“Let yourself be silently drawn by the strange pull of what you really love. It will not lead you astray.”― Rumi
Over the years, I have been graced and awe-struck by the wisdom of Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi, the poet, theologian and Sufi mystic.
It is said that when the student is ready, the teacher materializes. Time and again, I collided with the wisdom and beauty of Rumi’s work.
Rumi was a 13th-century Persian poet and spiritual thinker and to say the least, his wonderful and soul-stirring work has captured the imagination and moved millions over many cultures and over many centuries.
Here are some of my favorite Rumi quotes and Life lessons:
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1. The Love You Seek
“Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.”― Rumi
I have found this to be very comforting in difficult times when I was lacking in self-love and thought that I could find it out there.
Rumi gently reminds you that looking for love in all the wrong places might not be the solution that you seek.
You task is to find the resistance and the barriers and the walls that you have set up to prevent the arrival and the blossom of love in your life.
From a place of self-love and self-acceptance, life looks and feels a lot better.
2. Letting Go Of Burdensome Judgments
“Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing there is a field. I’ll meet you there. When the soul lies down in that grass, the world is too full to talk about.”― Rumi
Excessive judgments weigh you down and make you feel heavy-hearted and unsatisfied
While we are judging and discerning human beings, sometimes it is just wonderful to allow the radiance of the universe to permeate your consciousness and just be, and just let go.
We are always making distinctions and labeling things as right and wrong, good or bad, true or untrue and so on.
Sometimes it is exhausting to carry all the burden of excessive judgment.
When you confront that situation, just take some deep breaths, sit in your favorite seated position in your sacred meditation space and just be.
No judgment of technique.
No comparison.
No burden of the right way…or the wrong way..
Just descend into the sacred silence between thoughts, the place called the “gap” and meet your higher self in stillness.
“Let silence take you to the core of life.”-Rumi
“Stop acting so small. You are the universe in ecstatic motion.”― Rumi
3. On Irritation and Getting Past Small Hurts
“If you are irritated by every rub, how will your mirror be polished?”― Rumi
I learned from Rumi that in order for your mirror to be polished and for you to express your fullest potential, you have to brush aside small annoyances and criticisms.
I have been there myself… being oversensitive and taking things too personally. I used to get offended and found it hard to take constructive criticism.
As you can guess, I did not learn much that way.
I only learnt when I cast aside excessive attachment to the importance of the ego, and cast aside the “I am right and you are wrong” and allowed my radiance to be expressed through the polishing of my consciousness.
Sometimes the greatest opportunities of growth are the ones that you may find most difficult to take favorably.
“The wound is the place where the Light enters you.”-Rumi
4. The True Feeling Of Freedom
“Dance, when you’re broken open. Dance, if you’ve torn the bandage off. Dance in the middle of the fighting. Dance in your blood. Dance when you’re perfectly free.”― Rumi
When is the last time you danced like no one was watching?
When is the last time that you sang to your heart’s content?
When is the last time that you felt like you expressed your authentic self?
“I want to sing like the birds sing, not worrying about who hears or what they think.”-Rumi
When you bring the focus back to the metaphor of dancing, the feeling of joy in your life and the belief and feeling of your inherent potential and magnificence, you can walk through life with ease and confidence.
You are no longer burdened by excessive thought, worried about what others will think, feeling bad, and fearful to take action.
You set yourSELF free.
You are ready to fly and as Rumi instructs, you should choose to fly. You can do this by expressing your true potential and not by crawling or living and acting in fear and hesitation.
This is a battle I fight almost every day. The choice to fly into my fullest potential even though it is scary but exciting.
The choice to cast aside fear, excuses and living in doubt and choosing faith, belief and courage.
“You were born with wings, why prefer to crawl through life?”― Rumi
5. What Makes Your Eyes Wide With Excitement And Unbridled Passion?
“Let yourself be silently drawn by the strange pull of what you really love. It will not lead you astray.”― Rumi
It is odd then whenever I ignored the call of what I truly loved with a burning passion, it always came back to haunt me in life events and situations.
Is there something that you are just unable to shake off?
You have cast it aside numerous times, but it always shows up in the form of synchronicities and obvious messages on the wall?
What you really love is indeed a strange pull, a hunger, a desire that you simply cannot ignore anymore and have to pay heed to its call.
“Everyone has been made for some particular work and the desire for that work has been put in every heart.”― Rumi
A precisely similar thing happened in my life. I ignored my writing, my desire, and a strong pull to inspire others through gentle suggestions and stories and my deep interest in graphics and layouts and colors.
But many times in my life through unexpected events and synchronicities, I have been pushed into t-shirt design, layout, and copywriting.
“What you seek is seeking you.”-Rumi
People would seek me out and seek my suggestions for problems that they were having in their own life.
Somewhere along the journey, I realized that instead of resisting, I should go towards my own strange calling.
Are you answering the strange calls of what you love?
“Set your life on fire. Seek those who fan your flames”― Rumi
“Only from the heart can you touch the sky”- Rumi
6. The Incredible Power Of Belief
“As you start to walk out on the way, the way appears.”- Rumi
Often, I have been afraid to walk the way because I lacked the self-determination and the self-power go forward.
My beliefs, my conditioning, and my doubts got the better of me and I stopped short.
I quit, I doubted, I procrastinated, I made excuses and I let go of things before they could bloom into a great possibility.
