The Guest House - A Poem by Jalaluddin Rumi | The Ismaili Canada
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The Guest House - A Poem by Jalaluddin Rumi

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’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.

Reference
Jalaluddin Rumi

from Rumi: Selected Poems, trans Coleman Barks with John Moynce, A. J. Arberry, Reynold Nicholson (Penguin Books, 2004)

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