Tidying the house this morning, in preparation for my visitors, I moved my meditation mat and blocks and found a scrap of paper on the floor - something that someone must have passed to me at the group one week.
It's a poem by Rumi, which I want to share with you:
'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 honourably.
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 the beyond.
The Essential Rumi, 109
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jalal_ad-Din_Muhammad_Rumi
http://www.rumi.org.uk/
