Monthly Reflection: Nur (Light) – On Two Kingdoms

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Not that long ago, I read Suleika Jaouad’s memoir, Between Two Kingdoms, which explores Susan Sontag’s concept that we live in the kingdom of the well, or in the kingdom of the sick. Sontag says it’s a dual citizenship we all hold, and that we all eventually experience the latter; that illness is the “night-side of life”.

This is not my way of telling you that I am seriously ill. Not at all. I was knocked down for a couple of days by an infection. However brief, uncomplicated or insignificant, how do I always forget that even a few hours of being unwell is a generous perspective-shifter of how good health is taken for granted?

I remember, too, how after birthing my first child, I looked at everyone in the hospital with total and complete marvel and awe: that every single person I could see was a complete miracle brought into this world by the grace of God. Why don’t we all know that? And if we come to know it, why are we so quick to forget?

What else, what other consciousness and understanding lies parallel to our own? What other kingdoms of understanding do we inhabit?

The next world, and our passage from this one, has been on my mind. In the last Baha’i month, Michael Day has penned a beautiful tribute to his dear friend, Jo Hill. Carsten, in Adelaide, recorded his Studio Session based on a passage from The Hidden Words about death:

Maísha, Leonora and Laura of Marbella also sang a prayer for the departed in Spanish.

Over the years, we have shared several Studio Sessions inspired by excerpts from the Baha’i Writings for the departed. You may also wish to revisit this video from The Universe Within, a multi-media exploration of the concept of the soul as a “cageless bird”, or this Baha’i 101 video where Ian offers us some introductory thoughts on life after death. Last but not least, you might want to read Ariana’s personal reflections on what birth can teach us about death, or about supporting a loved one at the end of their earthly life.

Every year, the month of Light comes to mean something different to me. This month, I pray and call to mind those who are freed from the kingdom of the sick, and who are bathing in the sea of light.

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Sonjel Vreeland

In her innermost heart, Sonjel is a stay-at-home parent and a bookworm with a maxed out library card but professionally she is a museologist with a background in English Literature. She currently lives on Prince Edward Island, an isle in the shape of a smile on the eastern Canadian coast. Sonjel is a writer who loves to listen to jazz when she's driving at night.