Your Guest House

Despite the hedonistic nature of our mainstream culture, making ‘happiness’ our primary goal in life would lead only to a constant cycle of efforts and disappointment.

Happiness is a transient state, and life can never go entirely the way we want it.

Things always change; some pain and loss are inevitable.

As in nature, there is no day without night, no highs without the lows, a way of life in which we chase only the light and discard the darkness is unsustainable.

What most of us want deep down, is to become alive, be fully engaged in life rather than watching it pass by.

To achieve these, we ought to embrace the full spectrum of human emotions.

Emotional resilient is about our mental agility, and much of it is about staying open to life.

Openness does not mean passivity or being a doormat. It doesn’t mean you don’t do what is necessary to protect yourself and honour your sensitivity. 

However, we acknowledge that life itself is far from perfect; people and events are never just good or bad.

To have the good, we must learn to cope with the bad. 

If we are so afraid of our negative emotions that we keep shrinking our world, ultimately what we do is we hold ourselves back from the limitless possibilities and joy life has to offer. 

Try and stay open to whatever life throws at you. 

When the storm has passed, and it will, you will be glad you have remained tender and soft.

This week’s experiment: THE GUEST HOUSE

Contemplate the following poem from Rumi, called The Guest House.

Then, try to doodle and design your own ‘guest house’- a place where all your thoughts, feelings, desires and motives are welcome.

The Guest House

Rumi

Translated by Coleman Barks

This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.

A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.

Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they’re a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still, treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.

The dark thought, the shame, the malice,
meet them at the door laughing,
and invite them in.

Be grateful for whoever comes,
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.

Your guest house is a representation of your mind.

The more open and welcoming it is, the more able you will be to deal with life’s ups and downs.

You can be playful with how you design your guest house.

Would your guest house be a cottage? a modern flat? What kind of decor would you have? How would you furnish it?

You may wish to play the following immerse music track as you are doing the exercise: