Iran – A New Year, a year of hope and faith in imminent change

As an Iranian, who has put the last Persian calendar year behind me and I am beginning a new year for my tormented country of Iran. The New Year for me is of course a year of hope and faith in change, alteration and prosperity. For those who may not be familiar, the Iranian calendar year begins with spring, this year on March 20^th.

For me, faith in change is no longer a mere slogan or dream. This is a belief and conviction of obvious realities, which may also be bitter and heavy to bear. Spring, the season of the new from the winter cold, teaches me this lesson. From day one, nature has always been a very powerful tutor for mankind. Therefore, I have extracted this logic and argument from natural history, and if I have any talent at all, it would only be my intention to explain this to you, nothing else.

Currently, following nearly half a century of harsh rule under the cloak of religion, deception and lashing all the hope and trust of an entire nation, those sitting on the throne in Iran resorted to all kinds of cruelty on my people in Iran. These symbols of reactionary beliefs with their lashes, dungeons and prisons, have plunged my country for years into all kinds of blacklists invented by human rights organizations in modern history. Unfortunately, they have riddled Iran’s ancient history with the mullahs’ repulsive culture.

People across the globe recognize my country, Iran, as the land of hangings, executions, prisons, torture, terrorism and exporting crises to other countries, and the leading state sponsor of terrorist groups abroad. More painful for me is the concern that Iranian people themselves, and our rich culture, might be held responsible for these atrocities. I am concerned others may recognize the Iranian people for the “religious” mullahs’ continuous aggressions and fanatics, and these images may be the mirrors of us Iranians today, and for days to come.

I was lost in such panicky thoughts in the first hours after welcoming the new Persian year, while looking out of my window to a grassland with various trees seen here and there. This was probably an image of Iran’s destiny that had depressed, and left me lonely. My eyes were passing through the tree leaves, as I said my thoughts lost in the many lights and shadows of the leaves.

Suddenly, the brightness of a lightning bolt shook me out of these thoughts, opening my eyes and connecting me to nature and the spring. Swiftly I felt as if a basis issue inside me had changed, and I was glorified. It was a sprout of faith, the ones provided by Mother Nature, just like a mother gives her mischievous little son a flower, making him calm and reassured. This feeling had engulfed my soul and enriched my eyes with its natural green beauty.

A sprout of faith. Faith in wonders, change and spring, despite the pressures of the unbearable winter cold that had drained all my energy. In nature’s message, and amongst the waves of trees’ leaves, and the vivacity and candor of the green grass, my inner being was rejoiced, reminding me of a historical reality. The tree reached out to my window with a branch, soothing the glass. A feeling engulfed my body as if it had a message or a whisper for me. I opened my window and leaned outside to feel the tree branch. Time, with its gentle passing, was merely a short, beautiful sentence reaching me through the tree branch. The spring breeze had suddenly brought the green branches to my garden, as the tree stood quiet, yet firm.

However, it remained uncertain, doubting my ability to understand the message and its logic. Somehow it appeared to be watching, to maybe become certain. It has sent me its message from within, and reassured me that “I have correctly understood the logic of the universe and nature, repeated for centuries now, and I have gained faith once again”.

In short, the message meant to say, “Can one actually prevent spring from coming? Can one enchain and imprison a nation forever?”.  I can now envision its mystery in the imminent and undoubted change of the destiny of my country, Iran, and its people. I was enriched with faith, love and hope in change in the not so distant future. Faith, making imminent today’s very speedy and yet logical developments.