Thy letter was received and a sweet odor wafted from the
rose-garden of its meanings. Thou hast offered thanks before the threshold of
the One God, for that thou hast stepped into the Court of the Manifestation in
such a blessed day and hast partaken a share and portion from the bounties of
the Pre-existent Beauty. This mortal
world is fickle and unstable like unto a shifting shadow, and the human life is
like unto a mirage and a reflection on the water. When thou lookest at the
result thou wilt consider the preliminaries as important, otherwise,
preliminaries without a result are of no fruit or harm; they are pure fancy and
sheer darkness. Therefore even a short duration of life is sufficient.
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (‘Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Baha, vol. 1)
