“AMEN KHUDAVIND”

a window opens.

a green meadow, lush
new tufts of grass under her feet,
running across these verdant, undulating hills.
weathering the storms past,
she tills the moist, brown soil.
emerald shoots peer fresh as a new-born baby’s cheeks
what news will spring bring?
what did i sow?
and how will i reap?

“i’m late to catch the train!
stop at the lights.
did i grab my lunch? my ticket?
presentation is 7am , room 337”
huffing up the stairs,
“did i remember my gym bag?
will he remember to call the dentist?
what will we eat tonight?
ok, gather self and be ready
here comes the first of the audience”

everyone is looking ahead
while living in the present.
i prayed for siratal mustaqu’eem,
and iman ji salamat
for jan, mal, aal, izat and abru…
thumb on my chin and finger resting on my lip i ponder…
“but did i keep balanced?
did i make an ethical choice?”
was there time for my spiritual space
or did i let it go another day?

“this is such a mirage in Time!”
i sit back resting in my chair…
like a continual accordion of days
as if in pieces we organise it.
each ritual is a reminder,
as practice of submission and perfection
towards a stillness of thought and mind.

if you stop and give your Time
there will be naught but LIFE
a philanthropic donation if you will,
to venture out of the chatter or vision
familiar to oneself

“it’s Navroz”
and am i too rushed to notice?
Time does not rush…it provides, as promised,
sunshine, blossom and rains
if only we disrupted not its natural flow.
“have i done my work?”
do i stop long enough to reflect and answer?
the undulating specks or motion of time as we see,
are pregnant with change and gift
what was my gift to Mawla?
was it something i thought would “just happen”
by virtue of my breath?
or did i consciously plan and rise?
there is always the next second
“yet tomorrow never comes”.
so we live in the present with regard to future
and miss the essence because we are expectant.

Mawlana Hazar Imam said
“I say to you all on Navroz,
Navroz Mubarak.
I pray that in this New Year your worldly and your spiritual happiness should progress tenfold
and that this be the case every year.”

 “Amen, Khudavind”

a window opens.
into a prayer hall of contemplative men and women
only their souls are alight

will mine enter here today?

~~~~~~~~~

HOPE

Syria, your hopes and your struggles
are not forgotten,
nor forgotten are other struggles in our world
Navroz Mubarak to all around the globe
we look forward with HOPE
as time promises a new morning,
so Navroz promises a New Day.

a day of peace, good health, security,
a day when stranger greets stranger like brother and sister
where as children, our compassion and tolerance burn bright
for all wish for goodness and grace
even the earth’s submissive tilt
renders it perfect for season and change

the sun on this spring equinox
equates the day and the night
and symmetry magically stabilises our earth in motion
now daylight will become unbroken in the North, as ying,
and darkness will cover southern skies as yang
let us breathe
let us pray that all is fresh
and at moment’s peace on Navroz

Date posted: March 21, 2013.

Copyright: Navyn Naran/Simerg

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Dr. Navyn Naran was born in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania, to Anaar and Badrudin Naran. After beginning her high school in the UK, her family immigrated to the USA where she has lived since. Dr. Naran went to medical school at Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston, MA. She currently works in Paediatric Critical Care.