Being Oneself: “… Remember, the entrance door to the sanctuary is inside you …” ~ Rumi
Indeed, Rumi is simply reminding us that the answer to the ultimate Mystery lies within … and – maybe even more importantly – because of that our inner landscape is where the real sanctuary is! This is where we discover our True nature, where one can truly “taste” being oneself … or as Coleman Barks says “… feeling the limpid contentment in being oneself and the endless discovery there …” …
Of course, being oneself is the most important endeavor in our lives … as we explored in one of our past posts : Unfolding Your Own Myth & Ibrahim’s Epiphany – Rumi … so today, we continue that exploration with two other Rumi poems (both are Coleman Barks translations) …
ENTRANCE DOOR {… to Being Oneself …}
How lover and beloved touch is
familiar and courteous, but there
is a strange impulse in that to
create a form that will dissolve
all other shapes.
Remember, the entrance door
to the sanctuary is inside you.
We watch a sunlight dust dance,
and we try to be that lively, but
nobody knows what music
those particles hear.
Each of us has a secret companion
musician to dance to.
Unique rhythmic play, a
motion in the street
we alone know and hear.
Shams is a king of kings like Mahmud,
but there’s not another pearl-crushing
dervish Ayaz like me.
~~ Rumi
And, here’s another Rumi translation from Coleman … expressing the same …
WHAT WAS TOLD, THAT
What was said to the rose that made it open was said
to me here in my chest.
What was told the cypress that made it strong
and straight,
what was whispered the jasmine so it is what it is,
whatever made sugarcane sweet,
whatever was said to the inhabitants of the town of Chigil in
Turkestan that makes them so handsome,
whatever lets the pomegranate flower blush
like a human face, that is being said to me now. I blush.
Whatever put eloquence in language, that’s happening here.
The great warehouse doors open; I fill with gratitude,
chewing a piece of sugarcane,
in love with the one to whom every that belongs!
~~ Rumi
See more on Coleman in one of our earlier posts Ocean Love: The Larger Love – Rumi … or The Dream That Must Be Interpreted – Rumi (you must scroll to the bottom) …
And May you discover the endless gifts of … being yourself … and …
May you remain safe and healthy as you navigate these troubling times.