“
The minute I heard my first love story,
I started looking for you, not knowing
how blind that was.
Lovers don't finally meet somewhere.
They're in each other all along.
”
”
Jalal ad-Din Muhammad ar-Rumi (The Illuminated Rumi)
“
What you seek is seeking you.
”
”
Jalal ad-Din Muhammad ar-Rumi
“
Lovers don't finally meet somewhere. They're in each other all along.
”
”
Jalal ad-Din Muhammad ar-Rumi
“
Everything in the universe is within you. Ask all from yourself.
”
”
Jalal ad-Din Muhammad ar-Rumi
“
My soul is from elsewhere, I'm sure of that, and I intend to end up there.
”
”
Jalal ad-Din Muhammad ar-Rumi
“
Be grateful for whoever comes, because each has been sent as a guide from beyond.
”
”
Jalal ad-Din Muhammad ar-Rumi
“
Words are a pretext. It is the inner bond that draws one person to another, not words.
”
”
Jalal ad-Din Muhammad ar-Rumi
“
There is a candle in your heart, ready to be kindled.
There is a void in your soul, ready to be filled.
You feel it, don't you?
”
”
Jalal ad-Din Muhammad ar-Rumi
“
ليس الشديد بالصرعة؛ إنما الشديد الذي يملك نفسه عند الغضب
The strong person is not the good wrestler. Rather,the strong person is the one who controls himself when he is angry.
(Sahih al-Bukhari, Book 73, #135)
”
”
Anonymous
“
Be empty of worrying.
Think of who created thought!
Why do you stay in prison
When the door is so wide open?
”
”
Jalal ad-Din Muhammad ar-Rumi (The Essential Rumi (Mystical Classics of the World))
“
Niemand ist mehr Sklave, als der sich für frei hält, ohne es zu sein.
None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free.
”
”
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (Elective Affinities)
“
This being human is a guest house. Every morning is a new arrival. A joy, a depression, a meanness, some momentary awareness comes as an unexpected visitor...Welcome and entertain them all. Treat each guest honorably. 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.
”
”
Jalal ad-Din Muhammad ar-Rumi
“
I want to see you.
Know your voice.
Recognize you when you
first come 'round the corner.
Sense your scent when I come
into a room you've just left.
Know the lift of your heel,
the glide of your foot.
Become familiar with the way
you purse your lips
then let them part,
just the slightest bit,
when I lean in to your space
and kiss you.
I want to know the joy
of how you whisper
"more
”
”
Jalal ad-Din Muhammad ar-Rumi
“
I was dead, then alive.
Weeping, then laughing.
The power of love came into me,
and I became fierce like a lion,
then tender like the evening star.
”
”
Jalal ad-Din Muhammad ar-Rumi
“
You think because you understand 'one' you must also understand 'two', because one and one make two. But you must also understand 'and'.
”
”
Jalal ad-Din Muhammad ar-Rumi
“
But listen to me. For one moment
quit being sad. Hear blessings
dropping their blossoms
around you.
”
”
Jalal ad-Din Muhammad ar-Rumi
“
They say there is a doorway from heart to heart, but what is the use of a door when there are no walls?
”
”
Jalal ad-Din Muhammad ar-Rumi
“
For a day, just for one day,
Talk about that which disturbs no one
And bring some peace into your
Beautiful eyes.
”
”
The Subject Tonight Is Love: 60 Wild and Sweet Poems of Hafiz (Compass)
“
Pride is what killed Al, and it is the flaw in every Dauntless heart. It is in mine.
”
”
Veronica Roth (Allegiant (Divergent, #3))
“
Get up, Shahrzad al-Khayzuran. You kneel before no one. Least of all me.
”
”
Renée Ahdieh (The Wrath and the Dawn (The Wrath and the Dawn, #1))
“
I always tell the truth. Even when I lie.
”
”
Al Pacino
“
All people on the planet are children, except for a very few. No one is grown up except those free of desire.
”
”
Jalal ad-Din Muhammad ar-Rumi
“
Oh soul,
you worry too much.
You have seen your own strength.
You have seen your own beauty.
You have seen your golden wings.
Of anything less,
why do you worry?
You are in truth
the soul, of the soul, of the soul.
”
”
Jalal ad-Din Muhammad ar-Rumi
“
Only from the heart can you touch the sky.
”
”
Jalal ad-Din Muhammad ar-Rumi
“
Birds make great sky-circles of their freedom.
How do they learn it?
They fall and falling,
they're given wings.
