the biblical readings this past sunday are my absolute favorites.  something about those 3 short, sweet messages, together in one.

01.  Acts of the Apostles 10:45

Jewish believers who had accompanied Peter were all astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit should be poured out on gentiles too,

02.  John I 4:8

Whoever fails to love does not know God, because God is love.

03.  the Gospel of John 15:12 - 13

This is my commandment:  love one another, as I have loved you.  No one can have greater love than to lay down his life for his friends.

there is no other combination of 3 that so perfectly sum up the core of my spiritual identity, as one citizen living in the home of 7 billion other people.

during his homily, the priest pulled a parallel from the Avengers, a movie in which a man with no superpowers whatsoever gave up his life because he believed in a greater purpose, which inspired the team to put aside personal differences & work together.  even if the cards were in his locker & not his jacket. :P

it also happened to be Mother’s Day.  i remembered a lesson from Islam.

Paradise lies at the feet of the mothers.

~ the Prophet Muhammed

on my right was a little boy, asleep with his head on his mother’s lap, with The Diary of a Wimpy Kid clutched to his chest.

then i felt the dull ache of a menstrual cramp.

i pressed my hands to my belly & cried.

A man can fail many times but he isn’t a failure until he begins to blame somebody else.

~ Confucius.

you can fail as much as you want, but you’re not a failure until you fail to love. 

“only 2% of the world’s population knows the difference between the two.”  he smiled at me.

i touched baby wool for the first time today.

there’s a reason those scarves sell for $600 each.  it’s the most luxurious fabric i’ve ever felt in my life.  & he kept pulling scarves from off the shelves, knowing there was no way i could afford one, & insisted that i feel them, learn about them, examine their stitching.  

“i go to school in the middle east — seeing all these fabrics in your store window made me feel homesick.”

in return for his endless knowledge, i answered his questions.

“as a girl, what do you think of women in the faith?”

“i think it’s absolutely beautiful.  romantic.  empowering.  you dont have to worry about men staring at your boobs & not your eyes.  i enjoy having study sessions with my muslim girl friends in their apartments because i get a sneak peek at this gorgeous, cherished part of their bodies, with the knowledge that on her wedding night, some lucky boy is gonna know what this moment feels like.  i just love the symbolism.  they are very brave.”

San Francisco, in the Westfield mall by Union Square — 4th floor, in the corner, it’s got hand-embroidered scarves & silk carpets in the window.  ”Charisma.”

i could have gotten lost for hours in there.

“if you’re ever in abu dhabi, let me know.  i’ll show you around to all the cool places.”

the man named Sultan laughed.

“in November, possibly, to open another store in the Fairmont Bab Al-Bahr.  you will be my tour guide.”