The Guesthouse

This human being is a guesthouse
Every morning a new arrival.
A joy, a depression, a meanness,
Some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor

Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they’re a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,

Still treat each guest honorably.
He maybe clearing you
out for some new delight.

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.

– Rumi

See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
Something We Dare Call Hope
A Dance of Divine Light
The Soul Within the Soul
Rumi and Shams: A Love of Another Kind
Ramesh Bjonnes on Rumi and Shams as Gay Lovers
Sufism: A Call to Awaken

Image: Michael J. Bayly.