”
”
Jalal ad-Din Muhammad ar-Rumi
“
Knowledge exists potentially in the human soul like the seed in the soil; by learning the potential becomes actual.
”
”
Abu Hamid al-Ghazali
“
Talent develops in solitude, character develops in the stream of life.
”
”
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
“
Keep walking, though there's no place to get to.
Don't try to see through the distances.
That's not for human beings. Move within,
But don't move the way fear makes you move.
”
”
Jalal ad-Din Muhammad ar-Rumi
“
At night, I open the window
and ask the moon to come
and press its face against mine.
Breathe into me.
Close the language-door
and open the love-window.
The moon won't use the door,
only the window.
”
”
Jalal ad-Din Muhammad ar-Rumi (A Year with Rumi: Daily Readings)
“
Here is a relationship booster
that is guaranteed to
work:
Every time your spouse or lover says something stupid
make your eyes light up as if you
just heard something
brilliant.
”
”
Jalal ad-Din Muhammad ar-Rumi
“
Lo que mucha gente llama amar consiste en elegir una mujer y casarse con ella. La eligen, te lo juro, los he visto. Como si se pudiera elegir en el amor, como si no fuera un rayo que te parte los huesos y te deja estaqueado en la mitad del patio. Vos dirás que la eligen porque-la-aman, yo creo que es al vesre. A Beatriz no se la elige, a Julieta no se la elige. Vos no elegís la lluvia que te va a calar hasta los huesos cuando salís de un concierto.
”
”
Julio Cortázar (Rayuela)
“
Declare your jihad on thirteen enemies you cannot see -egoism, arrogance, conceit, selfishness, greed, lust, intolerance, anger, lying, cheating, gossiping and slandering. If you can master and destroy them, then you will be read to fight the enemy you can see.
”
”
Abu Hamid al-Ghazali
“
Let the lover be disgraceful, crazy, absentminded. Someone sober will worry about things going badly. Let the lover be.
”
”
Jalal ad-Din Muhammad ar-Rumi (The Essential Rumi)
“
What has he found who has lost God?
And what has he lost who has found God?
”
”
Ibn ʻAta' Allah al-Iskandari
“
On a day
when the wind is perfect,
the sail just needs to open and the world is full of beauty.
Today is such a
day.
”
”
Jalal ad-Din Muhammad ar-Rumi
“
Love calls - everywhere and always.
We're sky bound.
Are you coming?
”
”
Jalal ad-Din Muhammad ar-Rumi
“
The world is 3 days: As for yesterday, it has vanished along with all that was in it. As for tomorrow, you may never see it. As for today, it is yours, so work on it.
”
”
al-Hasan al-Basri
“
An eye is meant to see things.
The soul is here for its own joy.
A head has one use: For loving a true love.
Feet: To chase after.
Love is for vanishing into the sky. The mind,
for learning what men have done and tried to do.
Mysteries are not to be solved: The eye goes blind
when it only wants to see why.
A lover is always accused of something.
But when he finds his love, whatever was lost
in the looking comes back completely changed.
”
”
Jalal ad-Din Muhammad ar-Rumi (Night and Sleep)
“
تبسمك في وجه أخيك صدقة، وأمرك بالمعروف صدقة ونهيك عن المنكر صدقة، وإرشادك الرجل في أرض الضلال لك صدقة، ونصرك الرجل الرديء البصر لك صدقة، وإماطتك الحجر والشوك العظم عن الطريق لك صدقة
Smiling in your brother’s face is an act of charity.
So is enjoining good and forbidding evil,
giving directions to the lost traveller,
aiding the blind and
removing obstacles from the path.
(Graded authentic by Ibn Hajar and al-Albani: Hidaayat-ur-Ruwaah, 2/293)
”
”
Anonymous
“
When someone is counting out
gold for you, don't look at your hands,
or the gold. Look at the giver.
”
”
Jalal ad-Din Muhammad ar-Rumi (The Masnavi, Book Two)
“
I don’t understand the hatred and fear of gays and bisexuals and lesbians…
it’s a concept I honestly cannot grasp. To me, it’s not who you love…
a man, a woman, what have you…
it’s the fact that you love. That is all that truly matters.
”
”
Al Pacino (Al Pacino)
“
For without you, I swear, the town
Has become like a prison to me.
Distraction and the mountain
And the desert, all I desire.
”
”
Jalal ad-Din Muhammad ar-Rumi (Love: The Joy That Wounds: The Love Poems of Rumi)
“
You try to be faithful
And sometimes you're cruel.
