Unfinished

Birds make great sky circles
of their freedom.

How do they learn it?

They fall

and, in falling,

are given wings.

~ Rumi ~

Italics mine

The Source of Kindness

Anyone who genuinely and constantly with both hands
looks for something, will find it.

Though you are lame and bent over, keep moving
toward the Friend.

With speech, with silence,
with sniffing about, stay on track.

Whenever some kindness comes to you,
turn that way,
toward the source of kindness.

Love-things originate in the ocean.
Restlessness leads to rest.

~ Rumi ~

The encouragement of light

How did the rose ever open its heart

and give to the world

all of its beauty?

It felt the encouragement of light

against its being.

Otherwise, we all remain too frightened.

Hafiz

Rumi

Dog and Wich

Sultan, saint, pickpocket;
love has everyone by the ear, dragging us to God by secret ways.
(Rumi)

Love is the soul's light

Fall in love in such a way that it frees you from any connecting.

Love is the soul's light,
the taste of morning,

no me,
no we,
no claim of being.

Rumi

Stories

If we don't share our stories we will all be strangers forever.

There is fear associated with telling our stories. But what the sharing does is open us to Love. To listen without judgment to someone's story is to receive the gift of their self. The story is details and descriptions of feelings and events, a cataloging of confusions and joys. It is a sorting out, a classifying. Those details can awaken us to who we are capable of becoming. They are a way of moving into the future through the past. Sharing something so full of past and of potential creates a vibrant heart connection. It creates Love. 

The greatest gift we can offer others is inner silence.

Open our hearts. Leave fear behind.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Look at me
not with outward eye
but with inward heart.
Follow me there and see
how unencumbered we become.
~ Rumi ~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Absolutely Clear

Don't surrender your loneliness

So quickly.

Let it cut more deep.

Let it ferment and season you

As few human

Or even divine ingredients can.

Something missing in my heart tonight

Has made my eyes so soft,

My voice

So tender,

My need of God

Absolutely

Clear.

Hafiz

The Mouth of a Stranger

Your love

Should never be offered to the mouth of a

Stranger,

Only to someone

Who has the valor and daring

To cut pieces of their soul off with a knife

Then weave them into a blanket

To protect you.

Hafiz (c. 1320-1389, Persia)

Translated by Daniel Ladinsky

from The Gift

Your Beautiful Parched, Holy Mouth

A poet is someone

Who can pour light into a spoon,

Then raise it

To nourish

Your beautiful parched, holy mouth.

Hafiz (14th century, Persia) from I Heard God Laughing