Be Happy in the Present
Juliet Thompson, The Diary of Juliet Thompson, (1947), Kalimát Press · Read original
When in Bahá'í history
A retelling based on The Diary of Juliet Thompson (Kalimát Press; diary entry dated 25 August 1911). The narrative is retold in our own words; the words in quotation marks are verbatim from the Diary. Read the full text for Juliet's own account.
On 25 August 1911, while staying at Thonon on Lake Geneva, 'Abdu'l-Bahá took Juliet Thompson, Laura Dreyfus-Barney and Hippolyte Dreyfus for an automobile ride. As they got in, He laughed and asked Juliet whether she had ever thought that she and Laura would be riding in an automobile with Him in Europe.
They drove to a country inn near a forest. When the Master stepped down from the car, about fifteen peasant children with bunches of violets to sell gathered round Him in a half circle. He bought all the violets, taking handfuls of francs from His pocket. When the children held out their hands for more and Laura objected, He said very gently, "Tell them that they have taken."
Hippolyte had told Him of a beauty spot deeper in the forest called the Devil's Bridge, and the Master set off to see it, walking ahead of them in His white robe, black 'abá and white turban. Laura could not walk so far, so Juliet waited with her while Hippolyte went on with the Master. Later, back at the inn, the children crowded round Him again, and He noticed a small child, much younger than the rest, to whom He had not yet given.
On the drive home they came to a waterfall pouring down a black precipice. The Master stopped the car, walked to the edge, and after standing there for some time sat down on a rock above the drop, watching the water. All through the drive He pointed things out to them: the green of the fields and hills, the villages, a church spire. Seeing a tiny village high among the peaks, He wondered how its people could bear the winter. Once He said, "There was no one in the world who loved trees and water and the country so much as Bahá'u'lláh."
A little later Juliet said, "If only, like the disciples of Christ, we could follow You everywhere, all through our lives." The Master smiled at her and answered:
We are together now. Be happy in the present.
A retelling based on The Diary of Juliet Thompson. For the fuller account, see the original.
Cite this story
Thompson, J.. (1947). *The Diary of Juliet Thompson*. Kalimát Press. https://bahai-library.com/thompson_diary
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