Happy Spring and Norooz Mobarak!

My wish list this Spring, is based on the "Haft Seen". Hope these wishes come true for all, not just me. 

May wheatgrass bring you a rebirth of ideas and self, as you want and desire. May it continue to keep you inspired and remain inspiring. May you never be at a loss for renewal in any way, shape or form. 

 

May gold coins beckon prosperity with which you can better all lives around you, and ensure that the least amongst us see better lives and richness, so as to further bless your own life and this world. 

 

May sumac bless you with the brilliance and brightness of the rising sun, wherever you are and travel.

 

May vinegar gift you the patience of an inclusive, kind and compassionate person and give you the gift of mindfulness. 

 

May decorated eggs keep your mind, body and spirit fertile and feeling lively at all times. 

 

May the flickering candles keep you and yours enlightened, bright and forward thinking, with respect for the past and all humanity. 

 

May apples always keep you healthy and happy, blessing you with a fulsome long life. 

 

May cakes and pastries, add sweetness and satiety at every turn of your life. Giving you the ability to sweeten the experience of life for yourself and all around you, wherever you are. 

 

May the savory brilliance of garlic keep you always content and grounded, and blossoming with a sense of belonging as you grow from strength to strength. 

 

May the fruit of the oleaster keep you feeling loved always, and find all your life's desires see fulfillment. 

 

May the poetry of Omar Khayyam, Hafez, Rumi, Khusrau and other great poets and thinkers, keep your life inspired, at peace with self, and in harmony with others.

 

Wishing you peace, happiness, good health, and joy this new year.

To read more about Haft Seen and Norooz, continue reading

This Norooz (Iranian New Year) we need to reflect upon the goodness that we enjoyed and witnessed in the Obama White House. In the spirit of the new year, let us learn from the best that we have seen and known, and lets grow from groups and isms, into being part of a world that is one global village, a large extended family. 

This photo above is from my friend Sara Ahmadian's home in the San Francisco Bay Area. Rich in tradition and as American as can be. Reflection the pride that we all have of our cultural heritage. Lessons we can share with our families and friends on what life is all about. Not a collection of nucleus' and atoms, but a mosaic that tells stories from all parts of the world, and from all traditions, nations and peoples. 

At her business in San Francisco, Sara Ahmadian shares the inclusive largesses that can only come when one is connected to ones heritage and respectful of the world as a whole. The Laundry in SF is an experiential space fostering creativity, connection, and community. Through her work and her commitment to the values she was taught from a young age, Sara is giving her city and her fellow human, a space to eat, see, speak and learn, without any divisive borders that might inhibit our growth. Just as she learned in the traditions that are celebrated during the Iranian New year. 

"Iranians consider No-Rooz as their biggest celebration of the year, before the new year, they start cleaning their houses (Khaane Tekaani), and they buy new clothes. But a major part of New Year rituals is setting the "Haft Seen" with seven specific items. In ancient times each of the items corresponded to one of the seven creations and the seven holy immortals protecting them. Today they are changed and modified but some have kept their symbolism. All the seven items start with the letter "S"; this was not the order in ancient times. These seven things usually are: Seeb (apple), Sabze (green grass), Serke (vinager), Samanoo (a meal made out of wheat), Senjed (a special kind of berry), Sekke (coin), and Seer (garlic). Sometimes instead of Serke they put Somagh (sumak, an Iranian spice). Zoroastrians today do not have the seven "S"s but they have the ritual of growing seven seeds as a reminder that this is the seventh feast of creation, while their sprouting into new growth symbolized resurrection and eternal life to come."

To read more about Haft Seen and Norooz, click here

As I see this image of the foods for Norooz, I am seeing my mother and Panditji preparing the Holi foods that we will eat and celebrate with tonight and tomorrow, as we make Holi, the Hindu festival of Spring and renewal. 

There is so much that we have in common, in addition to our humanity, yet how easily we give in to those forces that are determined to sell us divisions that they can cash in on, and rule us by. Division that celebrate fear and hate. That divide us when unity is the most natural force in nature.

It is my hope that this Norooz and Holi, we celebrate each other, our sacred traditions and cultures, and find the common goodness, decency, love and nurturing that each of them has and enjoy being part of a world that becomes one global village, where we all shine like candles that might be one in their own right, but when they are bright and shimmering with strength, they are as brilliant together as the sea of stars that we look up to with awe at night in the sky. 

Happy Norooz, Happy Spring