You are mine. Then, you leave.
Without you, I can't cope.
And when you take the lead,
I become your footstep.
Your absence leaves a void.
Without you, I can't cope.
You have disturbed my sleep,
You have wrecked my image.
You have set me apart.
Without you, I can't cope.
”
”
Jalal ad-Din Muhammad ar-Rumi (Love: The Joy That Wounds: The Love Poems of Rumi)
“
"كل حب يكون معه طلب ، لايعول عليه ... كل شوقٍ يسكن باللقاء ، لايعول عليه...
”
”
Ibn ʿArabi
“
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.
”
”
Jalal ad-Din Muhammad ar-Rumi (The Essential Rumi (Mystical Classics of the World))
“
For I have learned that every heart will get
What it prays for
Most.
”
”
The Subject Tonight Is Love: 60 Wild and Sweet Poems of Hafiz (Compass)
“
You are a volume in the divine book
A mirror to the power that created the universe
Whatever you want, ask it of yourself
Whatever you’re looking for can only be found
Inside of you
”
”
Jalal ad-Din Muhammad ar-Rumi (The Rubais of Rumi: Insane with Love)
“
The happiness of the drop is to die in the river.
”
”
Abu Hamid al-Ghazali
“
Sé que mi familia es así pero este silencio me pesa. Tengo la impresión de tener millones de cosas que decir que, en el fondo, no interesan a nadie. Me viene a la memoria lo que decían los supervivientes de los campos de la última guerra al volver a su hogar: las pesadillas no se cuentan. Los demás no imaginan este género de pesadillas. Se instala, entre ellos y nosotras, una especie de statu quo que parece decir: ‘Estás aquí, se acabó, no hablemos más de ello.
”
”
Betty Mahmoody (For the Love of a Child)
“
One lie has the power to tarnish a thousand truths.
”
”
Al David
“
Don't mistake my kindness for weakness. I am kind to everyone, but when someone is unkind to me, weak is not what you are going to remember about me.
”
”
Al Capone
“
The way of love is not
a subtle argument.
The door there
is devastation.
Birds make great sky-circles
of their freedom.
How do they learn it?
They fall, and falling,
they're given wings.
”
”
Jalal ad-Din Muhammad ar-Rumi
“
There are lovers content with longing.
I’m not one of them.
”
”
Jalal ad-Din Muhammad ar-Rumi
“
The rose's rarest essence lives in the thorns.
”
”
Jalal ad-Din Muhammad ar-Rumi
“
ما يصيب المسلم من نصب ولا وصب ولا همّ ولا حزن ولا أذى ولا غمّ - حتى الشوكة يشاكها - إلا كفّر الله بها مِن خطاياه
No fatigue, disease, sorrow, sadness, hurt or distress befalls a Muslim - not even the prick he receives from a thorn - except that Allah expiates some of his sins because of it. (Sahih al-Bukhari, Book 70, #545)
”
”
Anonymous
“
Eric called Al's suicide brave, and he was wrong. My mother's death was brave. I remember how calm she was, how determined. It isn't just brave that she died for me; it is brave that she did it without announcing it, without hesitation, and without appearing to consider another option.
”
”
Veronica Roth (Divergent (Divergent, #1))
“
The lion is most handsome when looking for food.
”
”
Jalal ad-Din Muhammad ar-Rumi
“
Amor, ch'al cor gentile ratto s'apprende
prese costui de la bella persona
che mi fu tolta; e 'l modo ancor m'offende.
Amor, che a nullo amato amar perdona,
Mi prese del costui piacer sì forte,
Che, come vedi, ancor non m'abbandona..."
"Love, which quickly arrests the gentle heart,
Seized him with my beautiful form
That was taken from me, in a manner which still grieves me.
Love, which pardons no beloved from loving,
took me so strongly with delight in him
That, as you see, it still abandons me not...
”
”
Dante Alighieri (Inferno)
“
Not only the thirsty seek the water, the water as well seeks the thirsty.
”
”
Jalal ad-Din Muhammad ar-Rumi
“
The truth was a mirror in the hands of God. It fell, and broke into pieces. Everybody took a piece of it, and they looked at it and thought they had the truth.
”
”
Jalal ad-Din Muhammad ar-Rumi
“
Never have I dealt with anything more difficult than my own soul, which sometimes helps me and sometimes opposes me.
