A trip for spring!

It's 8 days:

The SPRING has come and made everything fresh;

The year, the month, the days, the air, and the nature.

But...

Just one thing is becoming old, and it alone worths all those freshness...

...

Our friendship!

Translation of a beautiful message!

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The smell of the humid spring...

When the rain drops knock on the window

And the scourges of the clouds, touch the tearful face of the ground...

...It's just a vague inspired voice,

from the nature...

The smell of the sea,

The nice perfume of the life which is current in the veins of the woods,

"And it's breaking my heart,

I know what I must do...

I hear my country call me

But I wanna be with you

It's taking my side

One of us will lose,

Don't let go,

I want to know,

That you will wait for me...

...Until the day

There's no borderline..."

I will come back after my trip is over!

;-)

An interview with God

Are you satisfied with your life?

Do you think that you are lucky?

Are you tasting the happiness in your life?

The following article , which I had saved it in my document and don't know where it has come from, is a very nice conversation between a human being and GOD, about this matter!

I'm sorry for the missed citation!

Any way,Wish you enjoy it...

I dreamed I had an interview with God
"So you would like to interview me?" God asked.
"If you had the time" I said.
God smiled." my time is eternity, what questions do you have in mind for me?"
"What surprises you most about humankind...?"
God answered…:
"That they get bored with childhood. They rush to grow up and then like to be children again.
That they lose their health to make money and then lose their money to restore their health.
That by thinking anxiously about the future, they forget the present, such that they live in neither the present nor the future.
That they live as if they will never die, and die as if they had never lived."
God's hand took mine and we were silent for a while and then I asked…
"As a parent, what are some life's lessons you want your children to learn?"
God replied with a smile
"To learn they can not make anyone love them. What they can do is let themselves be loved.
To learn that it is not good to compare themselves to others.
To learn that a rich person is not one who has the most, but is one who needs the least.
To learn that it only takes a few seconds to open profound wounds in persons we love, and it takes many years to heal them.
To learn to forgive by practicing forgiveness.
To lean that there are persons we love them dearly, but simply do not know how to express or show them our honest feelings.
To learn that two people can look at the same thing and see it quiet different.
To learn that it is not always enough that they are forgiven by others but that they must forgive themselves." And to learn that I am here, ALWAYS.

A New Day Has Come!

Today is the first day of the New Year. I am just seeking each and every corner of my being, in order to find a kind of fresh and noble feeling!
A feeling that matches this newness!
But, frankly speaking, my search didn’t lead to any result yet.

When I studied about the holy and elegant custom of No-Rooz_ meaning new day_ and found out that how far we are standing from its reality and nature, I felt like a blind follower! And realized that how ignorant and indifference we are towards our customs.

Especially, because I had an experience of Iran’s wounded history in my last post about the movie 300, I really felt pity for our to be forgotten PARS. And I know that we should not let this treasure to be fallen into the valleys of forgetfulness.


I found some interesting information and details about our custom of No-Rooz, and the reasons behind them; So here I will share them with you:

As I said above, No-Rooz in Persian means "New[-year]-day". It is the beginning of the year not only for we Iranians, but also for the people of Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, and Tajikistan. Other Asian republics of the former Soviet Union are joining the group, and Turkey has decided to declare No-Rooz a holiday, too. It is also celebrated as the New Year by the people of the Iranian stock, particularly the Kurds, in the neighboring countries of Georgia, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey.

in 487 BCE, Darius the Great of the Achaemenian dynasty (700 to 330 BCE) celebrated the No-Rooz at his newly built Persepolis in Iran. A recent research shows that it was a very special occasion. On that day, the first rays of the rising sun fell on the observatory in the great hall of audience at 06-30 a.m., an event that repeats itself once every 1400-1 years. It also happened to coincide with the Babylonian and Jewish new years. The Persepolis was the place; the Achaemenian king received, on No-Rooz, his peoples from all over the vast empire. The walls of the great royal palace depict the scenes of the celebrations.

