“Good luck Beijing!” is the title of one of the 30 songs chosen for the Beijing Olympics. It is a song written by two talented and professional musicians from Georgia, USA - Phil Morrison and Keith Williams. They are now performing almost nightly at the Hilton Hotel Wangfujing in Beijing and are a definite must-see! Phil and Keith were inverviewed by a news agency about their song for the Olympics. You can view the video below.

I had been in touch with Phil before he came to Beijing and was so looking forward to meeting the gifted duo. So a few nights ago I invited some friends to watch them perform and what a delightful evening it was! From the moment we met, there was such a warm connection! Phil was playing bass and Keith played a beautiful grand piano. They make such a wonderful combination. Viva, their vocalist, also a very talented musician, charmed us with her voice. Before the start of the performance, Keith and Phil had encouraged me to sing a song with them but I felt completely unprepared as we hadn’t rehearsed anything together. But after listening to Viva sing and watching them perform in such unison and spirit, I couldn’t help but acquiesce when Viva requested that I sing! I’m so glad that I did because it was one of the highlights of my evening. Performing with such talent is not a common occurrence in my life so I’m thrilled that I seized that opportunity.

At the end of the evening, the three of us agreed that we should definitely get together and perform again. I look forward to learning some new songs and exploring this new side of music that I haven’t experienced too much of before. I know I will love it!

What an exhilerating experience watching the Olympic hockey game a few days ago!! The first game was China vs South Africa. The energy among the crowd was contagious! Within the first 5-10 minutes, South Africa scored a goal, but the Chinese team soon caught up. The game was absolutely riveting! China was ahead 3-1 but in the last 10 minutes, South Africa scored 2 goals to equalize! Just in the last 30 seconds of overtime, China scored in a penalty corner to win. The crowd erupted! It truly was an unforgettable moment being a witness to the pride and extreme joy of everyone in the stadium! (I don’t usually use so many exclamation points - but a blog of this nature necessitates them)!

During the game, there was lots of sporadic cheering. One of the volunteers among the spectators would lead the crowd shouting “ZHONG GUO DUI!!” (Team China!!) and the crowd would all yell “JIA YOU!!” (Go for it)!! In my enthusiasm, at one point I also mustered some courage and tried to rally the group to cheer and shouted, “Zhong guo dui!!” but those around me were more amused that a foreigner was cheering for China and in Chinese! I got a few smiles and chuckles instead!

The field hockey match brought many wonderful memories of my time playing field hockey in elementary and high school in Kenya. It made me feel very nostalgic for it as it was one of the highlights of growing up there. It brought memories of all the competative games we played and of my hockey coach who was on the Kenyan Olympic team at that time! If I had had the chance I would have jumped straight onto the Olympic field, grabbed a hockey stick and started to play!

For all you hockey lovers out there, here are some photos of the game (with my new camera) and some of the spectators (I especially love the photo of the gentleman in front of us who so creatively used a paperbag as a hat)!

Yesterday I had a conversation with a dear friend of mine who shared her experiences of meeting one of her relatives who had come from Iran for a reunion with their family. Her relative had recounted some of the stories of hardship, suffering and persecution that the Baha’is had endured in prison. I came away feeling deeply moved by the strength, courage and attitude through all they have endured. Their steadfastness in their beliefs and their faith are such wonderful examples of courage and sacrifice.

So last night I felt very inspired to write a song about the persecution of the Baha’is in Iran. Writing lyrics doesn’t come easily to me, but for some reason, the words flowed quickly and some of them were truly inspired! When it came to singing the vocals for the demo, I was overcome with emotion halfway through the song as it was a reminder of the suffering my own family has endured in Iran. My grandparents were also imprisoned for being Baha’is and on many occasions were pressured to recant their faith. They were steadfast and were fortunate that they were finally released after several years in prison. My great uncle suffered a different fate - he was tortured, blinded in one eye, beaten and finally martyred for his beliefs.

