Enter this house, My Love, or let me leave!

Enter this house, my Love or let me leave
I am a sculptor, a molder of form.
In every moment I shape an idol.
But then, in front of you, I melt them down
I can rouse a hundred forms
And fill them with spirit,
But when I look into your face,
I want to throw them in the fire.
My souls spills into yours and is blended.
Because my soul has absorbed your fragrance,
I cherish it.
Every drop of blood I spill
Informs the earth,
I merge with my Beloved
When I participate in love,
In this house of mud and water,
My heart has fallen to ruins.
Enter this house, my Love, or let me leave.
(Jelaluddin Rumi the Divani Shamsi Tabriz, XXXIV)

I have been Tricked!

I have been tricked by flying too close

to what I thought I loved.
Now the candle flame is out, the wine spilled,

and the lovers have withdrawn

somewhere beyond my squinting.
The amount I thought I'd won, I've lost.

My prayer becomes bitter and all about blindness.
How wonderful it was to be for a while

with those who surrender.
Others only turn their faces on way,

then another, like pigeon in flight.
I have known pigeons who fly in a nowhere,

and birds that eat grainlessness,
And tailor who sew beautiful clothes

by tearing them to pieces.
(Mathnawi, V. 346-353) Like This, Rumi, Coleman Barks, Maypop Books

Love is Reckless!

Love is reckless; not reason.
Reason seeks a profit.
Love comes on strong,
Consuming herself, unabashed.

Yet, in the midst of suffering,
Love proceeds like a millstone,
Hard surfaced and straightforward.

Having died of self-interest,
She risks everything and asks for nothing.
Love gambles away every gift God bestows.

Without cause God gave us being;
Without cause, give it back again.
(Jelaluddin Rumi Mathnawi VI, 1967-1974)

This is LOVE!

This is love: to fly toward a secret sky,
To cause a hundred veils to fall each moment.
First, to let go of life.
In the end, to take a step without feet;
To regard this world as invisible,
And to disregard what appears to be the self.
Heart, I said, what a gift it has been
To enter this circle of lovers,
To see beyond seeing itself,
To reach and feel within the breast.
(Jelaluddin Rumi the Divani Shamsi Tabriz, XIII)

Who is at the Door?

Who is at my door?
He said, "Who is at my door?"

I said, "Your humble servant.

"He said, "What business do you have?"

I said, "To greet you, 0 Lord."
He said, "How long will you journey on?"

I said, "Until you stop me."

He said, "How long will you boil in the fire?"

I said, "Until I am pure."

"This is my oath of love.

For the sake of loveI gave up wealth and position."
He said, "You have pleaded your case but you have no witness."

I said, "My tears are my witness;

the pallor of my face is my proof.'

He said, "Your witness has no credibility;

your eyes are too wet to see."

I said, "By the splendor of your justice my eyes are clear and faultless."

He said, "What do you seek?"

I said, "To have you as my constant friend."

He said, "What do you want from me?"

I said, "Your abundant grace."

He said, "Who was your companion on the 'journey?

I said, "The thought of you, 0 King."He said,

"What called you here?"I said,

"The fragrance of your wine."

He said, "What brings you the most fulfillments?"

said, "The Company of the Emperor."

He said, "What do you find there?"

I said, "A hundred miracles."

He said, "Why is the palace deserted?"

I said, "They all fear the thief."He said, "Who is the thief?"

I said, "The one who keeps me from -you.

He said, "Where is there safety?"

I said, "In service and renunciation."

He said, "What is there to renounce?"

I said, "The hope of salvation."

He said, "Where is there calamity?"

I said, "In the presence of your love."

He said, "How do you benefit from this life?"

I said, "By keeping true to myself

Now it is time for silence.

If I told you about His true essence

You would fly from your self and be gone,

and neither door nor roof could hold you back!
(Rumi - In the Arms of the Beloved, Jonathan StarJeremy P. Tarcher/Putnam, New York 1997)

Oh Man! (Mian Muhammad Bakhsh_ the Sufi Poet)

Oh man!
Be not dismayed, stand firm and see,
Should many call you mad.
With firmness comes success at last,
Brave men are never sad!

With hope move on, don’t give up hope
‘Tis hope that leads your way
Never give up quest, the Quest’ll hold
It’s everlasting way!
Be not despaired for a moment, who knows,
When the times would change
The beggar’s bowl is always full on
Return from beggar's range.
If sorrow it be that joy gave
And sorrow were its need
Why men forget their sorrow past
When they at last succeed.
The heart which has a little spark
Of feeling in its soul
This tale by me, by the grace of God,
Will lead him to his goal!
(Mian Mohammed Bakhsh)

Seek Passion!

Passion makes the old medicine new:
Passion lops off the bough of weariness.
Passion is the elixir that renews:
How can there be weariness
When passion is present?
Oh, don't sigh heavily from fatigue:
Seek passion, seek passion, seek passion!
(Jelaluddin Rumi Mathnawi VI, 4302-4304)

When the rose is gone!

When the rose is gone and the garden faded

you will no longer hear the nightingale's song.

The Beloved is all; the lover just a veil.

The Beloved is living; the lover a dead thing.

If love withholds its strengthening care,

the lover is left like a bird without care,

the lover is left like a bird without wings.

How will I be awake and aware

if the light of the Beloved is absent?

Love wills that this Word be brought forth.
(Jelaluddin Rumi Mathnawi I, 23-31)

Fuel For Thought!

··

“No man was ever honored for what he received. Honor has always been a reward for what he gave.” (Calvin Coolidge)

Man’s mind stretched to a new idea never comes back to its original dimensions. (Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.)

Man is not imprisoned by habit. Great changes in him can be wrought by crisis once the crisis is understood and recognized. (Norman Cousins)

Let us not look back in anger, nor forward in fear, but around in awareness. (James Thurber)

· “The future is not a place we are going to but one we are creating. The paths are not to be found, but made, and the activity of making them changes both the marker and the destination.” (John Schaar )

· “By building relations we create a source of love and personal pride and belonging that makes living in a chaotic world easier.” (Susan Lieberman)

· “Deep within man dwell those slumbering powers, the powers that would astonish him, that he never dreamed of possessing; force that would revolutionize his life if aroused and put into action.” (Orison Swett Marsden)

·

“The road to success is not crowded because while most are looking for ways to take, the truly successful people are finding ways to give. With a giving attitude, every situation is a opportunity for success.” (Unknown)

· “A dream is just a dream, but a goal is a dream with a plan and a deadline.” (Harvey Mackay)

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