No-Rooz Table

Every house gets a thorough cleaning almost a month before. In Sasanian Era, the ten last days of the year was celebrated. Since the ghosts and the spirit of nature come back to the earth, they lit fire and didn’t let it be out during the whole night. But from this custom, just Char-shanbe suri (the last Wednesday Eve of the year) is remained.Wheat, barley, lentils, and other vegetable seeds are soaked to grow on china plates some ten days in advance, so that the sprouts are three to four inches in height by No-Rooz.
In the table of Haft Sin (7 s), there is a mirror in front of the candles which doubles the light and shows the respect to the fire that is holy for Zarathushtra. The lit candles show the long lifetime of the family members and because of that, they must not be blown out, unless with some green leaves or candies. There are some eggs, mostly as many as the family members, which symbolizes the reproduction; some Changes (sekkeh), which symbolizes the wealth, a pair of golden fish which symbolizes the life and sustainability, and a kind of flower, (sonbol) which its aroma brings the news of coming spring.

The other elements of the table must be 7 objects which their name start with “s” or “sh” (due to the ancient beliefs). The number 7 is taken from the 7 "Amshaspandan" (angles) in Zarathushtra religion, which are Ourmozd, Vahman, Ordibehesht, Shahrivar, Sepandamaz, Khoordad and Amordad.

My No-Rooz Table

Those with "S" are:

First Plate: "Serkeh," the vinegar. It is sour but a good preservative. It adds taste to the things you want to preserve and relish. It symbolizes tasty preservation.
Second Plate: "Sumac," exotic in its own way, it makes your favorite kabobs have a tangy taste, a taste you relish; so it symbolizes taste.
Third Plate: "Sir," garlic. Some may not like its aroma and others love it. It lowers blood pressure and pacifies. It symbolizes peace and purity.
Fourth Plate: "Samanu," a sweetish paste, a kind of "halwa," made from germinating wheat. It symbolizes the sprouting spring, the time for happy growth.
Fifth Plate: "Sib," apple. It symbolizes the fruits of our world, both literally and allegorically.
Sixth Plate: "Senjed," the tasteless berry of the sorb tree. It is the fruit of a tree which provides shade in summer and symbolizes the shelter and security you need when you want a rest.
Seventh Plate: "Sabzi," fresh green herbs. It comes from green fields and symbolizes prosperity. Some people would place three plates of Sabzi in order to show “goftare nik” (nice words), “pendare nik” (nice thoughts), and ‘kerdare nik” (nice acts).

The seven plates with "SH" are:

First Plate: "Sharab," the wine. I am the nectar. I symbolize health and happiness, of course, if taken in moderation! To your health!

Second Plate: "Shakar," sugar. I give your favorite foods their sweetness. I symbolize sweetness.

Third Plate: "Shir," milk, the first food one tastes in this world. I symbolize nourishing food.

Fourth Plate: "Shireh," syrup. I am the sap, the fluid essential for life, health and vigor. I symbolize vigorous health.

Fifth Plate: "Shahd," honey. I am the sweet produce of the cooperative bees. I symbolize the sweet result of teamwork.

Sixth Plate: "Shirini," candy, loved by those who have a sweet tooth. I simply symbolize sweetness with no sign of bitterness.

Seventh Plate: "Shir-Berenj," rice pudding, and a tasty food. I symbolize food for taste and health.

Some people may place bread, nuts, fruits, and some rice on the table.
Family members all dressed in their best, sit around the table and eagerly await the announcement of the exact time of vernal equinox over radio or television. The head of the family recites the No-Rooz prayers, and after the time is announced, each member kisses the other and wishes a Happy No-Rooz. Elders give gifts to younger members. Next the rounds of visits to neighbors, relatives, and friends begin. Each visit is reciprocated.
Zarathushtra's Birthday and No-Rooz festival are celebrated by Zarathushtis at social centers on about 6 Farvardin (26 March).

Singing and dancing is, more or less for the first two weeks, a daily routine. The festivity continues for 12 days, and on the 13th morning, the mass picnic to countryside begins. It is called "Sizdeh-Bedar," meaning "thirteen-in-the-outdoors." A wrong belief among the recent generation is that the number 13 is sinister and that’s why we go outdoors. But this number is not sinister, but even holy and respectful in the Zarathushtra religion. In this day the people pray for raining and ask a better agricultural production. Cities and villages turn into ghost towns with almost all the inhabitants gone to enjoy the day in woods and mountains along stream and riversides. People sing, dance, and make merry. Girls of marriageable age tie wild grass tops into knots and make a wish that the following No-Rooz may find them married and carrying their bonny babies!

Most of this information is taken from:

http://www.aftab-magazine.com/1/page3:1
http://www.tehroon20.com/mag/2007/03/post_340.html#more
http://www.iranchamber.com/history/

300 against the glorious history of IRAN

“Movie '300' called an insult to ancient Persia”; Associated Press

"Hollywood declares war on Iranians," blared a headline in Tuesday's edition of the independent Ayende-No newspaper.

