11.26.2006

Rumi

Who are we then
in this complicated world-tangle,
that is really just the single, straight
line down at the begining of allah?

Nothing.
We are emptiness.

This is the last portion of Rumi's poem called EMPTINESS. Jelaluddin Rumi was born in the year 1207 and until the age of 37 was a brilliant scholar and popular teacher. But his life changed forever when he met the powerful wandering dervish, Shams of Tabriz, of whom Rumi said, "What I had thought of before as God, I met today in a human being." From this mysterious and esoteric friendship came a new bright of spiritual enlightenment. In this poem, I think Rumi says exactly what Landmark is teaching, that out of this nothingness that we can create something big for our lives. You can read more about him and his other poetry here: