"Let
the
beauty
we
love,
be
what
we
do."
Imagine how very much different this world would be, if we lived by means of Rumi's advice! "Let the beauty we love be what we do." Entire Universes, planets, and transformations dwell within the confines of these nine words... now, where would you like to go?
I live much of my life in my imagination. Did you know that the Original Question that dawned somewhere within the Original Consciousness was, "What if?" This Original Question incited a riot of Imagination within that Original Consciousness: all this scientific talk about a "Big Bang" doesn't even come close to the Cosmic Enthusiasm for Unlimited Possibilities that followed after, "What if?" The next amazing thing was the Awareness that to ask, "What if?" an answer was required: and so Love was born: and then in quick "dis-order" came Delight and Passion, Curiosity and Serendipity, and Pleasure and Opposite. After an eternity or two of a rub here and a rub there amongst that crowd, they collectively asked, "What now?" Immediately upon asking that question (it was as if the Original Consciousness had already figured out what would, of course, come next): Beauty was born... and "OC" crowned her Queen and Mother of All That Was To Follow. Her first children, you ask? Well, of course they were the twins: Wisdom and Wonder... And thus, the Universe was seeded with the many fruits of Sacred Imagination... and so it continues... and so it continues to this very day and to you...
Each of the Sacred Archetypes -- OC's primary thoughts -- are encoded within the DNA of every living creature, but even more, they are actually encoded with the very fabric of every existent thing: they are the completely invisible threads of Reality and of Being: this isn't another "string theory": this is the Whole Kit-and-Caboodle-Reality. Here's the point: we can, through the activation of our will and intention, clothe ourselves, every day, with this "Awareness Fabric". We can choose to awaken from the slumber of our little-pretend-selves, and clothe ourselves with this Light: we can choose to awaken from our tired sleeping culture of collective delusion, and live within this Light: we can choose to awaken from the sleep-walk of time, and so become Light-Bearers for Beauty.
Is it obvious to you that the next question is, "How?" This is where the spirit-filled, luscious poetry of Rumi comes in! Rumi is a Master-Guide into Awakening. All great poetry is a revelation of each one of the subtle movements, the ebb and flow, of Love. This is certainly true for Rumi: it is as if he takes the rough-cut diamond of Love and holds it up to the light to catch ever-new angles and sparkles for each of us to wonder over, long for, and maybe occasionally to touch... Rumi is a long, slow, seduction of the heart: a motionless disrobing of the mind: and a thrust, a penetration, a reception, and an all-engulfing climax of Liberated Soul: I am You, You are Me, and We are All Together One: this is Enlightenment (and the Difficult and Delightful Journey of "Getting There", or Remembering Only That Which Is).
Listen. No.. I mean Really Listen:
"Ahhhhh retreats back into my mouth..."
"I turn my face to you, and into eternity: we have been in love that long."
"When you die into soul, you lift the lid on the cooking pot."
"Love looks like fire. Feed yourself into it. Be the fireplace and the wood."
"See clearly the glory of nothing and stand, inexplicably, there."
"Still dizzy from last night's wine?"
"Sometimes I praise love; sometimes love praises me."
"There is a sun within every person, the you we call companion."
"Love wants an arm and a leg."
[Each of these lines are from Rumi, The Glance translations by Coleman Barks]
So we come to the Big Question: will you consent to become Love's arm and leg? This decision is the essence of the essence of the choice this particular moment in time is presenting to each one of us individually, and all of us collectively. Will you opt out of the mystic-activist Quest, and settle down-down-down into "life-as-normal"? Will the Great God of Money corner you in some back-alley of your mind and seduce you into submission? Will the Other God of Power wake you up some night in a cold-sweat of sweet possibilities -- you know, there are so many people who just need a good moment of having "it" stuck to them? Will the Final God of Fear leave you alone: I mean really leave you alone? This un-holy trinity rules the world of "normal": and there are so very many good reasons for negotiating with them: maybe you could work the system, you know, massage it enough to reduce a little bit of the world's misery... that would be a life with purpose and meaning, right? But, then too, you could just say f**k this s**t and numb yourself in whatever way that works for you...
But don't forget: I know you! Remember: I am You, You are Me, and We Are All Together One? I know how your heart secretly hungers for something "more"... for something that truly awakens you every morning with the expectation that courage and grace will have breakfast with you... and for hearty companions to inspire and uplift the ordinary into an everyday extra-ordinary... You have been made for greatness! And right now, this precious blue Planet needs you to become her life-long Advocate; issues of war and peace need your passionate attention to build a world of Justice, Equality, Kindness, and Harmlessness for All: women and children are still not safe anywhere, nor are they equal to men, nor do the institutions that serve the God of Power intend to change -- you are needed to spark the difference! Do not be afraid and do not cave to the feeling of being overwhelmed! You have within you each of the Sacred Archetypes to give your body breath, your mind hope, and your soul light... who knows why, but there are some "knots" in the fabric of the Universe: You are needed to simply untie them... and then, once you've done that, let's all just go ahead and disrobe the entire Universe!
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