One of my favorite poems is called “The Guest House” by Jalaluddin Rumi (12th C. Sufi Poet). It speaks to the wisdom that each of us have different “parts” – (“a joy, a depression, a meanness…”) and to welcome them all (“Welcome and entertain them all!”). That is, include them in who you are because each of these “parts” has something to teach you (“each has been sent as a guide from beyond”).
But we often want to exclude these parts – to ignore them, beat them out of ourselves, or try to change them. They are part of who we are, so do we just keep being the same? Nope. We are also called to transformation – to not let these parts take over the best of ourselves. How do we do that? We can listen to them. They might have something important to tell us. It might be “I’m afraid.” Or “I’m tired.” Or “I deserve this happiness.”
If we are going to build the beloved community outside of ourselves, we might learn something about how to do that by accepting, loving and inviting in all the different parts of ourselves.
So I invite you to love all of you – even the parts that seem annoying. Embrace them, love them, and listen to them. And see what happens.
With love,
Rev. Sian
Rev. Sian Wiltshire is Orange Coast Unitarian Universalist Church's minister. Please feel free to reach out and say hello! She can be reached by email, revsian@ocuuc.org, or by church phone at (714) 556-2882 (x302).