"A Soul in Search of Itself" by Marjorie O. Bovee Excerpt from pages 57-58 in Encounter with Seven Continents and Beyond... about the author's first book, A Soul in Search of Itself:
"In my later years I have written a book entitled A Soul in Search of Itself. In it I have thought of the journey of my soul throughout this beautiful world of nature and have recorded a few of the common, everyday experiences of choices and judgments that were signs of its development. I realized as never before how big the little things in life are. Every act or thought (for God sees not only our actions but our very thoughts as well) no matter how small is important, because it is developing the potential of our true selves.
"Yes, thought is important. 'Every act ye meditate is as clear to Him as is the act when already accomplished. There is none other God besides Him. His is all creation and its empire. All stands revealed before Him; all is recorded in His Holy and hidden Tablets.' Many an act has been performed or committed by what could be considered a questionable motive. Man often exclaims truly, 'Only God knows what's in his mind -- or head!'
"Having reached the age of fourscore years, I one day realized that upon leaving this planet earth I would have left no visible trace. It was then I thought of some stories I had written twenty years earlier. Taking them out of an old filing cabinet drawer I reread them. They were all true accounts of early experiences that every single human being, regardless of race or religion, has during the process of growing up. They represent the development of the human soul as it learned to tell the truth (or not) to itself and to others, to make choices (good or bad) as it found its relationships with the world and with all the people in this world. These little stories seemed to be the only possible clue to my having lived; they most certainly would be thrown into the trash can when some stranger disposed of my earthly possessions.
"The thought persisted that if only I could get them printed and into a small book of some kind -- and, of course, find a shelf somewhere where they could be accepted -- it would be a testimonial legacy thanking God for the life I had lived in this wondrous world He had created and a way of saying how much I had loved it and all the people in it.
"Realizing more needed to be written to make a large enough book to print, I wrote an addendum. The total result was a series of prose articles and a section of poetry which represented important, everyday incidents of my life and numerous personal philosophical and religious insights -- some, naturally, quite humorous.
"In spite of many difficulties I found a publisher. In the following chapter I tell of my attempts to make this 'living legacy' a gift to public libraries.
"Since I had majored in art and had always maintained an interest in artistic things, I thought about the book's cover jacket design.
"In attempting to draw a picture of a soul, I realized it must be represented by a symbol. I chose the symbol of a bird, a bird emblematic of both mortality and immortality. It should be depicted as a splendor-winged bird of humankind, the crowning point of all the enchanting kingdoms of the mortal world and reflecting the image of its Creator's golden glory and immortality.
"What color to choose for the bird presented a most sincere problem for me.
"The overwhelming purpose of the book was not meant to be of a personal nature but rather to express the oneness of the world of humankind, regardless of color.
"People of various cultures have depicted religious figures in their own various racial colorings.
"In fact, the White race almost invariably had pictured Christ and the Virgin Mary as blond and blue-eyed. In reality, Christ was not born in Brooklyn (incidentally, He never spoke a single word of English -- His language was Aramaic) and having been born in the Holy Land, there is almost a certain probability that He was more likely to have been of a darker complexion than has been generally shown by Occidentals. 'The color of the pupils of the eye is black, yet they are the fountains of light.' (from Race and Man, a quotation from 'Abdu'l-Bahá).
"To arrive at some peace and tranquility of spirit in this dilemma of color choice, I turned to science to see if I could find any 'footholds for the mind,' so to speak.
"Color is a paradox. It exists in light, which to human eyes seems colorless. Yet, a prism reveals that sunlight is a mixture of colors. This light is the only source of color in the world. But the mixing of pigments can rarely be applied to the mixing of colors of light because the 2 are fundamentally different -- light is the source of the colors, and pigments are simply reflectors, absorbers and transmitters of colors.
"Pigments achieve their colors by absorbing or subtracting certain parts of the spectrum and reflecting or transmitting the parts that remain. Black pigment absorbs all wave lengths and reflects no color at all (black pigment, therefore, contains all colors). On the other hand, white pigment gives back equally all the colors of light, which together comprise white. (White pigment, therefore, has no colors.)
"A graphic artist knows there is in his or her palette no absolute black or no absolute white; there's always some degree of color or colors reflected, no matter how small.
"Although colorless, the pupils (that is, the holes in the eyes) appear black as the light spectrum enters and becomes a 'fountain of light' enabling the brain to perceive different colors reflected from objects in the physical world.
"On the jacket cover of the book I chose the bird as the physical symbol of every human being's immortal soul -- through which the 'golden' qualities of the Creator may be reflected. (The golden bands of feathers on the physical symbol of the bird are suggestive of a 'halo' signifying this spiritual gift.)
"In the Kingdom of God no distinction is made as to the color of skin. God 'hast created all humanity from the same original parents.' As for black, or any other color, if the spirit is pure, the physical face reflecting the emotions of the soul is illumined, and in all races the color of the pupils of the physical eyes appear black, yet they are the 'fountains of light.'
"In the book cover design I wanted to show this both mortal and immortal bird in a natural, mortal setting of heaven and earth -- sky and water -- with verdant trees. I envisioned, as a symbol of its intrinsic glory, an aureole, a circlet of soft golden light above its feathered breast.
"My mind was at rest, my hopes were high. One evening the design prepared by the graphic artist was delivered to me.
"It was not at all as I had visualized, requested, or expected! My soul was shaken with disappointment -- no, not anger but with a kind of spiritual outrage!
"I called the publishing office. The publisher just happened to be in this office in Seattle (one of his 7 offices in 7 cities) working late. He proved to be understanding and promised me another graphic artist.
"That night, late, I wrote to the publisher -- a note, and an 8-page letter that took me back to 2 years old. (After writing it I felt in my conscience that I should apologize, while still defending this violent reaction, a reaction I realized had gone a bit beyond logic, even fairness, and was lacking in true kindness. I ended the note by saying, 'I'm still searching my soul.')
"The following is the note, and the 8-page letter. 2/24/99:
"Dear Mr. Elliott -- continued on page 58 of Encounter with Seven Continents and Beyond... - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Introduction | Contents (chapters) | Itinerary (places, dates) | Sample pages | Author | Bookplate | Publisher
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