The Joy Inside Every Human Being

Joy Is Your Essence

As translated by Coleman Barks, Rumi says:

In the last hour before morning
lover and beloved awake
and take a drink of water.

She asks, “Do you love me or yourself more?
Really, tell the absolute truth.”

He says, “There’s nothing left of me.
I’m like a ruby held up to the sunrise.
Is it still a stone, or a world made of redness?
It has no resistance to sunlight.”

This is how the ancient Sufi sage Hallaj said
“I am God,” and told the truth.

Therefore be courageous and discipline yourself.
Completely become hearing and ear
and wear the sun ruby as an earring.

Work, keep digging your well.
Don’t think about getting off from work.
Soul water is there somewhere.

Submit to a daily practice. 
Your loyalty to that is like a ring upon the door.
Eventually, the joy inside will open a window
and look out to see who’s there.

As always, Rumi urges us to seek the relentless joy that dwells within us all. We get there through daily practice, through intention, through service, and through understanding that we are in the process of discovering our own essence.

Blessings to all. If you seek more joy, read Rumi every day for 100 days.

For those of us who are blessed with a passion for music, poetry, dance or other creative arts, may we affirm to everyone we know that (especially when offered in service to others)  these arts provide a direct path to joy.

I close with these words from the Dalai Lama:

“We are visitors on this planet. We are here for ninety or one hundred years at the very most. During that period, we must try to do something useful within our lives. If you contribute to other people’s happiness, you will find the true goal, the true meaning of life.”

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Facetime appointments with Dr. Victoria Lee are described there.