Musings

This week with Rumi has been unsettling. On Monday I read what seemed to be a parable about a man and a woman arguing that left me feeling a little bit sad. I recognized parts of me in the woman and parts of me in the man. I think Rumi is sharing the wisdom of compromise. He takes three pages to share this story. What is he really trying to tell us? He concludes his writing with these words:

“A night full of talking that hurts,

my worst held-back secrets. Everything

has to do with loving and not loving.

This night will pass.

Then we have work to do”.

Tuesday’s Poem was titled, An Empty Garlic; Wednesday’s was The Diver’s Clothes Lying Empty. The poetry seemed to be more random than what I have been reading so far. Yet, through it all there is the thread that we have all we need within us.

Today’s is titled, Dissolver of Sugar. It felt like a request for gentleness in a poem of yearning.

“You keep me away with your arm,

but the keeping away is pulling me in”.

and

“I need more grace

than I thought”.

I can relate to the final two lines!

Hurting

sadness_by_s1yk
(image by s1yk)

It hurts so much
I’m not sure where I feel the pain
I know my life will never be the same

The path I’ve chosen isn’t an ordinary one
I wonder if the worst is over
or yet to come

Strength to climb mountains
courage to fly high
but facing rejection
my heart withers and dies

I know it has to happen
I know this will pass
but right at this moment
I don’t think I can last

It hurts so much
I’m not sure where I feel the pain
I wonder if my life
will be happy again

Labels

Human need to define
Categorize
Create order
Make sense of things

An illusion

Labels can hurt
Pass judgement
Define incorrectly
Send one down a bumpy road
full of pot holes and booby traps
a road of confusion and missteps
a nasty detour
on the way to discovery of
personal identity

Names can point out
flaws
better left unseen
summon inner demons
roil insecurity

Classifications
decide life
Accept?
Or defy?

Label cannot be undone
once stated
but the world can be shown
own definition
of how it really fits