inCOGnito
06-11-13, 07:39
THE GUEST HOUSE
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 are 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 whatever comes.
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.
- Rumi
Loved this and wanted to share. It's a poem all about meeting life with open arms, to stop avoiding and resisting negative emotion. It reminds me of the film Jacob's Ladder.
If you haven't seen it it is a horror/thriller in which the main actor is haunted by demons after some army medical experiment. Later in the journey he hears some wise words from his chiropractor (the words are actually from a 13th century mystic) who said:
"The only thing that burns in Hell is the part of you that won't let go of life, your memories, your attachments. [The demons] burn them all away. But they're not punishing you. They're freeing your soul. So, if you're frightened of dying and... you're holding on, you'll see devils tearing your life away. But if you've made your peace, then the devils are really angels, freeing you from the earth."
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 are 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 whatever comes.
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.
- Rumi
Loved this and wanted to share. It's a poem all about meeting life with open arms, to stop avoiding and resisting negative emotion. It reminds me of the film Jacob's Ladder.
If you haven't seen it it is a horror/thriller in which the main actor is haunted by demons after some army medical experiment. Later in the journey he hears some wise words from his chiropractor (the words are actually from a 13th century mystic) who said:
"The only thing that burns in Hell is the part of you that won't let go of life, your memories, your attachments. [The demons] burn them all away. But they're not punishing you. They're freeing your soul. So, if you're frightened of dying and... you're holding on, you'll see devils tearing your life away. But if you've made your peace, then the devils are really angels, freeing you from the earth."