Greetings for the new week. I was thinking tonight of the teachers who have come into and out of my life, as I am sure you have had such teachers; those teachers who help you to befriend the dragons, to make peace with the wolves, to be the warrior if you need to be, to believe in yourself and the gifts you have to share with the world.
One such teacher introduced me to the 14th century Sufi poet Hafiz, the American poet Mary Oliver (born 1935), and the American-born Buddhist teacher Pema Chodron (born 1936). What a wealth of teaching and learning in these three people.
So, in this week’s blog I thought I would share something with you from one of these teachers from my life. It is a poem by Hafiz (translated Daniel Landinsky) called ‘This Place Where You Are Right Now’.
This Place Where You Are Right Now
This place where you are right now
God circled on a map for you.
Wherever your eyes and arms and heart can move
Against the earth and sky,
The Beloved has bowed there –
Our Beloved has bowed there knowing
You were coming.
I could tell you a priceless secret about
Your real worth, dear pilgrim,
But any unkindness to yourself,
Any confusion about others,
Will keep one
From accepting the grace, the love,
The sublime freedom
Divine knowledge always offers to you.
Never mind, Hafiz, about
The great requirements this path demands
Of the wayfarers,
For your soul is too full of wine tonight
To withhold the wondrous Truth from this world.
But because I am so clever and generous,
I have already clearly woven a resplendent lock
Of His tresses
As a remarkable truth and gift
In this poem for you.
Hafiz
Do you have any special teachings, learnings, poetry, stories, that have impacted your life? I'd be interested to know; please feel free to share them with me.
And now to this week’s featured music. This is the title track from my most recent CD ‘Places with high levels of natural beauty’.
As always, for more details go to http://www.petawilliams.com.au/music_cd_baby/ .
Until next time,
Peta
PS Scroll down to the bottom of this web page to play the featured music.