a harmony

 

When you do things

from your soul,

you feel a river

moving in you,

a joy.

When actions come

from another section,

the feeling disappears

Don’t let others lead you

They may be blind

or, worse, vultures.

Reach for the rope of God

And what is that?

Putting aside self-will.

Because of willfulness

people sit in jail,

the trapped bird’s wings are tied,

fish sizzle in the skillet.

The anger of police is willfulness.

You've seen a magistrate

inflict visible punishment

Now see the invisible.

If you could leave your selfishness,

you would see how

you've been torturing your soul

We are born and live inside

black water in a well.

How could we know

what an open field of sunlight is?

Don’t insist on going

where you think you want to go

Ask the way to the spring.

Your living pieces

will form a harmony.

There is a moving palace

that floats in the air

with balconies and

clear water flowing through,

infinity everywhere,

yet contained under a single tent.

~ Jelalludin Rumi

from The Soul of Rumi 

translated by Coleman Barks

art by van gogh