A thoughtful poem given to me by my friend Kate. Because it's Sunday, because I'm a little tired, and because it is true.
The Guest-House
This being is a guest-house
Every morning a new arrival.
A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.
Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they’re a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture.
Still, treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you
out for some new delight.
The dark thought, the shame, the malice,
meet them at the door laughing,
and invite them in.
Be grateful for whoever comes,
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.
-Say I Am You poems of Rumi
Translated by John Moyne and Coleman Barks
Maypop 1994