Emotional Guests

Wow! I apologize for being absent so long. This Aikigal has been on the road visiting family in Naperville, IL (hi, Mom!) and presenting a program on finding the hidden gifts in conflict at the Sophia Center for Spirituality in Atchison, Kansas. Both were lovely experiences. The Sophia Center is a ministry of the Benedictine sisters of Mount St. Scholastica, and I left the Center and the monastery feeling especially peaceful.

It would be nice, I guess, to be able to be that peaceful all the time. But conflicts arise and emotions happen. When they do, this Rumi poem thankfully comes to mind. You probably know it:

The Guest House
By Rumi
Translated by John Moyne and Coleman Barks

This being human is a guest-house
Every morning a new arrival.

A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.

Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they're a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture.

Still, treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.

The dark thought, the shame, the malice,
meet them at the door laughing,
and invite them in.

Be grateful for whoever comes,
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.

Emotions happen. When our emotions feel like an attack from the inside, perhaps we can turn them into a gift. We can use them to connect with others and to re-connect with ourselves. What emotions have been knocking at your door? And what are they asking of you?

I hope to write a bit more often in the future. In the meantime, I wish you good ki!

Judy Ringer