Jun 15th, 2007
Travelling Companions
Their purpose must be this: to become loving companions and comrades and at one with each other for time and eternity . . .’
`Abdu’l-Bahá, from the Baha’i writings
Travelling Companions
Choosing a travelling companion is an important decision. Of course, many people travel alone but for most of us, part of the fun of travel is sharing it with someone else. We like to have someone to whom we can say, `Wow! Look at that!’ It’s good to have someone who can help with the challenges of crossing borders, finding strange addresses and negotiating in a foreign language - someone who can help with the luggage and stand in the other line at the ticket counter, the one that moves faster.
But we want to be sure that our travelling companion is easy-going, doesn’t get upset at delays and knows how to handle the inevitable problems that travel brings. If you’re going to sitting next to your companion for many, many hours on the airplane, train or in the car, you want him or her to be thoughtful and easy to talk to, not borning and not too critical of the fact that you are taking up a little more space than the seat allows! And you want someone who stays with you for the whole journey, who doesn’t suddenly go off on a jaunt by themselves.
There is all sorts of advice out there about how to find the perfect travelling companion. Some people advise looking for someone rich, with good looks, who is hot; others focus on the need for compatibility and sharing common interests. Few, these days, expect the companion to go the whole distance with you, saying that it is unrealistic to expect two people to travel together for more than a few miles.
Thirty-six years ago this week I set out on a very long journey. Here was the advice I took in choosing my travelling companion:
. . . marriage must be a union of the body and of the spirit as well, for here both husband and wife are aglow with the same wine, both are enamoured of the same matchless Face, both live and move through the same spirit, both are illumined by the same glory. This connection between them is a spiritual one, hence it is a bond that will abide forever. Likewise do they enjoy strong and lasting ties in the physical world as well, for if the marriage is based both on the spirit and the body, that union is a true one, hence it will endure.
When, therefore, the people of Baha undertake to marry, the union must be a true relationship, a spiritual coming together as well as a physical one, so that throughout every phase of life, and in all the worlds of God, their union will endure; for this real oneness is a gleaming out of the love of God. `Abdu’l-Baha
The true marriage of Bahá’ís is this, that husband and wife should be united both physically and spiritually, that they may ever improve the spiritual life of each other, and may enjoy everlasting unity throughout all the worlds of God. `Abdu’l-Baha
Love each other with heart and soul . . . `Abdu’l-Baha
I took this advice. It worked.
Yes I can vouched for the fact that it worked!
Moojan
Congratulations to you both. I like hearing stories about love that works!