Grateful Host in the Perfect Guesthouse

Where are you? What are you feeling? What is God and/or the Universe presenting you with this year, month, day, moment?   The following poem says all we ever need to know so how can we possibly continue to write knowing the bottom line is already spoken? That’s not the question to ask however.  The real question is, how can we consistently be grateful for our “guests” and enjoy the visit(s)? That too is answered by Rumi, yet we all forget at times and try to “reinvent the wheel”.  Perhaps the better question is this:  Are we simply opening our hearts to others, attempting to entertain and welcome, while striving to be a better host?  Yes, I think that is the Q & A for the day.

THE GUEST HOUSE

This being human is a guest house.
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 are a crowd of sorrows, 
who violently sweep your house
 empty of its furniture, still, treat each guest honorably.
He may be 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 whatever comes 
because each has been sent 
as a guide from beyond.

— Jelaluddin Rumi,

translation by Coleman Barks

Fall vs. Falling

All weekend I felt the blues slipping in. I was restless, yet lethargic. I felt the slide into the dark hole starting, wanting to open itself up to me. I resisted, yet I was ever aware that I must avoid the slide. One wrong step and down I’d go.

I doubled my dose of Sam-e this morning, walked my dog a little longer and increased the weights with my arm routine. It doesn’t sound like much, but it’s enough to pull me back from that slippery edge, the one that presents itself each fall as I somehow, someway in the beauty of crisp air and falling leaves manage to feel melancholy and depression while others smile in glee of the brisk and happy accession of new arrivals such as school schedules, new clothes, parties, holidays, sporting lineups & cool weather recipes. I see all that too, but all I FEEL is sadness for the dying leaves, the memory of loved ones and the homeless.

The homeless are gauging how much longer they can stay on the streets before trudging to a dirty cot in a crowded room filled with coughing, snores and smells. I too feel winter showing her edges…sharp, cold edges disguised as a beautiful fall. But I’m not blind. I see she’s there, waiting to cut me down. So I reinforce my shield today. I eat less. I eat healthier. I exercise. I go to work. I keep busy. I clean clutter. I make lists. I prepare.

Most importantly, I write.

Hope

“Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you just show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come.”

–Anne Lamott

In many cases, just getting up and out of your own pity party, will bring the light  of hope out of your darkness, but you’re not a little child that can merely smile and yell “ta da” and have adoring parents clap at your very existence.  The world can be a harsh parent that will make you work for your room and board.  What are you contributing?  What are you sharing? What are you learning that will ultimately be shared? Are you working and if so, at what? It’s not the job that matters, it’s the attitude and intent of what you’re doing on this planet at this moment in time.  What are your intentions for today?  What about tomorrow?  Do you have a realistic plan to succeed?  Can you break it down or do you need assistance?  Yes, the dawn will come eventually, will you be ready?  Start now.