The pure and pious would introspect regularly and at last find themselves and in turn God would lead them to the path of righteousness and eternity. This is a constant Rumi theme and I think there is an alternative meaning to " Look inside yourself; everything that you want, you already are." that he intended that still escapes me.
Perhaps it means one is a universe unto oneself and whatever one wants for oneself is within oneself and one has the power to co-create it i.e., whatever you want you already have within yourself. We are also part of a greater universe of creation that is complete unto itself, you mirror of your universe and the universe mirrors back your reflection to you.
You know those moments when you are unexpectedly awestruck, even rendered speechless, by the beauty of another human being? It is as if you are suddenly given eyes to see his or her foundational goodness that has always been there, but somehow surfaces in your presence, even if for a fleeting second. What a privilege!
When these magical moments manifest, all you can do is just hold them. They are not of your making to begin with. You simply give them a safe space to arise.
I seem to have these experiences of ‘catching goodness’ that falls upon my heart on a regular basis, yet they never cease to catch me off-guard and come in the ways I least expect. I notice them in strangers, friends, family, and intimate partners alike. And when my heart is truly open, even in those I am struggling to see anything worth loving at all!
They remind me that in the midst of our differences, we share unique reflections of our divine inheritance woven into the fabric of our humanity.
When I used to volunteer as a counsellor to the pastoral care associate at a large urban hospital, this noticing, this beholding, was a favorite “practice” of my vocation. I could never force it, but it would just happen on occasion when I opened my heart and mind in a manner of trust. Presence was its breeding ground; grace was its nature; mystery was its manifestation.
Like the patient dying of pancreatic cancer, diagnosed only months earlier. I saw her resentment over the life she was being denied melt into a gratitude for the life she had been given the gift to live.
Or the patient living in the cardiac care unit, waiting for someone with his blood type to die so he could receive a heart transplant. I witnessed his carefully chiseled cheerful demeanor surrender into tears of powerlessness that spoke his ultimate reality: “Will I wake up alive? I don’t know...”
Resting in ambiguity with others is to share a solidity beyond the certainty we naturally crave.
To partake in moments like these is nothing short of miraculous, and for me, the greatest privilege of living. Sort of like how the view of a vast mountain scape just past the tree line never ceases to leave you pausing in admiration beyond words.
Such times of divine recognition happen in the realm of nature, too. In fact, they began and never end there! I will never forget walking to church several years ago on a beautiful Easter morning. As I inhaled the fresh spring air, I suddenly noticed a brilliant crocus along the sidewalk that had poked its brave blossom through the muddy soil next to a pile of melting snow.
In ever made it to church that day. I felt like I had already gone. I had already witnessed the Resurrection before my very eyes. The tiny flower bud proclaimed “Hallelujah!” more majestically than any hymn or sermon could.
These moments of noticing bare a double blessing. They are so full of glory precisely because they speak not only to the goodness there, but also here. They say something not only about what I, you, and we all see, but also but the seer: myself, yourself, ourselves...
The sacred nature of other people and things has a way of giving voice to that which is already alive, or struggling to be born, within us. For we cannot recognize Goodness in something or someone unless we have not already known it somehow within ourselves.
Such is the very nature of the word “Namaste:” the Light in me sees the Light in you; the God in me sees the God in you... No wonder Jesus spoke so much about having eyes to see!
I was recently blessed to be shown my own divine spark in the gracious reply of a friend. Gazing upon her tender face and eyes that seemed to encompass the world, I noted the beauty I saw.
Her reply: “I’m just a mirror...”
This glorious antiphon of sorts held me momentarily in a place of blessed communion beyond time and space.
My breath caught, as if to say, “Wait... What? Me?” I was speechless, yet my open heart knew no bounds of such utter abundance. I was lullabied in the goodness I had recognized in another, that was also somehow my own.
Wow... What greater gift is there to share than one’s belovedness?
We are all mirrors if we are willing. Let us pay attention! Let us wake up! Notice the goodness around you. And then dare to let it nurture the seed within that allowed you to recognize it elsewhere in the first place.
In the words of Sufi poet Hafiz, “I wish I could show you, when you are lonely or in darkness, the astonishing light of your own being.” May we be so bold to affirm the goodness in others. And then pay forward that which naturally overflows from within.
Whatever we want, we can succeed, reaching our ultimate goal. There is an immense power behind us and that is determination and steadfastness, supporting and pushing us towards our ultimate present and future goal. Determination and believing in our capability and capacity will certainly lead us towards our goal. Our Lord will certainly help us in every step.
It's a genuinely nice message for human beings, human beings are the parts of God. God created everything in the world, and it is into the body of human being which is hidden into the human heart, and it is souls.
Soul is a valuable gift from God specially only for the human being and it is a mirror.
We are unable to see or find everything because our souls (mirrors) covered with dust and mud (evil and devils). God is pure from everything as well as our souls would be pure then everything will be in our fist, and we will see what we like in the world.
Introspection and finding oneself leads to righteousness and eternity, according to Rumi. He also suggests that we already have within us everything we want, and that we have the power to co-create it. We are also part of a greater universe that is complete unto itself. Sometimes we are awestruck by the beauty of others and it reminds us that we all share unique reflections of our divine inheritance woven into the fabric of our humanity. These moments of divine recognition happen in the realm of nature and also in other people, it's a double blessing because it speaks not only to the goodness there but also here, within us. We cannot recognize goodness in something or someone unless we have not already known it somehow within ourselves.
