You might say that is ancient history, what about Now?

I just came back from a Youth Summer Service Project known as Project Badi in Florida. Three weeks of learning and practicing to be of Service to Humanity through conducting Classes for Children, guiding a Youth Empowerment program, sharing prayers with people, giving presentations on the Healing Message of the Oneness of Humanity by Baha'u'llah, was an experience of tremendous Joy and Enrichment, reminiscent of the experience of service I had four years ago.

The Laughter, the Courage, the Dedication and Enthusiam of the youth participants was trully a sight of cherished memories.

How then can we replicate such experiences so that it becomes a common experience not only for a select few, but for all of Humanity? That is the question I leave you to ponder on. That is my Quest,and I pray and sincerely hope we can make the World a better place in the ways we Dreamed of, guided by the principle that We are Members of One Human Family.

"Ye are the fruits of one tree and the leaves of one branch."
"The Earth is but One country and Mankind its Citizens."
-Baha'u'llah.

Wishing you a Joyous Day.