Monday, January 28, 2008

Invite



A skilled Receiver receives everything. I am thinking about this poem this morning as I am getting ready to teach the third class of my five-week course on Receiving. It's one of my favorites. Enjoy!


The Guest House

Rumi

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 entertain 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.

Be grateful for whoever comes,
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.


From The Essential Rumi, Translations by Coleman Barks (HarperCollins, 1995)

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