Baha'i Perspectives

Interview Series October 7th, 2008

The Interview Series aims to reflect the unity in diversity of the Baha’i Faith through a series of informal interviews with people from various cultures and backgrounds, touching on their personal experiences and insights. This week, we chat with Ella and Jordan, spiritual sisters from opposite sides of the globe.

 

Ella Wisniewski (EW)
Jordan Campbell (JC)

Where are you from?

EW: Perth, Western Australia.

JC: Lakeworth, Florida, United States

How long have you been a Baha’i?

EW: Three years and three months [EW is 18].

JC: Four and a half years [JC is 19].

When did you first hear or see the word?

EW: My brother was taking Bahá’í classes and he had an art presentation day.  He was 10 at the time, and I was forced to tag along — I had to be the member of the family that had to support him!  I started talking to his teacher who invited me along to a junior youth group, which was held at my soccer field where I play, so it was fairly easy, plus there was the promise of refreshments immediately after.  Wow, I’m such a spiritual giant!

JC: I guess from my mom.  Also from singing prayers — I basically grew up a Baha’i.

Why does one need faith?

EW: Because without it your life is just a series of events. It gives meaning to life which is otherwise just another day after another day. Everyone wants to believe in a power that is greater than them.

JC: Because without it, you don’t really have a good reason to live. There’s so much negativity in the world that you have to believe there is a reason for it all.

What about the Baha’i Faith gives you hope?

EW: That the world is not going to collapse on itself and that there won’t be an apocalypse. That there are better things to come. It gives me hope that we can all live up to our true potential because it reminds us that we are inherently noble creatures and we all have these huge capacities.

JC: There’s a plan, there’s a structure for how things are going to work. It teaches peace, but it’s not just some vague idea of how things are going to work. There’s a blueprint for how it will happen in a practical sense.

What virtue do you esteem most highly or try to adhere to most often?

EW: Detachment. [We then asked, "Do you want to expand on that?", to which she replied, "No, I'm pretty detached from that."] Otherwise it’s so easy to get caught up in stupid everyday situations.

JC: Obedience. “The only true happiness is true submission”.

What do you consider your greatest achievement in life, to date?

EW: My birth — that was huge, that was a big deal for me. If I hadn’t done as brilliantly as I did, things would be very different for me now.

When I was 14, I went to a random hotel in Shanghai from the Shanghai airport. By myself. Without knowing any Mandarin.

JC: Writing songs. [Jordan is a very talented musician.]

What life lesson do you wish you had known earlier?

EW: That the Baha’i Faith should be the focus, at the forefront, of my life, and not the other way round.

JC: Not to worry about other people. Because it doesn’t matter, it doesn’t allow you to be free and grow. Being happy and true to yourself, then you don’t have to worry about other people. Your other relationships would go more smoothly.

What is your favourite passage from the Writings?

EW:

Truthfulness is the foundation of all human virtues. Without truthfulness, progress and success, in all the worlds of God, are impossible for any soul. When this holy attribute is established in man, all the divine qualities will also be acquired.

Abdu’l-Baha (Cited in Shoghi Effendi, “The Advent of Divine Justice”, p. 26)

JC:

Therefore strive that your actions day by day may be beautiful prayers. Turn towards God, and seek always to do that which is right and noble. Enrich the poor, raise the fallen, comfort the sorrowful, bring healing to the sick, reassure the fearful, rescue the oppressed, bring hope to the hopeless, shelter the destitute!

(Abdu’l-Baha, Paris Talks, p. 80)

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