THE SUNRISE RUBY
In the early morning hour,
just before dawn, lover and beloved wake
and take a drink of water.
She asks, “Do you love me or yourself more?
Really, tell the absolute truth.”
He says, “There is nothing left of me.
I’m like a ruby held up to the sunrise.
Is it still a stone, or a world
made of redness? It has no resistance
to sunlight.”
This is how Hallaj said, I am God,
and told the truth!
The ruby and the sunrise are one.
Be courageous and discipline yourself.
Completely become hearing and ear,
and wear this sun-ruby as an earring.
Work. Keep digging your well.
Don’t think about getting off from work.
Water is there somewhere.
Submit to a daily practice.
Your loyalty to that
is a ring on the door.
Keep knocking, and the joy inside
will eventually open a window
and look out to see who’s there.
- Rumi
Again, we must keep it clear to ourselves that we are trying to aid change and resolution, we are not detectives trying to unearth a static truth. What matters is not what happened as such, but what it did to this person, who is still troubled by it and stuck in. So we need more knowledge of how the events make the person feel. What people do to themselves because of what happened is more important than what happened.
- E. Gendlin
