Today…22nd of January…first thought entering my mind… “how come its the 22nd?…
Just yesterday we were celebrating Christmas… where did this time go?”…
I pause…and notice some anxiety and sadness at the thought of how quickly this time goes by…
Looking out the window.. Its so much light, the brightness of the sun brings joy in my heart… I smile…
This is being alive, its now, in this moment… beyond dates, months, years…
The warmth in my heart made me think of Rumi’s poem… and how every moment is a new arrival…
how every joy comes “as an unexpected visitor”
Can I welcome every moment in my heart? in my body?
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.
from Rumi: Selected Poems, translated by Coleman Barks