Throughout history, periods of turbulence have presented opportunities to redefine collective values and the assumptions that underlie them. So, too, does the present moment in a number of countries that held their general elections and those that are still in the process of electing their leaders for a new term as per their constitutional norms. Sweeping changes that occur in a nation or society are characterized by a range of emotions and spur of the moment behaviour.

For members of the Bahá’i Faith, what humanity is experiencing are the death pangs of an old Order, now obsolete and bereft of any vitality to take us to next stage in our collective evolution and at the same time the birth pangs of a new Order. Humanity is in the grip of deep systemic change – a change the like of which humankind has never witnessed. It is in such times of crises that we are forced to go beyond the tangible and find solace and answers through our trust in the Divine. How may one orient oneself on finding one’s purpose? How may one respond in times of personal tests, and in finding one’s place in the path towards reintegration as the old world disintegrates around us?

In the Writings of the Bahá’i Faith we are told: “The more we search for ourselves, the less likely we are to find ourselves; and the more we search for God, and to serve our fellow-men, the more profoundly will we become acquainted with ourselves, and the more inwardly assured. This is one of the great spiritual laws of life.” Worldwide, a growing chorus of voices is calling for decisive steps forward in our collective trajectory toward enduring, collective wellbeing cessation of........

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