Rumi Poem

Magha

The Force is Strong With This One
I read this poem this morning which captures how much it means to be back in contact with everyone here sharing.
It's been a rough few years and now will probably be getting even rougher for a lot of us. But over the last few days I've just been in amazement how this strong love for knowledge, this work, and especially this fellowship has always been what's carried me through even in the smallest ways.
The coolest thing today is noticing how this love is precisely what propelled me out beyond my self-consciousness to join in again. It is, for me, what's made it possible to not hold back in isolation, believing I have to go it alone.
This poem is from a collection entitled, Three Branching Moments -translated by John Moyne and Coleman Barks



26


My worst habit is I get so tired of winter
I become a torture to those I'm with

If you're not here, nothing grows.
I lack clarity. My words
tangle and knot up.

How to cure bad water? Send it back to the river.
How to cure bad habits? Send me back to you.

When water gets caught in habitual whirlpools,
dig a way out through the bottom
to the ocean. There is a secret medicine
given only to those who hurt so hard
they can't hope.

The hopers would feel slighted if they knew.

Look as long as you can at the friend you love,
no matter whether that friend is moving away from you
or coming back toward you.
 
The coolest thing today is noticing how this love is precisely what propelled me out beyond my self-consciousness to join in again. It is, for me, what's made it possible to not hold back in isolation, believing I have to go it alone.
That's good to hear, Magha. Yes, turbulent times can awaken people, and impress on them it is time to move forward. A little nudge, you could say...:-)
 
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