There's only three days to go until I fly on Tuesday. I'm starting to feel the time crunch, compounded by a period of intensified activity in the Baha'i community in Kitchener. Tonight I attended a gathering for tutors of Baha'i study circles. As we reflected together on our experiences, I felt distant and detached, ever mindful that I'd be leaving in a few days. But I now realize that I'll no doubt be called to serve as a tutor in Hungary to help the community there train the human resources they need to continue and expand the work of the Baha'i Faith in the land 'Abdu'l-Baha called the link between the East and the West.
I've been finishing a lot of work around the house too: handy things, like wiring and painting, as well as domestic chores, like vacuuming and laundry. Dharlene calls this "nesting", and claims it's attractive; but I'm not entirely convinced the hard work is appreciated.
It's also starting to sink in that this will be the longest period of time that Dharlene and I have ever been separated! I'll be in Europe for three months before she meets me in Istanbul. We've lived apart in the past, for example when she did her Master's at McGill, but we still saw each other every couple weeks. For those short stretches, we found absence did indeed make the heart grow fonder. Loneliness and longing can kindle the fire of love.
"When the fire of love is ablaze, it burneth to ashes the harvest of reason." Baha'u'llah (The Seven Valleys)
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