Feeling Rumi
Words of wisdom by the great Sufi mystic to live by
I thought maybe we could all use a bit of roominess to Rumi-nate on today.
(Sorry, couldn’t resist the puns ;-))
Seriously, though, nothing cuts through the noise faster and turns up the light quicker than a verse from the great 13th century Sufi mystic, Rumi.
His words are not just a balm for the soul, they are directives for how to live a more spacious life.
Read any of his poems slowly and you will experience openings; worlds within worlds.
Though it’s impossible to choose which of his huge body of work to share with you today, I settled on the four below: verses that can help us cultivate more beauty, presence, silence, and flow.
Of course, what’s a beautiful poem without an image to go with it. So I’ve added some of my own visual enhancements from around the world to add to the magic.
Have a roomy day!
Ahhh…🙌🏼
Spacious inspirations to live by
Four poems by Rumi
Photos by Stephanie Bennett Vogt
1. Inviting more beauty and gratitude…
“Today, like every other day, we wake up empty and frightened.
Don’t open the door to the study and begin reading.
Take down a musical instrument.
Let the beauty we love be what we do.
There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground.” 1
2. Inviting presence…
“Keep walking
Though there’s no place to get to.
Don’t try to see through the distances.
That’s not for human beings.
Move within
but don’t move
The way that fear makes you move.” 2
3. Inviting silence…
“There is a channel between voice and presence,
A way where information flows.
In disciplined silence the channel opens.
With wandering talk, it closes.” 3
4. Inviting flow…
“…Your hand opens and closes, and opens and closes.
If it were always a fist or always stretched open
you would be paralyzed.
Your deepest presence
is in every small contraction and expansion,
the two as beautifully balanced and coordinated
as bird wings.” 4
Ahhh….“Your deepest presence is in every small contraction and expansion.” Still breathing into this one.
Your turn…
Which of these poems speaks loudest to you right now?
How does it make you feel?
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In case you missed it…
From The Book of Love: Poems of Ecstasy and Longing, by Jalal al-Din Rumi, translated by Coleman Barks.
From The Essential Rumi by Jalal al-Din Rumi, translated by Coleman Barks.
From The Essential Rumi by Jalal al-Din Rumi, translated by Coleman Barks.
From The Essential Rumi by Jalal al-Din Rumi, translated by Coleman Barks.
Here’s my redo of that beautiful first run poem.
DC
“Today, like every other day, we wake up empty and frightened.
Don’t open the phone and begin doomscrolling
Take down a musical instrument.
Let the beauty we love be what we do.
There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground.” ¹
I love the way you share beauty in. Oh words and pictures. May I pay attention to the constrictions and openings today.
Rumi's poem, Inviting Presence, really spoke to me today. My energy has been low, and I have been confused for at least a week. It's so easy to sit and do nothing when you're retired, and there aren't any necessary appointments during the day. The last three lines bring it home, "Move within, but don't move, the way that fear makes you move." Finally, I feel so connected to the photograph; you took all the photos yourself (love that); the Escher feel of the tile floor tile arrangement and the perfection of the action of an unknown person walking away cinched this poem as my favorite.