When I run after what I think I want, my days are a furnace of stress and anxiety; if I sit in my own place of patience, what I need flows to me, and without pain. From this I understand that what I want also wants me, is looking for me and is attracting me. There is a great secret here for anyone who can grasp it.
-Rumi
From this one can also deduce that even Rumi had moments of confusion and distress. 😅
We are slowly coming around to the idea that locally grown food and locally produced goods are the best for the local population.
What if, as Rumi’s sweet words seem to suggest, this same concept extends to EVERYTHING? What if whatever you need - and what is actually best for you - is no further away than your gentle reach? What if all you have to do is sit quietly enough (tuning out the noisier distractions that is) to see or hear that what it is you are looking for is right there in front of you?
Take information for example. I used to think that it was necessary to imbibe as much of it as possible in order to make the best and most informed decisions for my life. As the volume of information that became available each day grew (anybody heard of the internet?), so did my stress about how I would ever keep up. Even if I limited myself to a few key areas of interest there was always too much and then some.
Then one merciful day I noticed that I had wondered about something and that within 24 hours I had “received” the information that I was looking for. I don’t remember the source but it could have been from anywhere - another person, a billboard, a song on the radio, a bumper sticker or my own intuition. It has since become my very strong opinion that the “source” is important ONLY insofar as it is what is delivering you the information you need when you need it.
Journalism no longer being what it used to be we look to experts, famous people, rich people, loud people and even dead people for our most important information and learning. We cite Oprah and seek out expensive motivational speakers the same way we used to proudly wear our Calvin Klein jeans with our Reeboks. Truth however, is NOT intellectual property and should not be treated as such. Nor is it absolute - not even for the same individual as she learns and grows over a lifetime.
This is not to say that a famous motivational speaker has nothing to teach you - especially if he or she comes to your city and you can easily buy a ticket. I am suggesting however that the person sitting next to you on the bus might have something just as important to tell you.
There is no end to the ways in which this experience of what I need flowing to me repeats itself in my life when I can remember to stop running - from shopping for groceries to shopping for clothes to knowing what activities to do on the weekend to knowing what book to read next. And no matter how many times it happens, the thrill of it always stays the same.
We probably all end up getting what we need in the end - via the furnace of pain or the attractive flowing river. Rumi is saying that the choice is yours.
That is all the information for now - more to come.
-Rumi
From this one can also deduce that even Rumi had moments of confusion and distress. 😅
We are slowly coming around to the idea that locally grown food and locally produced goods are the best for the local population.
What if, as Rumi’s sweet words seem to suggest, this same concept extends to EVERYTHING? What if whatever you need - and what is actually best for you - is no further away than your gentle reach? What if all you have to do is sit quietly enough (tuning out the noisier distractions that is) to see or hear that what it is you are looking for is right there in front of you?
Take information for example. I used to think that it was necessary to imbibe as much of it as possible in order to make the best and most informed decisions for my life. As the volume of information that became available each day grew (anybody heard of the internet?), so did my stress about how I would ever keep up. Even if I limited myself to a few key areas of interest there was always too much and then some.
Then one merciful day I noticed that I had wondered about something and that within 24 hours I had “received” the information that I was looking for. I don’t remember the source but it could have been from anywhere - another person, a billboard, a song on the radio, a bumper sticker or my own intuition. It has since become my very strong opinion that the “source” is important ONLY insofar as it is what is delivering you the information you need when you need it.
Journalism no longer being what it used to be we look to experts, famous people, rich people, loud people and even dead people for our most important information and learning. We cite Oprah and seek out expensive motivational speakers the same way we used to proudly wear our Calvin Klein jeans with our Reeboks. Truth however, is NOT intellectual property and should not be treated as such. Nor is it absolute - not even for the same individual as she learns and grows over a lifetime.
This is not to say that a famous motivational speaker has nothing to teach you - especially if he or she comes to your city and you can easily buy a ticket. I am suggesting however that the person sitting next to you on the bus might have something just as important to tell you.
There is no end to the ways in which this experience of what I need flowing to me repeats itself in my life when I can remember to stop running - from shopping for groceries to shopping for clothes to knowing what activities to do on the weekend to knowing what book to read next. And no matter how many times it happens, the thrill of it always stays the same.
We probably all end up getting what we need in the end - via the furnace of pain or the attractive flowing river. Rumi is saying that the choice is yours.
That is all the information for now - more to come.