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.

~ Rumi


3 responses to “The Guest House”

  1. Yvonne Willis Crook Avatar

    I have never been a lover of poetry. I prefer plain and simple language. But I have read some Rumi. I think I might be inclined to read some more.

  2. Elizabeth Silver Fox Avatar

    I so love Rumi. I hadn’t read this one before. And it reads as if written contemporarily. Such is his universality.

  3. meno Avatar

    A new way to think about the emotions.

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