A FINAL THOUGHT

I have always been inspired by the ecstatic poetry of Rumi, the
12th Century Sufi theologian and philosopher. His poem
“Come Again” filled me with love, hope and perspective and
helped me define my life quest:

COME AGAIN

Come, come, whoever you are
Wanderer, worshipper, lover of leaving
It doesn't matter—ours is not a caravan of despair

Come, even if you have broken your vow
A hundred times
Come, come, yet again whoever you are
Come heathen, fire worshipper, idolatrous

Come, come, even if you have broken your vow
A thousand times
Come as you are—ours is the portal of hope

Come, come, whoever you are
Even though you have broken your vow perhaps
Ten thousand times
Still come again—this caravan is not of despair

Come, come again
We follow the path of the Friend

THIS THEN IS MY QUEST

To remain established in a state of love no matter what the
outside circumstances or the provocations are to be otherwise.

And, to have such self awareness that even if I should fall
away from love 100, 1,000, even 10,000 times in a day, to pull
myself back to it—each and every time.

And, to practice this until such time as there are no gaps
in my experience of love at all.