Waking Up

Hafiz says:

What happens when your soul 

begins to awaken

your eyes,

your heart, 

and the cells of your body 

to the great Journey of Love?

First there is wonderful laughter,

and probably precious tears,

and a hundred sweet promises

and those heroic vows

no one can ever keep.

But still God is delighted and amused.

You once tried to be a saint.

What happens when your soul

begins to awake in this world

to our deep need to love and serve the Friend?

Oh the Beloved

will send you

one of his wonderful, wild companions–

like Hafiz.

Here in Daniel Ladinsky’s lovely rendering of the 14th century poet Hafiz, the great soul encourages us to wake up and love. In one legend about Hafiz, he drew a circle in the dirt and promised to stay within it until God appeared to him. I wonder how long it took for Hafiz to wake up to the awareness that the Beloved is always with us?

Perhaps you’re like me in this: almost daily, it seems, I pay to much attention to the things I “must” do, and I completely forget the things that matter most. Most important of all, I forget that like all creatures, I have a source of infinite joy inside me. I can access it any second I remember that it’s there.

Rumi says:

….Any unhappiness comes from forgetting. Remember and be back with the Friend.

May we all remember this day. Remember to see the beauty in the next human or animal you encounter; remember it when you look in the mirror. Remember that this journey is about one thing only–learning to love as well as we can.

Blessings, dear visitor. You can post here or by contacting me at drvlee1234@aol.com. Please visit my website at http://www.drvictorialee.com.

 

I begin this day with gratitude

One minute in Rumi-conciousness

Once Rumi’s message touched me, I became passionate about communicating it; spend one minute allowing this great soul’s message to touch you, and you will be forever changed. The great love that arises out of silence will penetrate your heart. Rumi’s intent is to transform us, to help us discover our divine nature, regardless of our state of belief or unbelief.

• Rumi entices us with poetry of astounding beauty, but he himself puts little value on his own or any other words. The poems are meant to open the door to nothing less than transmission of a message that can forever change and heal us. It is a divine message that teaches us priceless and seemingly mysterious lessons, such as:
• Our endless longings are their own answer. Our prayers are answered in the moment we utter them. The cure for our pain is in the pain.
• As is stated in every faith tradition, the Beloved is always with us: Lo, I am with you always….Remember and be back with the Friend.
• Because we are embodiments of the divine, great love lies deep in our hearts. It is stronger than our anger, more powerful than our failure to forgive. I am so small. How can I feel such great love? Your eyes are small, yet they see enormous things.
• Thanks to Andrew Harvey for some of the ideas in this post, and to Coleman Barks for the lines of Rumi’s poetry. See Andrew’s The Way of Passion: A Celebration of Rumi, and Coleman’s many wonderful translations of Rumi such as The Soul of Rumi, The Essential Rumi, and many, many more.