Guesthouse: embrace all experiences for mindful living
- Spunky Mind
- Dec 8, 2024
- 2 min read
Updated: Apr 4
"Being human is a guest house,"
the mystic Sufi poet Rumi wrote.
Thoughts, emotions, feelings—there are many guests that come and go in our guest house. Every day there are new arrivals, arriving and departing, arriving and departing. These arrivals may check in and stay a while, some more than others.
Then there seems to be the unexpected visitor who just shows up unannounced, without even bringing a welcome gift. Or the one who tries to overstay their visit, leaving dishes in the kitchen sink, whom we kindly ask to move on.
May we greet all our arrivals; the joy, pain, sadness, love, and happiness with a welcome kindness and a smile. Allow them to come in and sit for tea for a bit. Take time to get to know them and listen.
They may be great teachers and sages, awakening our spirit and offering a wonderful lesson for us to explore. Invite them in and greet them with a laugh and a hug.
The arrivals will momentarily come to our guesthouse, so why not embrace them and give them our compassion? When one leaves, another one arrives. Sadness passes, and happiness appears again. We learn with meditative and mindfulness practices how our guests come and go.
Knowing each guest may be a guide, we are grateful for all arrivals regardless of their demeanor, as this enlightens our awareness and our guesthouse illuminates with fresh light from the sun and a soft breeze through the windows.
Invite the guests to sit for dinner, all together, chatting and sharing, laughter and absurdity, calmness and freedom. They arrive with a song, a dance, a mystery, and sometimes a sorrow.
We treat them all equally, just as they are, knowing they will check in and then check out, not to overstay their welcome, as they are just traveling through. We experience each visit as the first time, with the reverence and gratitude of being human, appreciative of mindful living.
The true gift of being human allows our guesthouse to be open. This comes with the territory of life, and we celebrate in the understanding and insight.
Entertain and welcome always, as they may just bring the most exquisite delight when we open our eyes, ears, and heart and finally take down the “No Vacancy” sign.
Cheers!
Kether
Spunky Mind
"Rise up nimbly and
go on your strange journey!"
Rumi
