March 2023: Inner Autumn & Spring
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Reflection on the Quote:
A message from Dr. Fariba Enteshari, Founder & Executive Director
The autumns and springs in life do not come in sequence in our inner being. We may experience the death of something in our life and feel the sprouts of other seeds blossoming at the same time in our inner garden.
The path of transformation is not linear. Usually, we grow in one aspect of life and regress in another. The inner seasons of life can be erratic. The yoyo of events can feel like a roller coaster ride or an enjoyable steady ride at best.
What is the source of our experiences, high and low?
How do we experience the unruly alleys of life?
How do we survive the autumns of life to welcome the arrival of spring?
Rumi’s invitation in the first part of this verse suggests the need for the presence of mind in the moment that we hold the tension of opposites. What do we do when the tension is high?
Do we break open?
Do we let go of the old and open to the new understanding?
Do we dig in our heels and sink into our sadness or anger forever?
Or, are we able to move out of the ditch of our mind and reach to a new horizon in a land of wonder?
At the end, it is not only death and emotions that follow the death…We grieve, ache and deny until we become aware of the new sprouts that germinate out of the dark phase bringing forth new hope.
As we face new challenges in the moment, the solutions to our conflicts are not often in what we know. Rumi suggests to go beyond the mind and logic as we know our intellect, while staying present and connected to what we know. Let us walk into the unknown with interest to experience the Spring each challenge offers, knowing the world of wonder leads to the everlasting garden of growth.
-Dr. Fariba Enteshari
ای برادر عقل یکدم با خود آر
دم بدم در تو خزانست و بهار
“Oh, brother, bring your intellect into this moment,
breath by breath in you, there are autumn and spring.”
~Rumi
Source: Mathnawi I, 1896
Translated by Dr. Fariba Enteshari
© Rumi Educational Center