The typical wreath has four candles set in the perimeter of an evergreen wreath for the four Sundays leading up to Christmas.  A white candle is in the center for Chritmas Eve/Day.  Usually there are three purple candles and one rose candle.  A purple candle is lit the first Sunday of Advent during the worship service, and a subsequent candle is lit each Sunday until on the last Sunday before Christmas all four candles are burning during the service.  The first candle for the first week represents hope, the second week peace, the third week (the rose colored candle) stands for joy and the final candle stands for love.  This photo is taken from: https://i.pinimg.com/736x/ba/9f/d1/ba9fd15493835624f6ec7134bb4f401e--catholic-advent-wreath-diy-advent-wreath.jpg

Additional information on the history of Advent is available at:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advent_wreath

The Hilya shown here has a description of Muhammad in of a inscribed in the petals of a pink rose, from an eighteenth-century Ottoman Turkish album of hilyes. Sadberk Hanım Museum, Istanbul, no. 10602 Y8, fol. 9r.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4b/Rose_Hilye.jpg/65px-Rose_Hilye.jpg

http://www.bahai.org/bahaullah/shrine  located in Acre, Israel is the resting place of the remains of Baha’u’llah the founder of the Baha’i Faith.  Baha’u’llah was 75 years old and had spent the last 13 years of his life within the precincts of the Mansion of Bahji, making it a fitting resting place for his remains. Baha’u’llah’s burial place is the most holy spot on earth to the Baha’i and is the location to which they turn in prayer each day.  Copyright © Bahá'í International Community”  http://media.bahai.org/

On October 1 at the Route 91 Harvest Festival on the Las Vegas Strip, Stephen Paddock opened ire from a hotel room on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Hotel and killed 58 people and injured 546 people.  It was the deadliest mass shooting by an individual in the United States.  We do know that there is no “gun” law, which could have been written which could have prevented this event.  Authorities and experts have yet to identify Paddock’s reason for his actions.  There is so much we do not understand.  The picture shows people trying to flee the scene and is taken from:

http://mashable.com/2017/10/02/uber-lyft-las-vegas-shooting/#jQQBOm4cHEqR

Peace within our lives is there only if we look for it.  The world around us is bigger, and more eternal than we could ever hope to be.  There are two ways to look at the towering peaks of Zion National Park north of Springdale, Utah.  One is the feeling of insignificance feeling so small.  Standing on the narrow canyon floor beside the Virgin River, we looked up and up thousands of feet above.   The other is an inner sense of incredible pride that we live in a organic world with such wonders and we have the opportunity to experience these settings.  This “morning” picture of the western canyon rim on the southern edge of Zion was taken from the parking lot of our hotel in Springdale.  The views just got better as we went deeper into the canyon.

On our way back to the train station from the suffrage march we passed Los Angeles Plaza Park.  A group was holding their own festival and we paused for a few minutes to watch the dancers in their spectacular dresses perform.  It was fun to watch the adults pass on to the young children their beautiful heritage.  It felt reassuring to see people celebrating their ethnic heritage and I felt privileged that I was allowed to share a glimpse of their fascinating culture.  We should all be so fortunate.

So much going on the last few weeks.  Surfing contests, horse shows, and group activities, such as the Junior Lifeguard Training and Beach Cleanup.  Here the Junior Lifeguards are marching toward the ocean for a training exercise.  I smile and my gratitude goes out to these young people, developing their skills and sharing the pleasure which comes from helping others.  By the way, as they were marching across the sand, I could see there was a lot of fun involved along with training. 

With my friends passing I was reminded that living is this incredible adventure of the here and now.  We are placed in this moment of time.  All we truly have is the present.  The past is behind me and the future is completely unknown.  All I have is the present and it is rushing past me.  Every second gone is a second spent that cannot be reclaimed. I have to make the most I can of the “now”.  Looking over England’s Parliament from the London Eye, I found a tranquility being up above the crowds and was able to see things from a new perspective.  I am not the center of the universe.  There is a comfort to continuity knowing there is continuity to life which does not depend on me.  I have permission to play occasionally.