Thousands of Hearts’ Joy 

All your worries,

sadness and loneliness

will one day turn

into petals on the pathway

to pure Joy for

thousands of hearts!

Aida Touré

"Wisdom is intelligence in its pure essence, which is not necessarily dependent upon the knowledge of names and forms." Hazrat Inayat Khan

Commentary by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan:

Often people confuse the two terms intellect and wisdom; sometimes they use the word intellect for wisdom, sometimes wisdom for intellect. In point of fact these are two different qualities altogether. The knowledge which is learned by knowing names and forms in the outside world belongs to the intellect; but there is another source of knowledge, and that source of knowledge is within oneself.

The words 'within oneself' might confuse some people. They might think 'within oneself' means inside one's body; but that is because man is ignorant of himself. Man has a very poor idea of himself, and this keeps him in ignorance of his real self. If man only knew how large, how wide, how deep, how high is his being, he would think, act, and feel differently; but with all his width, depth, and height, if man is not conscious of them he is as small as he thinks himself to be.

The essence of milk is butter, the essence of the flower is honey, the essence of grapes is wine, and the essence of life is wisdom. 

Wisdom is not necessarily a knowledge of names and forms; wisdom is the sum total of that knowledge which one gains both from within and without.

Intellectual knowledge has much to do with the brain, while wisdom comes from within the heart. In wisdom both head and heart work. One may call the brain the seat of the intellect, and the heart the throne of wisdom; but they are not actually located in the brain or in the heart. Wisdom may be called spiritual knowledge but the best definition of wisdom would be perfect knowledge, the knowledge of life within and without. How does one pursue the wisdom which is within? By first realizing that intuition exists within oneself.

It is not meant by this that everyone should become a kind of super-being. It is not meant at all that people should be able to perform wonders or miracles; it is only intended that they should live a fuller life and become real human beings, in order to bring about better conditions in the world. 

What do we want? We want human beings. It is not necessary that everyone should become religious, or exceedingly pious, or too good to live. We want wise men in business, in politics, in education, in all walks of life; those who do not live only on the surface and those who do not believe only in matter, but who see life both within and without. It is such souls who will produce beauty; it is such souls who will harmonize the world, who will bring about the conditions we need today.

I asked, "Where is your home, beautiful moon?"

She said, "In the wreck of your drunken heart.

I am the sun shining into your ruin.

Long may you call this wild wasteland your home."

from Rumi's Kolliyaat-e Shams-e Tabrizi

Translated by Zara Houshmand

My moon, without you I wept like a cloud.

Without you, I'm wounded, worn out and lonely.

Banished from life, to sit here without you,

I've died of the shame of living without you.

Rumi

If you are seeking closeness to the Beloved,

love everyone.

whether in their presence or absence,

see only their good.

if you want to be as clear and refreshing as

the breath of the morning breeze,

like the sun have nothing but warmth and light

for everyone.

Shaikh Abu-Said Abil-Khair

Silence is painful, but in silence things take form, and we must wait and watch. In us, in our secret depth, lies the knowing element which sees and hears that which we do not see nor hear. All our perceptions, all the things we have done, all that we are today, dwelt once in that knowing, silent depth, that treasure chamber in the soul. And we are more than we think. We are more than we know. That which is more than we think and know is always seeking and adding to itself while we are doing nothing - or think we are doing nothing. But to be conscious of what is going in our depth is to help it along. When subconsciousness becomes consciousness, the seeds in our winter-clad-selves turn to flowers, and the silent life in us sings with all its might.

Kahlil Gibran, Beloved Prophet: the love letters

Love with all its sweetness and tenderness 

Tibet © unknown author

Patience, patience, patience...is what the sea teaches. Patience and faith.

Ann Morrow Lindbergh

God speaks to each of us as he makes us, 

then walks with us silently out of the night. 

These are words we dimly hear: 

You, sent out beyond your recall, 

go to the limits of your longing. 

Embody me. 

Flare up like flame 

and make big shadows I can move in. 

Let everything happen to you: beauty and terror. 

Just keep going. No feeling is final. 

Don't let yourself lose me. 

Nearby is the country they call life. 

You will know it by its seriousness. 

Give me your hand. 

Rainer Maria Rilke

Silence

I was very much interested in what Mme. Montessori told me when I was in Italy: that besides all the activities that she gives to children, she makes them keep silence; and after a little time they like it so much that they prefer silence to their activity.

And it interested me still more to see a little girl of about 6 years of age who, when the time came, went and closed all the windows and closed the door, and put away all the things that she was playing with. The she came and sat in her little chair and closed her eyes, and she did not open them for about three or four minutes. You could see on her innocent face an angelic expression. It seemed she preferred those five minutes of silence to all the playing of the whole day.

Hazrat Inayat Khan

This is the real secret of life — to be completely engaged with what you are doing in the Here And Now. And instead of calling it work, realize it is play.

Alan Wilson Watts

Perfectly Imperfect

We have all heard that no two snowflakes are alike. Each snowflake takes the perfect form for the maximum efficiency and effectiveness for its journey. And while the universal force of gravity gives them a shared destination, the expansive space in the air gives each snowflake the opportunity to take their own path. They are on the same journey, but each takes a different path.

Along this gravity-driven journey, some snowflakes collide and damage each other, some collide and join together, some are influenced by wind... there are so many transitions and changes that take place along the journey of the snowflake. But, no matter what the transition, the snowflake always finds itself perfectly shaped for its journey. 

I find parallels in nature to be a beautiful reflection of grand orchestration. One of these parallels is of snowflakes and us. We, too, are all headed in the same direction. We are being driven by a universal force to the same destination. We are all individuals taking different journeys and along our journey, we sometimes bump into each other, we cross paths, we become altered... we take different physical forms. But at all times we too are 100% perfectly imperfect. At every given moment we are absolutely perfect for what is required for our journey. I’m not perfect for your journey and you’re not perfect for my journey, but I’m perfect for my journey and you’re perfect for your journey. We’re heading to the same place, we’re taking different routes, but we’re both exactly perfect the way we are. 

Think of what understanding this great orchestration could mean for relationships. Imagine interacting with others knowing that they too each share this parallel with the snowflake. Like you, they are headed to the same place and no matter what they may appear like to you, they have taken the perfect form for their journey. How strong our relationships would be if we could see and respect that we are all perfectly imperfect for our journey.

Steve Maraboli, Life, the Truth, and Being Free