Let us consider the blessings of our humanness as we ponder Rumi’s poem, “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.
[They] may be clearing you out for some new delight.
The [negative] 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.
(Adapted from the translation by Coleman Barks in The Essential Rumi.)
Loving God, help us to be alert for those unexpected visitors of negativity. May their appearance not cause us to lose our composure and our gracious desire to bring peace and love to our world.—AMEN.