Rumi, the 13th century mystic and poet, wrote a poem that I love called The Guest House. His idea is that we humans should be like guest houses, welcoming in whichever mood, emotion or experience shows up on our ‘doorstep’, whether we like the look of it or not, and inviting it in just the same, with respect and curiosity. He said each visitor should be regarded as if they were a ‘guide from beyond’ offering valuable opportunities to learn about yourself. One way to interpret this ‘beyond’ is as the unconscious that is in all of us, the unrecognised content of which drives our decisions. Much of the focus in therapy is on tuning into what is outwith, or on the edge of, current awareness to understand more about why we think and act how we do. In this way we can work with kindness to transform stories or tendencies that hold us back or harm us.

I love the gratitude and lightness that Rumi extends to the visitors to his guest house. The process of getting to know ourselves can be tough at times but it can also be a light-hearted and joy-filled experience of growth at others. Here’s the poem for your reading pleasure:

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.

Jalaluddin Rumi
from Rumi: Selected Poems, trans Coleman Barks with John Moynce, A. J. Arberry, Reynold Nicholson (Penguin Books, 2004)