”
”
Abu Hamid al-Ghazali
“
I pause a second. He doesn't look at me the way Will, Christina, and Al sometimes do - like I am too small and too weak to be of any use, and they pity me for it.
”
”
Veronica Roth (Divergent (Divergent, #1))
“
You are so weak. Give up to grace.
The ocean takes care of each wave till it gets to shore.
You need more help than you know.
”
”
Jalal ad-Din Muhammad ar-Rumi (The Essential Rumi (Mystical Classics of the World))
“
I am weary of personal worrying,
in love with the art of madness.
”
”
Jalal ad-Din Muhammad ar-Rumi
“
Nobody knows how things will turn out, that's why they go ahead and play the game...You give it your all and sometimes amazing things happen, but it's hardly ever what you expect.
”
”
Gennifer Choldenko (Al Capone Does My Shirts (Tales from Alcatraz, #1))
“
Love comes with a knife, not some shy question, and not with fears for its reputation!
”
”
Jalal ad-Din Muhammad ar-Rumi
“
Cheeses crusty, got all musty, got damp on the stone of a peach,” I agreed. He looked blank, so I repeated it with proper emphasis. “ ChEEZ-zes crusty. Got Al -musty. Got DAMp on the StoneofapeaCH.
”
”
Patricia Briggs (Iron Kissed (Mercy Thompson, #3))
“
- Soy feliz. Jamás me he sentido tan bien, ¿y tu?
- ¿Yo? - Step la abraza con fuerza-. Estoy de maravilla.
- ¿Hasta el punto de llegar a tocar el cielo con un dedo?
- No, así no.
- ¿Ah, no?
- Mucho más. Al menos tres metros sobre el cielo.
”
”
Federico Moccia
“
Wanderer, your footsteps are the road, and nothing more; wanderer, there is no road, the road is made by walking. By walking one makes the road, and upon glancing behind one sees the path that never will be trod again. Wanderer, there is no road-- Only wakes upon the sea.
Caminante, son tus huellas el camino, y nada más; caminante, no hay camino, se hace camino al andar. Al andar se hace camino, y al volver la vista atrás se ve la senda que nunca se ha de volver a pisar. Caminante, no hay camino, sino estelas en la mar.
”
”
Antonio Machado (Campos de Castilla)
“
I don't judge people.
It blurs out the center of my attention,
my focus,
myself.
”
”
Toba Beta (Betelgeuse Incident: Insiden Bait Al-Jauza)
“
I caught the happy virus last night
When I was out singing beneath the stars.
It is remarkably contagious -
So kiss me.
”
”
The Subject Tonight Is Love: 60 Wild and Sweet Poems of Hafiz (Compass)
“
Reflection is the lamp of the heart. If it departs, the heart will have no light.
”
”
ʻAbd Allāh ibn ʻAlawī al-Ḥaddād
“
If in thirst you drink water from a cup, you see God in it. Those who are not in love with God will see only their own faces in it.
”
”
Jalal ad-Din Muhammad ar-Rumi
“
Here is a lesson in creative writing.
First rule: Do not use semicolons. They are transvestite hermaphrodites representing absolutely nothing. All they do is show you've been to college.
And I realize some of you may be having trouble deciding whether I am kidding or not. So from now on I will tell you when I'm kidding.
For instance, join the National Guard or the Marines and teach democracy. I'm kidding.
We are about to be attacked by Al Qaeda. Wave flags if you have them. That always seems to scare them away. I'm kidding.
If you want to really hurt your parents, and you don't have the nerve to be gay, the least you can do is go into the arts. I'm not kidding. The arts are not a way to make a living. They are a very human way of making life more bearable. Practicing an art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow, for heaven's sake. Sing in the shower. Dance to the radio. Tell stories. Write a poem to a friend, even a lousy poem. Do it as well as you possibly can. You will get an enormous reward. You will have created something.
”
”
Kurt Vonnegut Jr. (A Man Without a Country)
“
Risk means 'shit happens' or 'good luck
”
”
Toba Beta (Betelgeuse Incident: Insiden Bait Al-Jauza)
“
Many people pray to be kept out of unexpected problems.
Some people pray to be able to confront and overcome them.
”
”
Toba Beta (Betelgeuse Incident: Insiden Bait Al-Jauza)
“
Mozart, Pascal, Boolean algebra, Shakespeare, parliamentary government, baroque churches, Newton, the emancipation of women, Kant, Balanchine ballets, et al. don’t redeem what this particular civilization has wrought upon the world. The white race is the cancer of human history.
