Planting “roses of love” in the Leeward Islands

The following story from a family who pioneered from Toronto, Ont., to the Leeward Islands one year ago describes the growing influence of a few children’s classes in their neighbourhood.

“…raising communities whose habits of thought and action are rooted in Bahá’u’lláh’s Revelation.”[1]

A few months ago, two weekly children’s classes were established in our neighbourhood on the island of Antigua—a part of the Leeward Islands—engaging 20 children. In addition to the weekly classes, the teachers often gather the children and take them to play together in a nearby park. During their first visit to the park, some of the children were teasing and saying unkind things about each other. While this behaviour is normalized and accepted among children in this neighbourhood, it did not reflect the quotes they have been memorizing in class.

When unkind words were spoken, the teachers quickly reminded the children of the first quote they had all memorized, “O Son of Spirit! My first counsel is this: possess a pure, kindly and radiant heart…” The teachers then said that one requirement for joining the group at the park is to strive to have pure, kindly, and radiant hearts. The children responded quickly, and although overcoming old habits and attitudes is challenging, they are trying and remind each other to play well.

When new children join the group at the park, they often interact in less kind ways. The children from the classes are now quick to tell them the rules for joining us at the park: “You have to have permission from your parents, and you have to have a kind heart and treat everyone well.”

On a subsequent visit to the park, two of the young girls had a disagreement and refused to walk home together. The teacher reminded each of them that even though they had a disagreement, they must be careful to plant ONLY the rose of love in their heart as they learned in lesson three of the children’s class: “O Friend! In the garden of thy heart, plant naught but the rose of love…”

The teacher explained that if they are not careful, they can become like the man in the story from that lesson, whose heart became so full of anger that it spilled onto those around him.[2] The teacher then gave them some space but kept an eye on what happened next. A slightly older student from the class stayed close to the girls and continued to counsel them, using the quote and the reference from the story. By the time the girls reached their houses, they gave each other big hugs and said they wanted to be friends and have hearts filled with love.

The children’s classes are beginning to influence the entire population of children, even those who do not attend. Even the youngest children in the class help older children resolve difficulties and disagreements that arise during games, reminding them of the quotes they have learned and how they should treat each other.

– Emily and Ashraf Rushdy

[1] From the Universal House of Justice to the Conference of the Continental Boards of Counsellors, 29 December 2015.

[2] In this story, which takes place in ‘Akká, a poor man treats ‘Abdu’l-Bahá very badly because He is a Bahá’í, even when ‘Abdu’l-Bahá showers him with kindness and practical assistance. After a period of 24 years, the man’s heart finally changes, and he asks for ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s forgiveness.