Depression taught me that expectations rob a person of what is true. Stepping into a fire may lead you into a lovely stream. The reverse can also be true. In emptiness, reality speaks for itself and we dance like a fire on the sun or flow with the currents of a river.
Emptiness is wholeness. Healing occurs in the silence of the mind. It’s not about trying to be positive or forcing a perfect picture. Positive energy naturally rises when connecting with the truth of oneself. True healing is a creative process and poetry is an opening to this part of ourselves.
Rumi is a classic Persian poet who comes from the mystic tradition of Sufism. Every tradition has its archetypes and in Sufism, a Darvish is one who understands the nature of the world. A Darvish is the “doorway” into Spirit and recognizes herself as the emptiness.
Here’s one of Rumi’s poems titled “The question.”
One Darvish said to another,
“what was your vision of God’s presence?”
I haven’t seen anything.
But for the sake of Conversation, I’ll tell you a story.There’s a fire on the left,
A lovely stream on the right.
One group walks toward the fire – into the fire.
Another towards the sweet flowing water.No one knows which are blessed and which are not.
Whoever walks into the fire appears suddenly in the stream.
A head goes under on the water surface,
That head pokes out of the fire.Most people guard against going into the fire,
And so end up in it.
Those who love the water of pleasure
and make it their devotion are cheated with this reversal.The trickery goes further.
The voice of the fire tells the truth saying, “I am not fire.
I am a fountainhead.
Come into me and don’t mind the sparks.”The fire and water themselves:
Accidental, done with mirrors.
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