”
”
Susan Sontag
“
I, you, he, she, we
In the garden of mystic lovers,
these are not true distinctions.
”
”
Jalal ad-Din Muhammad ar-Rumi
“
"لاراحــــــةَ لك من الخلـــــق ، فارجع إلى الحـــــــق ، فهو أولــــــى بك !
”
”
Ibn ʿArabi
“
Don't try to steer the boat.
Don't open shop for yourself. Listen. Keep silent.
You are not God's mouthpiece. Try to be an ear,
And if you do speak, ask for explanations.
”
”
Jalal ad-Din Muhammad ar-Rumi (The Essential Rumi (Mystical Classics of the World))
“
You can go a long way with a smile. You can go a lot farther with a smile and a gun.
”
”
Al Capone
“
Oh sky, without me, do not change,
Oh moon, without me, do not shine;
Oh earth, without me, do not grow,
Oh time, without me, do not go.
...Oh, you cannot go, without me.
”
”
Jalal ad-Din Muhammad ar-Rumi (Love: The Joy That Wounds: The Love Poems of Rumi)
“
I searched for God among the Christians and on the Cross and therein I found Him not.
I went into the ancient temples of idolatry; no trace of Him was there.
I entered the mountain cave of Hira and then went as far as Qandhar but God I found not.
With set purpose I fared to the summit of Mount Caucasus and found there only 'anqa's habitation.
Then I directed my search to the Kaaba, the resort of old and young; God was not there even.
Turning to philosophy I inquired about him from ibn Sina but found Him not within his range.
I fared then to the scene of the Prophet's experience of a great divine manifestation only a "two bow-lengths' distance from him" but God was not there even in that exalted court.
Finally, I looked into my own heart and there I saw Him; He was nowhere else.
”
”
Jalal ad-Din Muhammad ar-Rumi
“
I have no use for divine patience -
My lips are now burning and everywhere.
I am running from every corner of this earth and sky
Wanting to kiss you.
”
”
The Subject Tonight Is Love: 60 Wild and Sweet Poems of Hafiz (Compass)
“
When you don't know where to start,
just go to a place you miss so much.
”
”
Toba Beta (Betelgeuse Incident: Insiden Bait Al-Jauza)
“
Something opens our wings. Something makes boredom and hurt disappear. Someone fills the cup in front of us: We taste only sacredness.
”
”
Jalal ad-Din Muhammad ar-Rumi
“
In many parts of this world water is
Scarce and precious.
People sometimes have to walk
A great distance
Then carry heavy jugs upon their
Heads.
Because of our wisdom, we will travel
Far for love.
All movement is a sign of
Thirst.
Most speaking really says
"I am hungry to know you."
Every desire of your body is holy;
Every desire of your body is
Holy.
Dear one,
Why wait until you are dying
To discover that divine
Truth?
”
”
The Subject Tonight Is Love: 60 Wild and Sweet Poems of Hafiz (Compass)
“
Muchos años después, frente al pelotón de fusilamiento, el coronel Aureliano Buendía había de recordar aquella tarde remota en que su padre lo llevó a conocer el hielo. Macondo era entonces una aldea de 20 casas de barro y cañabrava construidas a la orilla de un río de aguas diáfanas que se precipitaban por un lecho de piedras pulidas, blancas y enormes como huevos prehistóricos. El mundo era tan reciente, que muchas cosas carecían de nombre, y para mencionarlas había que señalarlas con el dedo".
”
”
Gabriel García Márquez (Cien años de soledad)
“
So you intend to go through life never loving anyone? Just … things?”
“No. I’m looking for something more.”
“More than love?”
“Yes.”
“Is it not arrogant to think you deserve more, Khalid Ibn al-Rashid?”
“Is it so arrogant to want something that doesn’t change with the wind? That doesn’t crumble at the first sign of adversity?”
“You want something that doesn’t exist. A figment of your imagination.”
“No. I want someone who sees beneath the surface-someone who completes the balance. An equal.”
“And how will you know when you’ve found this elusive someone?” Shahrzad retorted.
“I suspect she will be like air. Like knowing how to breathe.
”
”
Renée Ahdieh (The Wrath and the Dawn (The Wrath and the Dawn, #1))
“
Islam and Christianity promise eternal paradise to the faithful. And that is a powerful opiate, certainly, the hope of a better life to come. But there's a Sufi story that challenges the notion that people believe only because they need an opiate. Rabe'a al-Adiwiyah, a great woman saint of Sufism, was seem running through the streets of her hometown, Basra, carrying a torch in one hand and a bucket of water in the other. When someone asked her what she was doing, she answered, 'I am going to take this bucket of water and pour it on the flames of hell, and then I am going to use this torch to burn down the gates of paradise so that people will not love God for want of heaven of fear of hell, but because He is God.