Sadly, this pattern of persecution still continues. Just a few months ago 7 Baha’i leaders were suddenly taken captive and imprisoned in the notorious Evin Prison in Tehran, yet another part of the on-going campaign to attempt to eliminate the Baha’i community. Their current condition is unknown.

I plan to dedicate this new song to all those in Iran who have suffered and are suffering as a result of such persecution. The current draft of the chorus goes:

“Why do you think you can stop the world from knowing, prevent the truth from showing? You can’t block the sun from shining.” I’m very excited about how the song is developing.

I am attaching a moving video that was made by The Muslim Network for Baha’i Rights regarding the persecution of the Baha’is in Iran.

Photography is another passion of mine that I have neglected recently. I have been using small digital cameras for a long time and feel frustrated by the quality and results of the photos. For awhile I’ve been daydreaming about owning a more professional camera to take better quality photos. Yesterday I felt it was time to upgrade so I bought a new camera!

Today I had a lot of fun taking photos and experimenting with it. I especially enjoy taking macro shots which are close-ups of objects and nature. I will need to read the manual and study in more detail how to use this camera but that will take some time. Meanwhile, here are a few photos of my first day of experimenting. I look forward to sharing photos more frequently on the blog.

I’ve been married for thirteen years and I often try to remind myself of how precious married life is. It is easy to take it for granted sometimes as we see with so many marriages that fall apart everywhere. Getting divorced these days has become so common that it is hardly given a second thought anymore. Often people enter into marriage without much consideration and split up on a whim!

About a year ago, Tarry, my husband and I were asked to give a talk on ‘Enriching Marriage and Family Life’ to a large gathering. We felt very humbled by this task and weren’t really sure what to share especially to an audience where some of our friends were married far longer than we were. So we decided to create a booklet of quotations with questions. We divided everyone into smaller groups so they could have discussions focused around the theme of marriage. It turned out to be very useful, enjoyable and enlightening for many of those who attended.

I am attaching the booklet we made in case you would like to use it or share it with your friends. At the end of it, we have included some fun questions for couples to ask one another. Enjoy!

Marriage Booklet

I also look forward to sharing my new CD on the theme of love which I plan to release in January 2009! You can read more about it here.

Thought of the Day: “The true marriage… 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….” -Abdu’l-Baha

My dear friend and very talented musician, Cheng Lin, performed at the Green T. Living a week ago. What a fantastic concert it was! Lin sang several pieces accompanied with her erhu and had prepared a couple of videos of her new song ‘Greater than Gold’ and another moving piece, ‘On the Road to Heaven’ which she dedicated to the victims of the earthquake in Chengdu.

Lin is about to complete her new CD, ‘Greater than Gold’. I have had the pleasure of hearing several of the pieces which are incredible. Her melodies and vocals are truly captivating and the instrumentation on the CD is fabulous. Lin has been collaborating with producer KC Porter on this CD and the results are evident. She has been working long distance on her album travelling to Los Angeles to record some pieces in the US and some in Beijing. Many outstanding musicians in both countries are featured on her CD. Lin is planning for the album to be released in October 2008. Her style is classic/pop and the themes of her songs are spiritually based and the message is powerful. I look forward to the release of her CD with great anticipation!

Lin has always been a great supporter of my music and has always encouraged me to strive for excellence. I’m honored that she sang with me on my second album, ‘Melodies of the Nightingale for the family‘ and played the erhu on my most recent album, ‘Fire and Gold‘. I’m grateful for all her assistance and support and wish her great success with the completion of ‘Greater than Gold’.

Thought of the Day:

“Not everything that a man knoweth can be disclosed, nor can everything that he can disclose be regarded as timely, nor can every timely utterance be considered as suited to the capacity of those who hear it.”

-Baha’u'llah

I love this quotation and wanted to share with you. It has helped me on several occasions to find balance and moderation in what I say and what I do.