Being the Guest House During a Global Pandemic - Part 1

In his poem The Guest House, Sufi mystic and poet, Rumi, compares this business of living, of being human, to a guest house: every morning (if not moment), a new emotional experience arises. And like unexpected guests, some feel joyful and easy, while others feel heavy and burdensome. 

During this global era of Covid-19, our inner landscape can feel so raw as we're pushed to our limits time after time. Like a guest house innkeeper, we may feel stuck with our these myriad guests: this full range of emotions that bombard us, sometimes by the day or the hour. Rumi invites us to consider the possibility that each of these guests, whether welcome or unwelcome, is a guide that has been sent from God. 

• Today's Contemplation Prompt: As you move through your day, however easily or however grudgingly, I invite you to to sit with the following questions: Which guests (i.e., emotions) are easiest for you to welcome warmly? Which ones do you wish you could turn away?  ​