Love Yourselves

Toos Foundation reviews Persian dance history in London, March 2008, BBC Persian.

And so, it's Friday. I am trying to take it easy, really trying. This was another eventful and exhausting week. I decided not to go to a musical event in Oakland tonight, and instead go visit my friend, Rojan, at her house for a couple of hours. She is a talented singer and a very kind and loving woman. I will take it easy with a small circle of friends and some great Kurdish music, instead. Before I leave, though, I thought I would put up my Friday post.

My younger son is getting a hang of this driving business and the independence it offers him. An hour ago, he went to look at the by now empty refrigerator, and announced that if I gave him a shopping list, he would go grocery shopping! I gave him the list, some money, and the car keys quickly without blinking an eye! Hee Hee, that was a sweet gesture, a first, and it made me so happy!

My photo essay on the Simin Behbahani event was published today. You can see it here if you live outside Iran. Unfortunately, Iranian.com is filtered in Iran. I am working on a story that is making me smile as I write it! It is the story of a friend of mine in which I write about his learning about love and respect from his teenage daughter. The story is a good one, a very funny one, and I hope to be able to pull it off and tell a good tale. Soon.

So, O.K. I thought long and hard about what I would write in the last paragraph of my Friday post today. I usually talk about love and affection for those we love. The funny thing is that I actually mean all that advice I write about! These days, as I hurt a little bit and get hit with bouts of sadness at other people's selfishness, carelessness and wreckless behavior, it is a bit hard for me to write things I don't feel one hundred percent. So, instead, I urge you to do as I am about to do this weekend. Spend some time with yourselves! Lick any wounds you may have, and prop yourselves up! Love yourselves and reflect on all the wonderful things you do have, not on what you are missing. Disregard your worries and pains, throwing them into an imaginary big river passing right through your mind, one by one. Clean your hearts of feelings of helplessness and weakness. Remember that though we are no bigger than a small particle in relation to the magnificient universe in which we live, when we think our world has come to an end, in fact it hasn't! Build yourselves up to feel good and strong, in charge of your environment, your decisions, and your life. That's what I'm going to be doing this weekend. Well, O.K., truth be told, I will work on loving myself a little bit, while at the same time still loving everybody else around me, I know of no other way! I will just be doing a lot of reflection, that's all. Have a good weekend you all. Here's a little eid-e-shoma mobarak song from the legendary Haydeh for you.