”
”
John Green (Looking for Alaska)
“
However, there is a way to know for certain that Noah’s Flood and the Creation story never happened: by looking at our mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). Mitochondria are the “cellular power plants” found in all of our cells and they have their own DNA which is separate from that found in the nucleus of the cell. In humans, and most other species that mitochondria are found in, the father’s mtDNA normally does not contribute to the child’s mtDNA; the child normally inherits its mtDNA exclusively from its mother. This means that if no one’s genes have mutated, then we all have the same mtDNA as our brothers and sisters and the same mtDNA as the children of our mother’s sisters, etc. This pattern of inheritance makes it possible to rule out “population bottlenecks” in our species’ history. A bottleneck is basically a time when the population of a species dwindled to low numbers. For humans, this means that every person born after a bottleneck can only have the mtDNA or a mutation of the mtDNA of the women who survived the bottleneck. This doesn’t mean that mtDNA can tell us when a bottleneck happened, but it can tell us when one didn’t happen because we know that mtDNA has a rate of approximately one mutation every 3,500 years (Gibbons 1998; Soares et al 2009). So if the human race were actually less than 6,000 years old and/or “everything on earth that breathed died” (Genesis 7:22) less than 6,000 years ago, which would be the case if the story of Adam and the story of Noah’s flood were true respectively, then every person should have the exact same mtDNA except for one or two mutations. This, however, is not the case as human mtDNA is much more diverse (Endicott et al 2009), so we can know for a fact that the story of Adam and Eve and the story of Noah are fictional. There
”
”
Alexander Drake (The Invention of Christianity)
“
But there’s a Sufi story that challenges the notion that people believe only because they need an opiate. Rabe’a al-Adiwiyah, a great woman saint of Sufism, was seen running through the streets of her hometown, Basra, carrying a torch in one hand and a bucket of water in the other. When someone asked her what she was doing, she answered, ‘I am going to take this bucket of water and pour it on the flames of hell, and then I am going to use this torch to burn down the gates of paradise so that people will not love God for want of heaven or fear of hell, but because He is God.
”
”
John Green (Looking for Alaska)
“
Listen, O drop, give yourself up without regret,
and in exchange gain the Ocean.
Listen, O drop, bestow upon yourself this honor,
and in the arms of the Sea be secure.
Who indeed should be so fortunate?
An Ocean wooing a drop!
In God's name, in God's name, sell and buy at once!
Give a drop, and take this Sea full of pearls.
”
”
Jalal ad-Din Muhammad ar-Rumi
“
Like This
If anyone asks you
how the perfect satisfaction
of all our sexual wanting
will look, lift your face
and say,
Like this.
When someone mentions the gracefulness
of the nightsky, climb up on the roof
and dance and say,
Like this.
If anyone wants to know what "spirit" is,
or what "God’s fragrance" means,
lean your head toward him or her.
Keep your face there close.
Like this.
When someone quotes the old poetic image
about clouds gradually uncovering the moon,
slowly loosen knot by knot the strings
of your robe.
Like this.
If anyone wonders how Jesus raised the dead,
don’t try to explain the miracle.
Kiss me on the lips.
Like this. Like this.
When someone asks what it means
to "die for love," point
here.
If someone asks how tall I am, frown
and measure with your fingers the space
between the creases on your forehead.
This tall.
The soul sometimes leaves the body, the returns.
When someone doesn’t believe that,
walk back into my house.
Like this.
When lovers moan,
they’re telling our story.
Like this.
I am a sky where spirits live.
Stare into this deepening blue,
while the breeze says a secret.
Like this.
When someone asks what there is to do,
light the candle in his hand.
Like this.
How did Joseph’s scent come to Jacob?
Huuuuu.
How did Jacob’s sight return?
Huuuu.
A little wind cleans the eyes.
Like this.
When Shams comes back from Tabriz,
he’ll put just his head around the edge
of the door to surprise us
Like this.
