TEXT: Who Makes These Changes - Rumi
Who makes these changes?
I shoot an arrow right.
It lands left.
I ride after a deer and find myself
Chased by a hog.
I plot to get what I want
And end up in prison.
I dig pits to trap others
And fall in.
I should be suspicious
Of what I want.
REFLECTION
Sometimes poetry is the only way to speak to our heart: reason has its place, logic is essential, facts are important but poetry cuts deeper. It speaks to what we feel and trust, what we hope for when life is dark and quiet, and even what we need when we pray. I did not come to poetry until later in life, so I’m making up for lost time. Music helped me communicate – and still does – but not every situation allows for song. That’s another thing poetry brings to the table: it can open our eyes and hearts to insights we might otherwise be afraid to accept.
That’s what I hear in today’s poem from the mystical Muslim Sufi Rumi: he encourages us to laugh at ourselves because it strengthens humility and takes time before claiming a path in life because so often we don’t know the whole story. Humility also helps us to trust that a love greater than our-selves is at work beyond our wisdom, choices, and actions. I think that’s what Jesus was saying when he told his friends: Each day has enough trouble on its own; so do not be anxious or fret about tomorrow for tomorrow will worry about itself.” It’s a reminder that worrying is like pray-ng for something we DON’T want to happen. We all do it, it doesn’t make life any better, it ties us up in knots, and doesn’t fix our problem. It just makes us nervous and annoys everyone else! That’s why Jesus – and Rumi – playfully and tenderly invites us to let go of worry. And the way they teach this to us is through learning to laugh at ourselves. Not take ourselves so seriously. See our own foolishness and embrace it.
Life in community – or in a healthy family – requires a LOT of laughter. And humility. Because so much of life is beyond our control. St. Paul used to tell his friends: when I was a child I spoke like a child, thought like a child, and often acted like a child. But when I grew up – or better yet when I started to mature – I put childish things away. Now I know that only three things last: faith, hope, and love – and the greatest of these is love. In the movie, “Mary Poppins” there’s a grand song called “I Love to Laugh” and I’ve made it one of my own prayers. Laughter as prayer is a sure-fire way to grow in humility. Are you able to laugh at yourself? Take a break from taking yourself so seriously? Rumi advises us to be suspicious of what we think we want and sense he’ right. Let’s watch this little musical clip – and join in the prayer of laughter.
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