Come, come, whoever you are. Wanderer, worshiper, lover of leaving. It doesn't matter. Ours is not a caravan of despair. come, even if you have broken your vows a thousand times. Come, yet again , come , come.”~~ Jelaluddin Rumi
these words inspire those on a spiritual path to return after departing the “caravan”, often in “despair”. we often find ourselves, after making a commitment to pray or meditate or practice chi gung or yoga, becoming less enthusiastic, less determined to practice. the habit fades and diminishes. then we become aware that something is missing, something that nourishes us is absent, that we have been diminshed.our human nature can lead us to create other priorities as life unfolds. suddenly other things seem more important. the calendar becomes too full and something needs to be deleted. often it is the time we have set aside for connection, for introspection, for contemplation. the outer demands can encroach on our inner world.
the yoga tradition suggests a few ways to counter the human foible of moving “away from that which is beneficial to us and toward that which is harmful”. the reading of inspiring words can bring us back to the ‘caravan’, as can having community support where we share with like-minded people our successes and our challenges.
no matter how we choose to re-dedicate ourselves, we can return. there is no punishment or banishment. there is no condemnation, even after a thousand leavings.it is good to know we can return. we can join rumi in his caravan. we can “come, come, come” to re-join our companions and connect again with whatever calls us, by whatever name or namelessness or form or formlessness.in the many decades we have lived, there have been many leavings and many returnings. this process contributes to the rich wisdom we hold. as we experience our elderhood, we know, deep down, the leaving and returning is the breath of our path.thank you, rumi.