Gardening For The Soul

Every two weeks at The Healing Garden, I attend an In-Treatment Support Group. At our meeting last week, the therapist who leads our small, intimate sessions distributed the following poem by Rumi, translation by Coleman Barks.

THE GUEST HOUSE

This being human 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 are 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 whatever comes
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.

This poem resonated very strongly for me as I have been feeling so many different emotions on this journey of mine around my health, family, work.  I have taken on the practice of naming my emotions and sending them love, whether I feel upset, disappointed, scared, hurt, used.   It is amazing that this approach liberates me from the spiraling head, the thoughts of righteous indignation, the ‘what ifs’, the sleepless nights spent analyzing a situation.   I recognize my feelings, give them a bed, tuck them in with a warm blanket and a glass of hot milk and honey. Letting them in is NOT about festering or holding on but about being authentic, facing what I am feeling. It is just amazing how quickly things shift when I take this approach. And I can nurture how I feel, deciding what’s at the root of it, what I can learn and last but not least, what do I want to do about it. Is there something I need to change or voice? I am not controlling or managing how I feel, I am being still and listening and that, for me, makes all the difference. And after all, who wouldn’t want to be swept out for a new delight!

Love to all,
Amanda