”
”
Jalal ad-Din Muhammad ar-Rumi
“
I spent 33 years and four months in active military service and during that period I spent most of my time as a high class muscle man for Big Business, for Wall Street and the bankers. In short, I was a racketeer, a gangster for capitalism. I helped make Mexico and especially Tampico safe for American oil interests in 1914. I helped make Haiti and Cuba a decent place for the National City Bank boys to collect revenues in. I helped in the raping of half a dozen Central American republics for the benefit of Wall Street. I helped purify Nicaragua for the International Banking House of Brown Brothers in 1902-1912. I brought light to the Dominican Republic for the American sugar interests in 1916. I helped make Honduras right for the American fruit companies in 1903. In China in 1927 I helped see to it that Standard Oil went on its way unmolested. Looking back on it, I might have given Al Capone a few hints. The best he could do was to operate his racket in three districts. I operated on three continents.
”
”
Smedley D. Butler (War Is a Racket)
“
For ages you have come and gone
courting this delusion.
For ages you have run from the pain
and forfeited the ecstasy.
So come, return to the root of the root
of your own soul.
Although you appear in earthly form
Your essence is pure Consciousness.
You are the fearless guardian
of Divine Light.
So come, return to the root of the root
of your own soul.
When you lose all sense of self
the bonds of a thousand chains will vanish.
Lose yourself completely,
Return to the root of the root
of your own soul.
You descended from Adam, by the pure Word of God,
but you turned your sight
to the empty show of this world.
Alas, how can you be satisfied with so little?
So come, return to the root of the root
of your own soul.
Why are you so enchanted by this world
when a mine of gold lies within you?
Open your eyes and come ---
Return to the root of the root
of your own soul.
You were born from the rays of God's Majesty
when the stars were in their perfect place.
How long will you suffer from the blows
of a nonexistent hand?
So come, return to the root of the root
of your own soul.
You are a ruby encased in granite.
How long will you decieve Us with this outer show?
O friend, We can see the truth in your eyes!
So come, return to the root of the root
of your own soul.
After one moment with that glorious Friend
you became loving, radiant, and ecstatic.
Your eyes were sweet and full of fire.
Come, return to the root of the root
of your own soul.
Shams-e Tabriz, the King of the Tavern
has handed you an eternal cup,
And God in all His glory is pouring the wine.
So come! Drink!
Return to the root of the root
of your own soul.
Soul of all souls, life of all life - you are That.
Seen and unseen, moving and unmoving - you are That.
The road that leads to the City is endless;
Go without head and feet
and you'll already be there.
What else could you be? - you are That.
”
”
Jalal ad-Din Muhammad ar-Rumi
“
Here is your flaw, Shaitan, Lord of the Dark, Lord of Envy, Lord of Nothing, here is why you fail. It was not about me. It’s never been about me.”
It was about a woman, torn and beaten down, cast from her throne and made a puppet. A woman who had crawled when she had to. That woman still fought.
It was about a man that love repeatedly forsook. A man who found relevance in a world that others would have let pass them by. A man who remembered stories and who took fool boys under his wing when the smarter move would have been to keep on walking. That man still fought.
It was about a woman with a secret, a hope for the future. A woman who had hunted the truth before others could. A woman who had given her live, then had it returned. That woman still fought.
It was about a man whose family was taken from him, but who stood tall in his sorrow and protected those he could.
It was about a woman who refused to believe that she could not help, could not heal those who had been harmed.
It was about a hero who insisted with every breath that he was anything but a hero.
It was about a woman who would not bend her back while she was beaten, and who shown with a light for all who watched, including Rand.
It was about them all.
~Rand al Thor
”
”
Robert Jordan (A Memory of Light (The Wheel of Time, #14))
“
All day I think about it, then at night I say it.
Where did I come from, and what am I supposed to be doing?
I have no idea.
My soul is from elsewhere, I'm sure of that,
And I intend to end up there.
This drunkenness began in some other tavern.
When I get back around to that place,
I'll be completely sober. Meanwhile,
I'm like a bird from another continent, sitting in this aviary.
The day is coming when I fly off,
But who is it now in my ear who hears my voice?
Who says words with my mouth?
Who looks out with my eyes? What is the soul?
I cannot stop asking.
If I could taste one sip of an answer,
I could break out of this prison for drunks.
I didn't come here of my own accord, and I can't leave that way.
Whoever brought me here will have to take me home.
This poetry. I never know what I'm going to say.
I don't plan it.
When I'm outside the saying of it, I get very quiet and rarely speak at all.
We have a huge barrel of wine, but no cups.
That's fine with us. Every morning
We glow and in the evening we glow again.