I wonder if you hadn’t heard about the movie 300 yet; the movie which I can certainly call the most brawls provoking one from the Hollywood.

Having read about the source of this movie I found out that this movie is exactly based on Frank Miller's fictional comic novel. A version of the battle of Thermopylae in 480 B.C., in which a force of 300 Spartans held off a massive Persian army at a mountain pass in Greece for three days.
According to what I read in www.payvand.com this movie is “a faithful rework of the novel”.

So in my opinion, the real blame is on the novel which is written very “shallow” and “heavily fictionalized”.

But on the other hand, the language of a film is always more accurate and the virtual images and scenes of a movie is definitely more obvious than the imaginary images which a novel may shape in one’s mind.

“Aside from politics, the film was seen as an attack on Persian history, a source of pride for Iranians across the political spectrum.”

Xerxes- Perspolis-Palace wall

According to the news, 300 is not only including some political reasons in different perspectives but also is an obvious insult which is directly aimed at the glorious and great history of our dear Iran.

"The film depicts Iranians as demons, without culture, feeling or humanity, who think of nothing except attacking other nations and killing people," Ayande-No said in its article Tuesday.

It is really painful when our honorable and respectful ancients are portrayed so cruel, savage and unacceptable in this movie.

“Persians are depicted as decadent, sexually flamboyant and evil in contrast to the noble Greeks.”

Anyway, whether this movie is picturing this dishonest face of Iran intentionally or not, this is a twist in its history. Especially, because Iran and Greek, both are considered as the first ancient civilizations, it is not acceptable that we ruin their face and victimize them in order to attract the audience for gaining fame and fortune.

I hope that the officials prepare a statement in order to declare their reasons and philosophies behind this project, as soon as possible.

Bythe way, due to the insult and humiliation that this movie has made, a group of patriots decided to name the New Year for the Great Cyrus, who was the leader of democracy in the world! and represents the rich culture of Iran and its civilized society even in the ancient times.

We respect our ancient noble blood and rich culture and will never allow it to be ruined by any means, as far as this blood is current in our veins of Persianality an Iranism!

The steps of Spring

It’s for such a long time that I want to write about the coming steps of spring.

Since I’m a daughter of spring! And she is just 14 days older than me ;-) this extraordinary season is a palpable paradise for me.

I even selected the title: “Have you recognized the smell? The spring is coming!”

As far as I was busy with the custom of cleaning all the stuffs on the verge of spring, I didn’t find the chance to jot it down and share it.

So, now I’m going to write about these exciting changes not only in the face of the earth, but also in the depth of our hearts…






I found out that on the surface, the purpose of all these beautiful feelings of eagerness, desire, excitement, fascination and freshness is the moment of changing the year. And deeply thinking you will recognize that most of the people ignore all those mentioned feeling, because they consider that moment of the change is the peak of their joy!

But the reality is that the beauty of the spring is due to the nature of all the enthusiasm, anxiety, and emotion that it brings into our hearts.

All the nice things about the spring are absorbed in the last two weeks of the old year, while we celebrate the first two weeks of the New Year. Although doing some great customs like visiting the family members and inviting them back is delightful and appealing, but it must not make the soul of the nature to be outshined and neglected because of its surface.

This belief is something common between me and some friends of mine, so we always celebrate the last Thursday of the year by going into the nature and especially to the mountains.

In these days the whole soul of the nature yields the glad tidings of the blossoms of spring. It reminds a mythical phoenix, reborn from the ashes.

In the following I will place some pictures that we have taken from the mountain Darake in the last Thursday of the old year.

There was such a gorgeous silence which we couldn’t be satisfied to abandon that magnificent temple of the pure prayers. I’m so sorry that the sound of the silence of water is not available in these pictures.

All of LIFE is a coming HOME

All of life is a coming home.

Salesmen, secretaris, coal miners,

bee keepers, sword swallowers,

all of us.

All the restless hearts of the world,

trying to find a way to go home.





It's hard to describe how I felt like then.

Picture yourself walking for days in a driving snow,

You don't even know you're walking in circles-

the heaviness of your legs in the drifts: your shouts disappearing into the wind.

How small you can feel. How far away home can be.

Home.

The dictionary defines it as both a place of origin and a goal or destination.

