Remembering Rumi

Ahmad Wali - Dost (Sufi Music)

I love my friends neither with my heart nor with my mind. 

Just in case…

Heart might stop. Mind can forget.

I love them with my soul.

Soul never stops or forgets.

Rumi

Three countries, all part of the former Persian Empire, claim Rumi as their poet: Afghanistan, Iran, and Turkey. Though he died 742 years ago, his wisdom continues to enlighten and inspire. Along with being a wonderful poet, Rumi was also a proponent of dance as a means of connecting with the Divine.

I lived in Turkey for a year in the mid-80s and heard a lot about Rumi and the Whirling Dervishes he inspired. Later, I became even more aware of Rumi's poetry through my reading of Mark Nepo. Nepo cites Rumi and many other mystics and poets in his book, Awakening. 

The Mevlâna Festival takes place annually from December 10th to the 17th in the Anatolian city of Konya, where Rumi died at the age of 66 on December 17, 1273. 

Some say Rumi was a Sufi but I believe that Rumi himself would have resisted any such labels. To read Rumi's poems is to recognize a beautiful soul.

May this post inspire you to welcome a little Rumi into your life!