In the realm of lovers There is only one beloved.....by Rumi

In the realm of lovers
There is only one beloved

In this realm of lovers
There is no coming nor going

Lovers wander
Looking for each other

There is no need for this wandering
The soul of lovers Lives in a place beyond time

The one beloved
Searching for herself in the other

Let us become passionate lovers

Lovers in life
Lovers in death
Lovers in the tomb
Lovers on the day of resurrection
Lovers in paradise
Lovers forever

If you have not known this love
don’t count your life as lived
On the Day of Judgment
it will not be counted

There is a bazaar
Where love is traded for free

There is a river of wine
Where drunken merriment knows no rest
Where burning passion knows no repose
Where billions of galaxies dance
Where restless lovemaking
Gives birth to universe upon universe

~ Rumi

Oh how nameless, how free I am......by Rumi

Oh how nameless, how free I am!
When will I see myself as I really am?

Tell me your secrets here and now, you said.
In this realm, I said, where is the here and now?

How can my soul be still
when I am whirling in stillness?

My sea drowned in itself.
What a wondrous, shoreless sea I am!

Not in this world, not in the next I am.
Where I am, both worlds disappear.

Naught, I am free of profit and loss.
How singular, I neither gain nor lose.

I said: My Soul, you’re the light of my eyes.
Where I am, he said, no need for eyes.

That’s what you are, I said. Stop it!
he said. No words can capture me.

I said: Since you are more than tongue can tell,
behold how eloquent I am without a tongue.

Like the moon, without legs, I race through nothingness.
See how fast I can run without legs!

A voice called: Why so fast?
Look into the hidden, find my true face.

The moment I saw my Beloved
I became a treasure, a gem, the rare pearl of the sea.

~ Rumi

I SAW TWO BIRDS....by Hafiz

Both of our mouths
Can fit upon this flute I carry.

My music will sound
So much sweeter that way
With your breath and my breath
Poking each other in the ribs
And kissing.

I saw two birds on a limb this morning
Laughing with the sun.
They reminded me of how
We will one day exist.

My dear,
Keep thinking about God,
Keep thinking about the Beloved
And soon our nest will be the
Whole firmament.

Forget about all your desires for truth,
We have gone far beyond that.
For now it is just
Pure need.

Both our hearts are meant to sing.
Both our souls are destined to touch
And kiss
Upon this holy flute
God carries.

~ Hafiz
The Gift

This sky where we live is no place to lose your wings So love, love, love. ~ Hafiz

“This place where you are right now,
God circled on a map for you.”

”One regret, dear world,
That I am determined not to have
When I am lying on my deathbed
Is that
I did not kiss you enough.”

“I should not make any promises right now,
But I know if you
Pray
Somewhere in this world –
Something good will happen.”

“I wish I could show you,
When you are lonely or in the darkness,
The Astonishing Light
Of your own Being!”

“This sky where we live is no place to lose your wings
So love, love, love.”

~ Hafiz

City of Love.....by Rumi

I’ve travelled around
raced through every city
while I knew all along
no place could be found
like the city of love

If I could have known
to value what I owned
I would not have suffered
like a fool
the life of a vagabond

I’ve heard many tunes
all over the globe
all empty
as a kettledrum
except the music of love

it was the sound of
that hollow drum
that made me fall
from the heavens
to this mortal life

i used to soar
among souls
like a heart’s flight
winglessly roaming and
celestially happy

i used to drink
like a flower that drinks
without lips or throat
of the wine that overflows
with laughter and joy

Suddenly
I was summoned by love
to prepare for a journey
to the temple of
suffering

I cried desperately
I begged and pleaded
and shredded my clothes
not to be sent
to this world

Just the way I fear now
going away
to the other world
I was frightened then
to make my descent

Love asked me to go
with no fear to be alone
promising to be close
everywhere I go
closer than my veins

Love threw its spell
its magic and allure
using coyness and charm
I was totally sold and
bought everything with joy

Who am I to resist
love’s many tricks
and not to fall
while the whole world
takes love’s bait

Love showed me
a path but then
lost me on the way
if I could have resisted
I would have found my way

I can show you my friend
surely how you can get there
but here and now
my pen has broken down
before telling you how.

~ Rumi
Art by Rassouli

Be cheerful. Strive to be happy. ~ Max Ehrmann

Go placidly amid the noise and the haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible, without surrender,
be on good terms with all persons.

Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even to the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons;
they are vexatious to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain or bitter,
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs,
for the world is full of trickery.

But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals,
and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love,
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment,
it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.

Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.

You are a child of the universe
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.

And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be.

And whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life,
keep peace in your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

~ Max Ehrmann

My heart is the throne of the Beloved......by Yunus Emre

My heart is the throne of the Beloved,
the Beloved the heart’s destiny:

Whoever breaks another’s heart will find no homecoming
in this world or any other.

The ones who know say very little
while the beasts are always speaking volumes;

One word is enough for one who knows.

If there is any meaning in the holy books, it is this:
Whatever is good for you, grant it to others too

Whoever comes to this earth migrates back;
Whoever drinks the wine of love
understands what I say

Yunus, don’t look down at the world in scorn

Keep your eyes fixed on your Beloved’s face,
then you will not see the bridge
on Judgment Day.

~ Yunus Emre