Rumi is right on when he advises you to go ahead and walk on your journey.
Even though you may doubt yourself, stay firm in your self-affirmation, make a decision and move forward.
There is tremendous power and almost a magical quality to moving forward with a decision well made and firmly planted in your consciousness.
Similar to the proverb that in the acorn lies the promise of an oak tree and a future forest, within the acorn of your belief and possibility lies the real promise of a remarkable adventure.
Are you ready to take the first step and move on the way?
“Never lose hope my dear heart, miracles dwell in the invisible”-Rumi
7. The Power And Influence Of Your Words
“Raise your words, not voice. It is rain that grows flowers, not thunder.”― Rumi
I have found this as great advice. Whenever, I lost track of the power of words and carelessly raised my voice, I ended up regretting it.
Rumi reminds us to raise the consciousness, the integrity and the accountability of our words.
When we say things that we will do loudly and do not follow through, it slowly erodes the confidence and our efficacy to accomplish things and be taken seriously.
A soft and gentle voice that takes responsibility and follows through is magnitudes more effective to grow the flowers of your life.
Cast aside the loud rumblings of thunderous words that do not mean any action and fall short every time.
8. Seeking Without
“You wander from room to room hunting for the diamond necklace that is already around your neck!”― Rumi
Humans seek without or outside the things that are frequently within.
We seek love and approval from others when we are the only ones that can provide self-assurance.
We seek happiness out there.
We feel like if we accomplish success and make a great deal of fortune, our life will somehow magically transform.
The search should be directed inwards to determine what makes you tick, what are your strengths and what makes life meaningful for you.
You are a part of the magnificent universe and the universe is within you.
“Everything in the universe is within you. Ask all from yourself.”― Rumi
“You are not just a drop in the ocean, you are the mighty ocean in the drop.”- Rumi
9. The Quick Way Out Of Your Problems
“Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder. Help someone’s soul heal. Walk out of your house like a shepherd.”― Rumi
The fastest and most effective way to reframe your problems and challenges is to become aware of the difficulties others are experiencing and assist them in whatever way you can.
In the challenges of others and their life’s trials and journeys, you discover ways and means to live your life and learn in the process.
Give love to others and assist them out of their difficulties by uplifting them.
This can be done in many ways and monetary assistance is just one of them.
You can give a smile and listen with all your heart.
You can choose to inspire someone who needs uplifting.
You can choose to brighten someone’s day.
“Love is the bridge between you and everything.”-Rumi
“Your breath touched my soul and I saw beyond all limits.”― Rumi
10. Living and Practicing Gratitude
“Wear gratitude like a cloak and it will feed every corner of your life.”-Rumi
When you make the simple shift in your life to be happy and grateful of what you have in your life instead of focusing on lack and limitations, you are literally opening the doors of abundance to flow in your life.
What you resist usually persists and magnifies in proportion.
When your focus is on how everything is falling apart and how things need to be better, wherever you go, you see problems and lack.
When you begin to feel gratitude for little things, you feel a deep sense of joy and fulfillment in the moment that translates and permeates other parts of your life and becomes a lifestyle.
It has been shown extensively in research that stress, worry and tension create a “fight and flight” response that mimic our bodies into an emergency mode and flood us with chemicals that are of little benefit on the long run.
In contrast, feeling good, feeling joy and gratitude and happiness flood our systems with “feel good” chemicals like endorphins that elevate our sense of well being.
As Rumi so wisely puts it, allow gratitude to feed your life, and to nourish your spirit.
11. On Love
“Wherever you are, and whatever you do, be in love.”― Rumi
Are you allowing the depth and magnitude of love to touch your heart and move your spirit?
When we speak of love, the usual idea is that of romantic love but true love transcends all limitations and barriers and labels.
Unfortunately, romantic love is sometimes associated with expectations and judgments.
Rumi repeatedly speaks of love that transcends limitations and judgments.
True love originates in the hearts and souls of individuals and creates wonders.
How can we experience more love?
Love yourself unconditionally.
Allow yourself to dwell in the space of love when you interact with others.
Choose love as often as possible.
Transcend anger, hate and doubt with a feeling of love and appreciation.
“Love is a river. Drink from it.”― Rumi
The flow of love is all over like a vast river. We need to rest, slow down and drink from the sacred waters of love to enhance it in our lives.
“Whatever happens, just keep smiling and lose yourself in Love.”-Rumi
“In the house of lovers, the music never stops, the walls are made of songs & the floor dances”― Rumi
12. Live Your Masterpiece and Steer Out Of the Comfort Zone
“Do not be satisfied with the stories that come before you. Unfold your own myth.” -Rumi
Questions to ask yourself:
Am I doing something that scares me but excites me and pushes me to my levels of skill and difficulty?
Am I living my own story and my own authentic path or am I following the instructions from someone else?
Have I become used to the comfort zone and do not feel the need to push the status quo further?
Am I allowing fears to dictate my life?
“Run from what’s comfortable. Forget safety. Live where you fear to live. Destroy your reputation. Be notorious. I have tried prudent planning long enough. From now on I’ll be mad.”― Rumi
“Do not worry if all the candles in the world flicker and die. We have the spark that starts the fire.”-Rumi
Now over to you, my WONDERFUL readers! Let me know in the comments below if this post resonated with you and which quote is your favorite?
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Ab says
Great quotes from a great poet