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 honourably.
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 whoever comes,
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.
Rumi, Masnavi – The Guest House (English adaptation)
Rumi is famous precisely for his poems about love. And while, at first glance, the verse above may seem unrelated to the “lessons of love,” to me it is one of the most valuable texts on how love becomes real in practice. It speaks of a love that is beyond the dualities of the material world — a love that opens its heart to everything that passes through it.
