Being Human

This being human is a guest house
Every morning a new arrival …
Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they’re a crowd of sorrows, …
Be grateful for whoever comes,
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.

~Rumi

School of Truth

O fool, do something, so you won't just stand there looking dumb.
If you are not traveling and on the road, how can you call yourself a guide?

In the School of Truth, one sits at the feet of the Master of Love.
So listen, son, so that one day you may be an old father, too!

All this eating and sleeping has made you ignorant and fat;
By denying yourself food and sleep, you may still have a chance.

Know this: If God should shine His lovelight on your heart,
I promise you'll shine brighter than a dozen suns.

And I say: wash the tarnished copper of your life from your hands;
To be Love's alchemist, you should be working with gold.

Don't sit there thinking; go out and immerse yourself in God's sea.
Having only one hair wet with water will not put knowledge in that head.

For those who see only God, their vision
Is pure, and not a doubt remains.

Even if our world is turned upside down and blown over by the wind,
If you are doubtless, you won't lose a thing.

O Hafiz, if it is union with the Beloved that you seek,
Be the dust at the Wise One's door, and speak!

~Hafiz

Traveler...

Where are you off to now?
…have you gone to the outer edge?
…are you tramping through this world and others like it?

Is that you child, so heavy and tired?
Sweetness, even you can see there is nothing new to see.
Turn around Love and open your other eyes

You know me – the one resting in your favorite chair…
You remember me – the one wearing your worn out shoes…
Turn around Love - I am still here.

~Grace Gibson