top of page
pexels-jose-aragones-3254036.jpg

The Other Guesthouse

Rumi ran his guesthouse

With exceptional grace

Welcoming all comers

No matter how unruly—he’d set them a place

 

One crowd stole his furniture

And left his dwelling bare

Most proprietors would be furious

But Rumi didn’t care

 

‘They’ve made space for something new’

He said

‘I should thank them

It’s such a shame they’ve fled’

 

Even the most miserable callers

He’d meet them with good cheer

Preparing a wholesome dinner

And lending them his ear

 

He set the perfect example

Of how we all can live

Letting go of strife

Accepting life—as it is

 

Far away in Torquay…

 

Basil was the opposite

He did nothing but complain

If he thought his guests beneath him

He treat them with disdain

 

If however, he coveted their patronage

Thinking them high born

He’d make a total fool of himself

As he’d prance around and fawn

 

Desperate to climb the social ladder

He’d oft take things to far

Shouting at his waiter

And one time—giving a ‘good thrashing’ to his car

 

He’d rant and rave

And Effervesce 

Lose his mind

Consumed by stress

 

No one would say Basil

Was an example of how to be

In every possible way

He’s the very opposite of Rumi

 

And yet…

 

Whilst the Sufi inspires serenity

As he patiently abides

Basil makes us laugh so hard

We nearly split our sides

 

His overwhelming need to be

Somewhere that he’s not

For some reason strikes a chord with us

It really hits the spot

 

Could it be we need a balance

Of contentment and progress 

And Basil makes us laugh 

Because he takes things to excess?

 

No doubt grace and tolerance

Are wonderful qualities to bring

But perhaps this being human

Won’t boil down to just one thing

The True Light

Upon hearing Hafiz’s poem

The Earth was overcome with gratitude

And set off to thank the Sun in person

 

She didn’t appreciate the distance involved

Or just how truly massive he would be

And as his searing heat grew and grew

She started to feel foolish

 

‘It appears I am nothing but a speck of dust

Millions and millions of miles away

This great Star will not even know of me

Never mind need my thanks’

 

Embarrassed, she turned to go…

 

But small as she was

The Sun caught sight of her

 

‘Wait’

He bellowed (So loud even Saturn heard him)

‘It is I who should thank you’

 

‘For billions of year

I shone unseen

Until you birthed the light of awareness

And my glory could finally be known

 

‘It is true, I and my brethren illuminate the cosmos

But without you

We would simply cease to be’


 

And so the Earth returned home

With a new sense of importance

At her role 

In bringing the very cosmos into being

bottom of page