Rumi's Birthday: 2018
/“‘Put this design in your carpet!’
You’re spirit.
We’re the opening and
closing of our hands.
You’re the clarity.
We’re this language
that tries to say it.
You’re joy.
We’re all the different kinds of laughing.
Any movement or sound is a profession of faith,
as the millstone grinding is explaining
how it believes in the river!
No metaphor can say this,
but I can’t stop pointing to the beauty.
Every moment and place says,
’Put this design in your carpet!’”
Rumi is one of the most renowned teachers, poets and sages of our time.
Today, we celebrate his birthday regardless of who we are or where we are from because we understand his school of truth was built on educating our hearts and minds to understand the urgency of collaboration and our role in it.
We celebrate Rumi’s message of Universal Love and Unity 811 years after he was born.
He spent most of his life in a region of Rome among war and turmoil yet, after the age of 40, he composed 60,000 verses to serve humanity.
His poetry includes all people from all paths of life and focuses on our interconnectedness. His story telling weaves a tapestry of tales from Noah to Abraham to David to Moses, to Jesus to Mary to Mohammed and many others because he knows that our oneness is the foundation of the Spirit from where we originated.
He included two Hindi stories and Buddhist stories to teach us about the essence of who we are as humans. We are connected in our humanity. We rise or fall together.
We celebrate his birthday by choosing to understand our differences and joining forces in elevating the gift of life we have been given.
-Dr. Fariba Enteshari