Edgar Degas - Dancers in blue
‘Just to be in your presence
is the point of my life, cooked
and drowned, nothinged, nowhere.
Someone who has not dissolved
still loves places.
But you say, Leave.
There is no place for you.’
(excerpted from Rumi’s poem Pearl)
The above is a stanza from Rumi’s poem “Pearl”. I found it a few days ago and it stayed with me. So this morning I shall make it the topic of my contemplation.
What does really it mean to “be in presence” ? This state of awake alertness, being aware of everything in and around us, taking it in, allowing it to be, to flow, to move, to dance. And then to understand it is not really different from “being in your presence” or the presence of the Divine. This joy of recognition and the sense of immense safety and peace, the brilliance of life and the wonders it brings about. That nothing taht is everything and it is of no use to try to explain it, because I am sure it is different for all of us, but nevertheless, we all experience the same.
The Living Room 