A Sufi Rose

Dear Friends,

Hafez was a 14th Century Persian Sufi poet, possibly the greatest Persian poet of all, an influence through translation on such Western non-dualists as Thoreau, Emerson and Goethe.  Here is one of his well-known short poems:

How did the rose
ever open its heart
and give to this world
all its beauty?

It felt the pressure
of light against its being.

Otherwise, we all remain
too frightened.

Anaïs Nin has an echo of this in her lines:

And the day came when the risk
to remain tight in a bud
was more painful than
the risk it took to blossom.

In both cases, there's fear and then bloom.  What are we afraid of?  What happens if we notice but disobey the fear, perhaps first resisting and then accepting that push onstage from the wings? 

Today's central meditation (alongside the bells and whistles of our many arrival practices) will be to actually feel the pressure of the light.  As the heart opens in response, it can give its all to this very world. 

wishing you joy in all you do,
Michael