Welcoming in the guests
While I am completing my Blog piece on my stay in the Lloyd hotel in Amsterdam and my reflections on our bodies’ stories, I want to share this poem by Rumi which I feel is relevant to this theme and especially to those of us who work in the field of “healing”. Healing for me is not about only wanting “health” or “well being” or “happiness” or being free from disease or pain but being open to life, to everything. Everything, every person, every experience enriches us. I’d love to hear how you experience the stories of your bodies. For me this poem is such a beautiful evocation of welcoming in not only all emotions but every experience, every person, every place, and living them deeply and with respect.
The Guest House, by Rumi
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’re 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 whoever comes,
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond
