Thursday, 2 July 2009

“The Guest House” etc


Hi all, you'll see that Sue's 'Mary Magdalene' talk is available for download. Also Sue's notes are on the available under the 'links section also on the right.

Now this, also from Sue...

You may have noticed a poem called “The Guest House” in the latest YAK, which I (Sue R) put in. After a chat with someone who’d read it, and saw it from a different perspective, I thought others might be interested in the context of the poem and why I hoped it might be helpful. Any other comments welcome!

I came across the poem “The Guest House” when on a course for Spiritual Directors in London , in a session on the “Dark Night of the Soul” and depression. It was written by a 13th Century Sufi mystic, Jellaluddin Rumi. I found its language of openness and realism refreshing – from the perspective of facing whatever comes our way – the “praise in all circumstances” way, rather than trying to ignore, or run away from the “hard” stuff which can enable us to grow. As it says in James 1:2 (The Message)

Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colours. So don't try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.”

Other comments welcome!

Blessings,

Sue

to view the poem click hereLink

No comments:

Post a Comment