"This being human is a guest house. Every morning a new arrival. A joy, a depression, a meanness, some momentary awareness comes as an unexpected visitor. Welcome and attend them all! Even if they’re a crowd of sorrows, who violently sweep your house empty of its furniture, still treat each guest honorably. He may be clearing you out for some new delight. The dark thought, the shame, the malice, meet them at the door laughing, and invite them in."
~Rumi
~Rumi
One of my favorite poets is Rumi; a 13th Century Sufi Mystic. His nuances and musings transport his followers from the ordinary to the extraordinary. His works were originally scribed in Persian, and have now been translated by Coleman Barks so that his worldly followers may enjoy.
The Guest House is one of my favorite works by Rumi. He so easily invites our human emotions to the forefront of our lives. Instead of resisting these often "uninvited" guests, he asks that we invite them in as we entertain their presence. As we look a little deeper below the surface, we gaze upon them with eyes of compassion. As I sit with the meaning of this work, I drop down into the heart center and realize that these "guests" are all parts of ourselves that we have yet to identify. How many times have we easily felt the joy of a wonderful event and ushered it in, but how many times have we also felt the undercurrent of depression and denied its existence? Rumi's musing speaks to the tenderness of the human experience. We feel pleasure and we welcome it. We feel sadness, grief, sorrow, and anger and we instantly flee from our minds and abandon of our houses.
As you move throughout your day, curiously invite yourself to sit with the guests that you have yet to welcome into your house....as Rumi said, "He may be clearing you out for some new delight."
May you Sweetly Seek
In Gratitude:)
Sarah
The Guest House is one of my favorite works by Rumi. He so easily invites our human emotions to the forefront of our lives. Instead of resisting these often "uninvited" guests, he asks that we invite them in as we entertain their presence. As we look a little deeper below the surface, we gaze upon them with eyes of compassion. As I sit with the meaning of this work, I drop down into the heart center and realize that these "guests" are all parts of ourselves that we have yet to identify. How many times have we easily felt the joy of a wonderful event and ushered it in, but how many times have we also felt the undercurrent of depression and denied its existence? Rumi's musing speaks to the tenderness of the human experience. We feel pleasure and we welcome it. We feel sadness, grief, sorrow, and anger and we instantly flee from our minds and abandon of our houses.
As you move throughout your day, curiously invite yourself to sit with the guests that you have yet to welcome into your house....as Rumi said, "He may be clearing you out for some new delight."
May you Sweetly Seek
In Gratitude:)
Sarah
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