”
”
Jalal ad-Din Muhammad ar-Rumi
“
This sentence is made of lead (and a sentence of lead gives a reader an entirely different sensation from one made of magnesium). This sentence is made of yak wool. This sentence is made of sunlight and plums. This sentence is made of ice. This sentence is made from the blood of the poet. This sentence was made in Japan. This sentence glows in the dark. This sentence was born with a caul. This sentence has a crush on Norman Mailer. This sentence is a wino and doesn't care who knows it. Like many italic sentences, this one has Mafia connections. This sentence is a double Cancer with a Pisces rising. This sentence lost its mind searching for the perfect paragraph. This sentence refuses to be diagrammed. This sentence ran off with an adverb clause. This sentence is 100 percent organic: it will not retain a facsimile of freshness like those sentences of Homer, Shakespeare, Goethe et al., which are loaded with preservatives. This sentence leaks. This sentence doesn't look Jewish... This sentence has accepted Jesus Christ as its personal savior. This sentence once spit in a book reviewer's eye. This sentence can do the funky chicken. This sentence has seen too much and forgotten too little. This sentence is called "Speedoo" but its real name is Mr. Earl. This sentence may be pregnant. This sentence suffered a split infinitive - and survived. If this sentence has been a snake you'd have bitten it. This sentence went to jail with Clifford Irving. This sentence went to Woodstock. And this little sentence went wee wee wee all the way home.
”
”
Tom Robbins (Even Cowgirls Get the Blues)
“
APRENDIENDO
Después de un tiempo, uno aprende la sutil diferencia entre sostener una mano y encadenar un alma, y uno aprende que el amor no significa acostarse y una compañía no significa seguridad, y uno empieza a aprender...
Que los besos no son contratos y los regalos no son promesas, y uno empieza a aceptar sus derrotas con la cabeza alta y los ojos abiertos, y uno aprende a construir todos sus caminos en el hoy, porque el terreno de mañana es demasiado inseguro para planes...y los futuros tienen una forma de caerse en la mitad.
Y después de un tiempo uno aprende que si es demasiado, hasta el calor del sol quema. Así que uno planta su propio jardín y decora su propia alma, en lugar de esperar a que alguien le traiga flores. Y uno aprende que realmente puede aguantar, que uno realmente es fuerte, que uno realmente vale, y uno aprende y aprende... y con cada día uno aprende. Con el tiempo aprendes que estar con alguien porque te ofrece un buen futuro, significa que tarde o temprano querrás volver a tu pasado.
Con el tiempo comprendes que sólo quien es capaz de amarte con tus defectos, sin pretender cambiarte, puede brindarte toda la felicidad que deseas. Con el tiempo te das cuenta de que si estás al lado de esa persona sólo por acompañar tu soledad, irremediablemente acabarás no deseando volver a verla. Con el tiempo entiendes que los verdaderos amigos son contados, y que el que no lucha por ellos tarde o temprano se verá rodeado sólo de amistades falsas.
Con el tiempo aprendes que las palabras dichas en un momento de ira pueden seguir lastimando a quien heriste, durante toda la vida. Con el tiempo aprendes que disculpar cualquiera lo hace, pero perdonar es sólo de almas grandes. Con el tiempo comprendes que si has herido a un amigo duramente, muy probablemente la amistad jamás volverá a ser igual. Con el tiempo te das cuenta que aunque seas feliz con tus amigos, algún día llorarás por aquellos! que dejaste ir. Con el tiempo te das cuenta de que cada experiencia vivida con cada persona es irrepetible.
Con el tiempo te das cuenta de que el que humilla o desprecia a un ser humano, tarde o temprano sufrirá las mismas humillaciones o desprecios multiplicados al cuadrado. Con el tiempo aprendes a construir todos tus caminos en el hoy, porque el terreno del mañana es demasiado incierto para hacer planes. Con el tiempo comprendes que apresurar las cosas o forzarlas a que pasen ocasionará que al final no sean como esperabas. Con el tiempo te das cuenta de que en realidad lo mejor no era el futuro, sino el momento que estabas viviendo justo en ese instante.
Con el tiempo verás que aunque seas feliz con los que están a tu lado,añorarás terriblemente a los que ayer estaban contigo y ahora se han marchado. Con el tiempo aprenderás que intentar perdonar o pedir perdón, decir que amas, decir que extrañas, decir que necesitas, decir que quieres ser amigo, ante una tumba, ya no tiene ningún sentido. Pero desafortunadamente, solo con el tiempo...
”
”
Jorge Luis Borges.