According to Rumi, a 13th century mystic and poet (not your roommate in college):
"The human being is a guest house.
Every morning there is 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
and empty it from its furniture
still, treat each guest honourably.
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 whoever comes,
because each has been sent as a guide from beyond."
Amazingly, and without the benefits of years of psychotherapy, he was able to recognize the simple fact that emotions race through us, raucous and out of control, and there's just no point in fighting them. In fact, you'd do much better to just invite them in for some homemade cookies and milk, stand back with a roll of paper towels, and clean up whatever mess they make later.
Not being a Sufi master, or anything close, I've been waging a futile battle with my feelings for a long long time. As would be expected, I do pretty well with happiness, joy, fulfillment, and peace. But the dark emotions -that's another story. They show up unannounced, like unwanted house guests, and refuse to leave until they want to. Some think you can talk them into oblivion or just decide they aren't there, but for me, that's like wishing the RV in the driveway would magically vaporize and disappear and I wouldn't be entertaining people I barely even like.
When they're there, they're there.
It's taken me a long time to accept this, mainly because the whole world loves happy, cheerful, upbeat people and tends to get squirmy around anyone caught in the grip of the dark side. I don't blame them. I can barely stand it myself.
After all these years, though, I've finally realized that I can no more ignore my darker feelings than you could walk away from unexpected guests on your doorstep. They are going to pound on the door and ring the doorbell, peer through the windows, call out your name, and otherwise permanently alienate your neighbors until you finally let them in. So you might as well give up and do it.
They really won't stay all that long.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
But they might bring their kids and a giant dog and also might need to be waited on hand and foot. And you might have to give up your bed for them to sleep in. And buy them bourbon.
ReplyDeleteThat's when you leave the house for the local hang-out and get a hotel room.
ReplyDelete