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.
Why not welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they’re a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep our house
empty of its furniture,
still, treat each guest honorably.
They may be clearing you out
for some new delight.
The dark thought, the shame, the malice,
might we meet them at the door, laughing,
and invite them in?
How might we be grateful for whoever comes,
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.
Adapted from: Rumi: Selected Poems, translated by Coleman Barks with John Moynce, A. J. Arberry, Reynold Nicholson (Penguin Books, 2004)