thomas breakwell

i can remember, back when i was 12 or 14, at a community gathering when an elderly man was giving a presentation on thomas breakwell. the image of what happened that day is so vivid, even now. i was sitting in the back, right of the audience in our centre's red, velvet chairs looking up at a power point presentation.

Abdu'l-Baha had revealed at tablet for thomas breakwell, in memoriam of his passing. as this man began to read it, his voice slowly began to crack, his eyes welled up with tears. and slowly, as he began to make his way through this tablet, tears started to rain thickly down his cheeks.

i sat in silence, transfixed at the screen and i could feel welling up inside what can only be termed as spiritual reconciliation. even though we exist in this material world, our souls exist I think in a world where they can transcend it to a certain extent to visit both the past and future, but also to access and generate connections with those that have passed on.

we of course, are not aware of a reciprocal sense of growth on the other side, but when we let ourselves transcend we feel more deeply than we could have thought to imagine. in that moment, i created a connection with thomas breakwell, and tears of longing fell from my face.

i'm not sure why i felt compelled to write about this write now, but i felt it worth sharing.

Here are some extracts from that eulogy:

O Breakwell, my beloved! Where is thy beautiful
countenance and where is thy eloquent tongue? Where is
thy radiant brow and where is thy brilliant face? . . .

O my dear, O Breakwell! Where are thy bright eyes
and where are thy smiling lips? Where are thy gentle
cheeks and where is thy graceful stature?

O my dear, O Breakwell! Verily thou hast abandoned
this transitory world and soared upward to the Kingdom,
hast attained to the grace of the Invisible Realm and
sacrificed thyself at the Threshold of the Lord of
Might! . . .

O my adored one, O Breakwell! Then thou hast ignited a
light in the glass of the Supreme Concourse, hast
entered the Paradise of Abha, art protected under the
shade of the Blessed Tree and hast attained to the meeting
(of the Lord of Truth) in the Abode of Heaven! . . .

O my beloved, O Breakwell! Verily, thy Lord hath
chosen thee for His love, guided thee to the court of His
Holiness, caused thee to enter into the Ridvan of His
company and granted thee to behold His Beauty I . . .

O my beloved, O Breakwell! Thou hast become a
star in the most exalted horizon, a lamp among the angels
of heaven, a living spirit in the Supreme World, and art
established upon the throne of immortality! . . .

O my adored one, O Breakwell! I mention thy name
continually, I never forget thee, I pray for thee day and
night, and I see thee clearly and manifestly, O my adored
one, O Breakwell!