Come As You Are

If you surrender yourself to your Essence, 

The whole world surrenders to you.

Everyday spent in separation seems as long as a year

But when you come out of separation

Where does the day go?

And what becomes of the night?

On this pilgrimage, removing the dress

Of your existence;

Is the cloak you must wear.

But who will be able to comply

With the conditions of this cloak?

Village and towns near and far,

The changing seasons,

Are all on this side of the sea.

But on the other side, where is the town?

Where are the seasons?

Man's mind and reason have created,

The cold loneliness of separation.

But when he warms up with that wine,

Where is the mind? 

And what becomes of reason?

A bird in the cage

is under some one else's control

But when it breaks the cage and flies away

What becomes of the control?

Where even is the bird?

When the mind is confined to the head,

It tempts the body to commit sins

But when the mind of minds explodes open,

Where are the sins now?

Where is the body?

If you drink,

Go swaying to the land of secrets

Without your feet.

If you are already drunk, then come as you are

Where has your mind gone?

And where is the need to be something

You are not?

Rumi.

"The Forbidden Rumi"

Translation & Commentary by Nevit O. Ergin and Will Jhonson

Image Courtesy timeoutofmind.com