The Astonishing Light of Your Being🕯
An invitation to look within yourself with love and compassion❤️
A long, long time ago, I got an email. Those were the days when there was a childlike excitement regarding receiving and responding to emails. There was less spam and more meaning in inboxes. The email was from a dear friend.
It read,
“ I know this is a difficult phase for you. I cannot fathom the grief you are going through at this moment. I am trying to plan my visit soon. Here are a few lines that I came across to remind you that this shall pass too.
I wish I could show you,
when you are lonely or in darkness,
the Astonishing Light of your own Being. - Hafez"
The year was 2007. I had just lost my mother. I had heard of Rumi but not of Hafez. But ever since, those lines have made a home in my heart. It was an offer of hope to someone living in a dark well. Grieving for a parent can be a lonely journey. It was too much to process as a young adult. It was a life-changing event that led to more significant decisions in life. It was a moment of reckoning—a moment of finding my being while trying to crawl back to living.
The poem, in its entirety, is soulful.
The Astonishing Light of your own Being ~ Hafez
I wish I could show you,
when you are lonely or in darkness,
the Astonishing Light of your own Being.
Even
After
All this time
The Sun never says to the Earth,
“You owe me.”
One regret dear world, that I am determined not to have
when I am lying on my deathbed is that I did not kiss you enough.
Look
What happens
With a love like that
It lights the whole sky
This place where you are right now, God circled on a map for you.
Don’t surrender your loneliness so quickly
Let it cut more deep
Let it ferment and season you
As few human
Or even divine ingredients can
Something missing in my heart tonight
Has made my eyes so soft
My voice
So tender
My need of God
Absolutely
Clear.”
This poem is an offering of hope and self-compassion. It is an invitation to sit with the pain. To allow the agony to seer through your being. To have faith in the Universe. To remember and hold onto the crumbs of joy. To be astonished at the light of your being. Life will find its way through.
The poem has more connotations and deeper meaning. During my research, I found that this might not be an actual Hafez poem. At first, I felt uncomfortable, but there is no fun in shooting the messenger. It might be Daniel Ladinsky who has written these lines. Hafez or not, the lines still speak through to my soul.
To me, a human with a lot of emotions, it has served as a potion of renewal. I keep sharing these lines time and again with friends and acquaintances like bread and wine. I hope these lines will find their way to your heart too. Till next time, take care. Keep your light shining.
Beautifully written