“Let yourself be silently drawn by the strange pull of what you really love. It will not lead you astray.” – Rumi
Rumi left us so much wisdom and insight through his beautiful, yet powerful poetry that applies just as much today as it did in the 13th century. A Persian poet, Islamic scholar, theologian, and spiritual teacher, Rumi is a best-selling poet in the United States and gave us a unique perspective about the universe and life that we can all take something from.
Here are 15 life changing lessons to learn from Rumi:
Here are some of the most profound observations by Rumi.
1. Don’t avoid tough experiences; they are wonderful teachers.
“The wound is the place where the Light enters you.”
“These pains you feel are messengers. Listen to them.”
“You have to keep breaking your heart until it opens.”
“The moon stays bright when it doesn’t avoid the night.”
“What hurts you, blesses you. Darkness is your candle.”
“Don’t turn away. Keep your gaze on the bandaged place. That’s where the light enters you.”
2. Don’t allow things outside yourself to control your emotions.
“If you are irritated by every rub, how will you be polished?”
“Don’t grieve. Anything you lose comes round in another form.”
3. Leave behind a legacy worth remembering.
“Forget safety. Live where you fear to live. Destroy your reputation. Be notorious.”
4. Don’t act so small when you have the whole universe inside of you.
“Stop acting so small. You are the universe in ecstatic motion.”
“Become the sky. Take an axe to the prison wall. Escape.”
5. Focus on changing yourself, and the whole world will appear differently.
“Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.”
6. Always follow your heart; it will take you where you need to go.
“Let yourself be silently drawn by the stronger pull of what you really love.”
“When you do things from your soul, you feel a river moving in you, a joy.”
7. You have a purpose here far beyond what you’ve been told.
“There is a candle in your heart, ready to be kindled. There is a void in your soul, ready to be filled. You feel it, don’t you?”
8. Love is everything.
“Only from the heart can you touch the sky.”
“This is love: to fly toward a secret sky, to cause a hundred veils to fall each moment. First to let go of life. Finally, to take a step without feet.”
9. Rise up to meet your potential.
“You were born with potential. You were born with goodness and trust. You were born with ideals and dreams. You were born with greatness. You were born with wings. You are not meant for crawling, so don’t. You have wings. Learn to use them and fly.”
“You were born with wings, why prefer to crawl through life?”
“Be like the sun for grace and mercy. Be like the night to cover others’ faults. Be like running water for generosity. Be like death for rage and anger. Be like the Earth for modesty. Appear as you are. Be as you appear.”
10. Find people who will shine light on your path.
“Ignore those that make you fearful and sad, that degrade you back towards disease and death.”
“Set your life on fire. Seek those who fan your flames”
11. Don’t take your thoughts so seriously; they do not own you.
“Be empty of worrying. Think of who created thought! Why do you stay in prison When the door is so wide open?”
“Put your thoughts to sleep, do not let them cast a shadow over the moon of your heart. Let go of thinking.”
“This being human is a guest house. Every morning is a new arrival. A joy, a depression, a meanness, some momentary awareness comes as an unexpected visitor…Welcome and entertain them all. Treat each guest honorably. 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.”
12. Sit in silence for a while; everything will make more sense.
“In Silence there is eloquence. Stop weaving and see how the pattern improves.”
“Silence is the language of God, all else is poor translation.”
13. We all are visitors of this planet, because we come from elsewhere.
“All day I think about it, then at night I say it. Where did I come from, and what am I supposed to be doing? I have no idea. My soul is from elsewhere, I’m sure of that, and I intend to end up there.”
“We come spinning out of nothingness, scattering stars like dust.”
14. Open your eyes to what you already have within you.
“Everything in the universe is within you. Ask all from yourself.”
“I have lived on the lip of insanity, wanting to know reasons, knocking on a door. It opens. I’ve been knocking from the inside.”
“You wander from room to room Hunting for the diamond necklace That is already around your neck!”
“Why are you so enchanted by this world, when a mine of gold lies within you?”
“There is a fountain inside you. Don’t walk around with an empty bucket.”
15. Don’t seek anything outside yourself; the answers are contained in your heart.
“Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.”
“That which is false troubles the heart, but truth brings joyous tranquility.”
“What you seek is seeking you.”
“Do you know what you are? You are a manuscript oƒ a divine letter. You are a mirror reflecting a noble face. This universe is not outside of you. Look inside yourself; everything that you want, you are already that.”
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