(no subject)
(in a Rumi poem called "The Night Air", an old merchant has died, leaving a will that bestowed everything upon the laziest of his sons. a judge then was chosen to ask the sons questions to determine their levels of laziness, and in this context laziness is really seen as a virtue. the judge has asked the first two brothers and is now on the last):
The judge then asked the youngest brother,
"What if a man cannot be made to say anything?
How do you learn his hidden nature?"
"I sit in front of him in silence,
and set up a ladder made of patience,
and if in his presence a language from beyond joy
and beyond grief begins to pour from my chest,
I know that his soul is as deep and bright
as the star Canopus rising over Yemen.
And so when I start speaking a powerful right arm
of words sweeping down, I know him from what I say
and how I say it, because there's a window open
between us, mixing the night air of our beings."
I read this the other day on the plane to Portland, and it reflects my view of the counseling process or ideal (not to mention my relationships with others).
This gets at the heart of everything that is important to me.
The judge then asked the youngest brother,
"What if a man cannot be made to say anything?
How do you learn his hidden nature?"
"I sit in front of him in silence,
and set up a ladder made of patience,
and if in his presence a language from beyond joy
and beyond grief begins to pour from my chest,
I know that his soul is as deep and bright
as the star Canopus rising over Yemen.
And so when I start speaking a powerful right arm
of words sweeping down, I know him from what I say
and how I say it, because there's a window open
between us, mixing the night air of our beings."
I read this the other day on the plane to Portland, and it reflects my view of the counseling process or ideal (not to mention my relationships with others).
This gets at the heart of everything that is important to me.