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Wisdom Story
Rumi, the highly esteemed Sufi, tells the following tale.
There was a man in Turkey traveling with his favorite donkey, a faithful companion for years and an animal very close to his heart. At the end of a hard day, he came to an inn and decided to rest for the night. No sooner than he had taken off the saddlebags, a youth working for the inn greeted him. “Peace to you, sir, welcome to our humble shelter! Please, come inside and get some warm soup and sit beside the fire.”
“Of course, I’d love to, but first I must make sure my donkey is well cared for,” the man said, patting his donkey on the back. The youth smiled generously, saying, “Please, sir, allow me to attend to such details, you are an honored guest here.”
“But it’s just that he’s an old donkey and needs a nice bed of hay to lie in.” “Sir, we guarantee you the best care possible.”
“But you will sweep the floor first to make sure there are no stones? He gets in a terrible mood if he doesn’t sleep well.” “Please, sir, just trust me, we are professionals here.”
“But you will add some water to his straw–his teeth are getting shaky, and he likes just a little fresh grass to begin with.” “Sir, you are embarrassing me!”
“And you will give him a little rubdown along the spine–he goes crazy for that!” “Sir, please just leave everything to me.”
The man gave in and entered the establishment to enjoy dinner by the fire and a comfortable bed. The youth rolled his eyes and, then, went out to play cards in a nearby den.
The man could not sleep, despite the silk sheets, for he kept having nightmares of his donkey chained up without water or food, lying on the cold stone. The vision wouldn’t leave him. He got up in his dressing gown and walked to the stable. His donkey was in exactly the condition he’d imagined–cold, hungry and dying of thirst.
Rumi then sums up by saying: the world is full of those who say whatever is necessary to get their way. When it comes to looking after the heart donkey, it’s entirely up to us. We are the only real keepers of our feelings, and no one knows better than us what we really need, hence the value of trusting our intuition and taking care of our hearts as though it really were an old, faithful companion.
Comments
Community is potentially blessing and potentially curse. Often, community expects compliance, a conformity that suppresses the individuality of persons that does not fit the “norm.” Guilt is the primary community-mechanism to keep persons in conformity. The blessing arises when community provides a sacred, safe space for persons to become more of their true selves partly resultant of other persons doing the same.
We can speak of the “soul” as that true self, the sacred center of who we are. The personality emerged in time, due to many influences and influenced by genes, but the soul is that part of us that came into time through birth, directly from God. The soul is before birth.
The spiritual journey is to listen to the messages arising from the soul, trust the intuitive wisdom, and slowly bring the personality into alignment with the soul. Spiritual wholeness is the concord between soul and personality.
We will have inner peace and harmony to the extent of concord between soul and personality, regardless of outer circumstances. Without the concord, apparent peace is short of the peace of inner concord and is only a temporary respite, at best, from inner discord and reliant upon conditions external to the soul and God.
To take care of our heart donkey is to know that we are the ones that must place priority on the soul. We must deeply cherish our true identity and know that the Self is seeking the good of our whole being. Regardless of the communal nature of the human journey, no one can take responsibility like you for the care of your true self and the bringing together of all you are into harmony, which is Love.
Understand and appreciate that the spiritual Journey is one in community. Never forget, however, that you must not forsake the care of your essence and its divine purpose in a chosen or enforced agreement with others. Even many religious leaders and religious groups are ill equipped in matters pertaining to soul. They do not care for their souls, and they will have no idea how to honor yours.
Blessed are you to find a few other persons who can journey together with you in this caring of the soul. Likewise, having a spiritual mentor is advantageous to cherishing soul.
True Love will always honor the experience of another of the Sacred. Such Grace will always give sacred space for the individual, particular way the soul seeks to express itself in the world. Give that respect to others and expect it from them. Cherish your essence and its path like an old, dearly loved donkey.
After saying all this, this subject warrants a warning, especially underestimated in Western cultures. Communal sharing among like-hearted persons on the Path is needful, even essential, for we are prone to misinterpret the Voice of the soul. Accountability to others provides a kind ecology to discern the Voice from other voices, internal and external, and help other persons do the same.
Spiritual Exercise
How are you taking responsibility for the alignment of your soul and the personality?
How is community helping in this process? How might community be hindering in this process?
In what particular ways do you see your soul evidencing its path in life? Are any of those ways not supported by most in your religious community? Family? Workplace? … Explain.
Whom do you know who has modeled for you faithfulness to his or her soul, even amidst resistance or unpopularity and its social consequences? Write or call him or her, expressing thanks for the example.
*Rumi story from www.tomthumb.org, with slight adaptation for English readers by me.
Brian will respond to requests pertaining to seeking a Spiritual Mentor. He offers retreats, workshops, and classes in such subjects as Contemplative Prayer (he trains in Visualized Praying, Centering Prayer, Christian Meditation, The Jesus Prayer, ...); Contemplative Living; A Spiritual Understanding of the Lord's Prayer; Philippians and Spiritual Community; Spiritual Growth From Matter to Spirit; Spiritual Use of the Scripture.
See any major on-line bookseller for his book An Ache for Union.
For replies and biographical information, and submission to "The Light Shines" daily devotionals ~ a ministry of Christ Community United Methodist Church, Punta Gorda, FL,see next page:
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