The storm?

The storm was all in my mind.

Or, as the poet Dante put it:

"In the middle of the journey of my life I found myself in a dark wood for I had lost the right path."

Eventually I would find the right path, but in the most unlikely place.

Dr. Patch Adams

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Who is Patch Adams?

Extraordinary! One man I can look up to and respect, Incredibly, mind blowing and memorable, and Incredibly inspiring, amazing human being, invaluable to hear him first hand …are among the words heard from participants’ after experiencing Patch Adams, the real person behind the hit movie Patch Adams, starring Robin Williams.
Patch is both a medical doctor and a clown…but he is also a social activist who has devoted 30 years to changing America's healthcare system, a system which he describes as expensive and elitist.
He believes that laughter, joy and creativity are an integral part of the healing process and therefore true health care must incorporate such life. Doctors and patients in his model relate to each other on the basis of mutual trust, and patients receive plenty of time from their doctors. Allopathic doctors and practitioners of alternative medicine will work side by side. If you think that all sounds like a utopian impossibility, it isn't. Patch and his colleagues practiced medicine at the Gesundheit Institute together in West Virgina that way for 12 years in what he calls their pilot project. They saw 15,000 patients. Patch Adams has devoted his life to the study of what makes people happy.
Through the success of this program at the Arlington, Virginia location, a model health care facility is being planned on 310 acres purchased in Pocahontas County, WV. The Institute will include a 40-bed hospital, a theater, arts and crafts shops, horticulture and vocational therapy. Over five years ago, Dr. Adams and staff temporarily stopped seeing patients so that they could coordinate plans for raising $5 Million needed for the Institute's permanent and expanded home, a model health care community. Currently planned is an immediate phase of this dream, a $400,000 WV facility so that their medical service to patients can resume within the next two years.
The Institute addresses, by action, four major issues in health care delivery: the rising cost of care, dehumanization of medicine, malpractice suits, and abuses of third-party insurance system.
Dr. Adams adds to his training as a physician, his experience as a street clown. In working with health and mental health professionals, he explores the relationship between humor and therapy using his unique blend of knowledge, showmanship and hands on teaching techniques. Says Dr. Adams, I interpret my experience in life as being happy. I want, as a doctor, to say it does matter to your health to be happy. It may be the most important health factor in your life.

Patch Adams, M.D., is a nationally known speaker on wellness, laughter, and humor as well as on health care and health care systems. He approaches the issues of personal, community, and global health with zestful exuberance, according to Time Magazine. Dr. Adams believes that the most revolutionary act one can commit in our world is to be happy.

Information taken from: http://www.patchadams.org/speakers/bio-patch_adams.html





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QUOTES

"I looked at the problems of the world and said 'I can do something.' I was lucky that I found this out at the age of 18...I could really devote my life to doing something about the problems, and use the joy of creativity that can come from such a passion."

"We need each other, deeper than anyone ever dares to admit even to themselves. I think it is a genetic imperative that we huddle together and hold on to each other. There is no question in my mind that there is nothing else in life, really, than friendship."

"Planets explode; galaxies implode. We are an insignificant flake, except as we are alive and experiencing ourselves in life. And for that I say please devote your life to making a better world. Don't waste one day!"

"I'd say that I think the most revolutionary act that you can commit in our society today is to be happy."

"If you want to change the world, then be your own focus for a celebration of life. Really, fundamentally, at the very core of your being, be thankful you are alive, that you've got this opportunity, with these molecules, at this moment. Be thankful! Be a celebrant! Be thankful that you are alive and then look around to see who else is at the party!"

" I want to live in a world where people become famous because of their work for peace and justice and care. I want the famous to be inspiring; their lives an example of what every human being has it in them to do — act from love!"

"Please give your life to peace, justice and care."

Quotes taken from:http://www.people4peace.net/heroes/adams-patch.htm

With Gibran

Let today embrace the past

With remembrance

And the future

With longing

From 'On Time'

The Prophet

by Khalil Gibran

The fifth season

I was narrating the spring

And you were slowly sleeping

In the fall of your dreams

***

Your hands cool,

As the manner of the fall

And your eyes fireful,

As the features of the fallen leaves beyond the wall

***
Again…

The struggle between colors and white velvet balls,

In the memories of the last frozen leaf

Far far away…

An image of a marigold, the bride of the spring's dolls


***
Someday …

You will narrate the spring…

A translation of my own poem in Persian