Recently, in a strange and wonderful coincidence I was reminded of Rumi, the 13th C. Persian poet and mystic. Strange because I haven't thought of Rumi in about 20 years. Wonderful because of how I was reminded and the remarkable relevance to my life right now.
Rumi's main themes are love and longing. He is writing about spiritual love, his relationship with "god" or the unknowable, but because his words are so passionate and down to earth, it's easy to relate to them personally, applying them to our relationships with other people and ourselves. If you ask me, it's all the same, just different paths to the same place, but I'm no mystic.
The longng though--I think we can all relate to the spiritual longing he expresses. Who hasn't felt the "something missing" of life, that there is "something more" close at hand but you can't quite reach it? And what exactly is "it" anyway?
Since I've been feeling connected to both of these themes recently more than I have in years, I've been re-reading Rumi's stuff with particular pleasure. Here is one that is perfect to me for right now:
Today, like every other day, we wake up empty and frightened.
Don't open the door to the study and begin reading. Take down a musical instrument.
Let the beauty we love be what we do.
There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground.
Indeed there are thousands, but I am grateful to be experiencing just one.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
when i read this shortly after waking, a feeling from deep down welled up inside me, threatening tears that require no explanation. it reminded me of that afternoon in your living room, as you knelt before me and i surrendered. it was so easy.
my brain keeps asking, like a broken record "how is this possible" but the part of me you have touched, knows the answer.
Post a Comment