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I Am Because We Are

Kamran Mofid Born on 16 March 1952, Tehran

‘If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough.’- Meister Eckhart

‘Your lamp was lit from another lamp. All God wants is your gratitude for that.’- Rumi

‘i am so glad and very

i am through you so i’ -e.e. Cummings

The twelfth-century Chinese poet, Lu Yu, offers this portrait of the old man in his poem "Written in a Carefree Mood":

‘Old man pushing seventy,

In truth he acts like a little boy,

Whooping with delight when he spies some mountain fruits,

Laughing with joy, tagging after village mummers;

With the others having fun stacking tiles to make a pagoda,

Standing alone staring at his image in the jardinière pool.

Tucked under his arm, a battered book to read,

Just like the time he first set out to school.’

I am Grateful for the Gift of Life

“The complete life, the perfect pattern, includes old age as well as youth and maturity. The beauty of the morning and the radiance of noon are good, but it would be a very silly person who drew the curtains and turned on the light in order to shut out the tranquility of the evening. Old age has its pleasures, which, though different, are not less than the pleasures of youth.”- W. Somerset Maugham in his manifesto for life, The Summing Up

 Kamran Circa 1953

It is wonderful getting older, when we age with hope, love, gratitude, dreams, laughter and a good sense of humour, not forgetting the most important ingredients:

Sharing the journey with a loving partner, family and friends and firmly believing that Life is good, waking up every morning grateful to be alive, giving thanks that  every moment is a gift.

‘Love is the bridge between you and everything.’- Rumi

‘The glory of youths is their strength, but the beauty of the aged is their grey hair.’- the book of Proverbs 

Kamran February 2022

I have been spending the past few weeks reflecting on life’s seasons, ways, paths, and stories, as I approach my 70th birthday this month. How is it that we arrive at this stage of our life so quickly? It seems like only yesterday that I was in my 30’s  dropping our boys off at playgroup. Now they are in their 30’s and soon in a few months time, 40’s.

Recalling the wise and timely words of Kristi Nelson, the Executive Director of A Network for Grateful Living, ‘Having a birthday offers me the welcome reminder that it is nothing short of a total miracle to be alive yet another year. I could call it any number of things, but with the sheer volume of mind-blowing things that can go wrong, and the mind-numbing forces that have to function well and cooperate for any of us to get ourselves up out of bed every day – much less to move from one place to another, love whom we love, and do what we do – it feels appropriate to use the term “miraculous” to describe making it from one entire year to the next. And using the term miracle here, I am not referring to “lightning bolts coming down from heaven and having some wish granted” kind of miraculous – I mean that it is so stunningly humbling and awe-inspiring to be alive every day that I cannot help but think that having the opportunity to grow older and to age is a total privilege worth celebrating. Bring on the effects of gravity…and bring on gratitude…That everyday miracle seems worth celebrating.’ 

“Our own life has to be our message”- Thich Nhat Hanh

“Everything is a gift. The degree to which we are  awake to this truth is a measure of our gratefulness, and gratefulness is a measure of our aliveness.”-Brother David Steindl-Rast 

March 16, 2022 is my 70th Birthday, and soon it will be 50 years since I arrived in England as a young man from Iran to further my studies. 

Today I am full of joy, happiness, words cannot explain.

I am grateful and give thanks for all my blessings.

I give thanks for my 70 years of  life journey. I give thanks for the moments of joy. I give thanks to those who continue to love me, even though at times I may not be a worthy recipient of that gift.

I give thanks for the best gift of my life, my dear wife, Annie. I give thanks for the gift of togetherness and growing older together.

I give thanks to my mom and my late father for all their love and blessings.

I give thanks to my late parents-in-law for their love, support and our special friendship.

I give thanks for our two loveliest sons, Kevin and Paul, the joys of my life.

I give thanks for our loveliest daughter-in-laws, Sarah and Katie, sweetening my life.

I give thanks for our gorgeous little princesses, our granddaughters,  Robyn, Ivy, Isabel and Poppy, brightening and shining hope into my life.

I give thanks for my wonderful siblings, my brothers and sister, extended family and friends.

I give thanks for my education, career, what I believe, and what I do.

I give thanks for the love of wanderlust, all the travels I have done, the places I have seen, the inspiring friendships I have made, the wisdom I have discovered and the hospitality and love I have recieved.

I give thanks for all I have. These are the precious gifts I have received. Long may it be so.

Life is  a Journey and Story 

Wherever I went, I discovered more love, beauty and wisdom

“We are storytelling creatures, and as children we acquire language to tell those stories that we have inside us.”~Jerome Bruner

 Coventry and I: The story of a boy from Iran who became a man in Coventry

With all my love and gratitude to all my family and friends, the sources of my inspiration and strength. I cannot tell you how grateful I am to you all. 

Kamran