What does it matter for you and I to be anxious
If we are on the verge of destruction, and we are saved?
And what would we gain if we are on the edge of deliverance,
And we are destroyed?
If I walk to the destination, and you ride a horse to it,
would it change its distance?
Sure you will reach there faster...
But if experience is according to the mind's perception, then
My journey upon foot may seem less lengthy than your journey by horse.
Glad you came tonight!
So kind of you to join me,
I was feeding myself with consolation,
For I've run out of food.
I see you've brought your share of consolation to me as well!
Come my friend, let me lay my plate,
And we will serve our consolations on it,
And feed each other.
The moon is whole tonight,
We will go to the desert with our vessels
Pour water into our cups,
And watch the moon's reflection in them
And we will drink of it!
With that we will conclude our feast.
Kings may drink royal wines
What does it compare to our Moondrops?
In hardship time seems to linger on,
And in happiness it passes with the wind, that you can't see it.
If you wish to live longer then why frown at hardship?
In these times we live
Men are busy with constructing things,
It reminds me how as time with its passing constructs our deaths,
And also of lives it plants upon the Earth,
With their shares of sorrows and happiness,
Pricking like thorns and blooming like flowers
My brother, sometimes in our solitary times
When regret burns us to the core
It helps to stargaze,
For it will help us remember that,
Though these heavenly lanterns burn,
They provide light in the void of space
And they are not useless.
Take lesson from this that even when you burn
There's is goodness in you,
And benefit for you and others.
Sometimes tears well up in our eyes
Sometimes they run down our cheeks racing
As to who will fall to the ground first,
This way my brother
When you feel agony after agony,
They race towards the outside of you
So don't hold them back,
Rather let them go.
If you only knew, that the inside of you was meant for feeling peace,
You would not hoard the sadnesses.
Once I was on the rooftop
The sun was blazing with the intensity of hell
Whereas the breeze was blowing softly
And cooled me from head to toe
Also caressing the soul
Overwhelming me.
At that moment realization took its approach of me,
And made me perceive,
That its not always the magnitude of anything that makes it overwhelm things
But also how it presents itself to you.
My friend, I have noticed that
People rush when they can wait
And long to wait and rest when they are rushing.
We mustn't do that.
Do they not see that although in the waterfalls,
The waters gush forth,
The mountain remains immovable?
Steadiness is the key
And calmness is the lock,
When you bring them close together
They open the door to meadows of prosperity.
I wish you would see like me,
And watch the birds and clouds fly overhead.
The birds remain in the heights with effort
Whereas the clouds float effortlessly.
Now many wish to be in the heights like the clouds
Effortlessly.
However, in the flight of birds we learn perseverance,
And the strong will to stay above, although falling is so much easy.
We mustn't forget that it is the birds that pierce through clouds.
People say, "Do not look in the past and The dead do not speak to us."
I say, "They do!"
Their actions speaks to us in a thousand different ways,
If only we would be quiet and contemplate them,
We'd surely be of the wise.
Take glances at your past my friend, and that of others',
Just don't linger upon it,
For this very moment is yours,
And you are this moment
So too much of the present spent
On that which is already spent
Is nothing but foolishness.
My friend, for you to truly comprehend something
You must submerge in it.
Darkness cannot be perceived if you have a lamp burning,
Put it out!
And let people say what they want
What they utter are mere words,
The winds may blow as fiercely as they like
But do they move the sky?
Like the sky, be elevated in position,
Above their words.
If you wish to be courageous
Fear being afraid.
My friend, I feel time has sped up these days
Everything happens so fast!
A year feels like a month
A month like a week,
A week like a day
And a day like an hour.
These days we may live many years
But our lives have become short,
I sought many ways to lengthen it
Only in the Worship of The Most High did I find the secret.
Gone are the good old days
Where carefree was the state of being
And responsibilities were not our responsibility.
If your sorrows are incessant my friend
And they seem perpetual,
Drown them in your tears
There's solace in it.
My brother I see you have a fault in thee
This pain that plagues thy
Ye wish to run away from!
Canst thou outrun the rain in an open field?
So why this futile attempt?
Rather, as ye would turn thy face to the drizzles
Turn thine face to this pain thy have
For it is bewildering,
And like a master
It has much to teach.
Come let's look for the answers
For we have delved much in questions.
And if you are in doubt
Know that you are misguided
For in this quest of ours
Certainty is a must
And we must immerse so much in the search
That we are lost!
Its is then what we sought
Shall reveal itself.
Oh my friend what you thought was the fog
Blurring your vision
Was in fact clarity in droplets
You just had to look closer!
Does it matter if you water a tree whose roots are deep into the ground?
Nay, it doesn't.
For it has already reached a well and can take care of itself.
Pertaining to love,
It must begin with oneself.
Oh brother of mine,
It seems to me that you do not love yourself.
Why is it so, when all parts of you love each other?
Do you not ponder upon the pang when a finger is cut?
It is because the flesh were bounded by love,
And when cut, they suffered the ache of separation.
And if you want to be in love's ocean
Forget your swimming and drown,
The beauty of the plunge
Is that it's breathtaking.
Wordsmith: Mashiar Ahsan
Painting by: Dina Ayoub
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