Hello friend,
Thank you so much for making it to the final day seven with me.
We will close our journey with one of Rumi's most generous invitations,
A call to come as you are.
No need for affection,
Purity or spiritual credentials.
Just presence,
Just you as you are.
Take a breath now and know that you belong here.
Come,
Come,
Whoever you are,
Wanderer,
Worshipper,
Lover of leaving,
It doesn't matter.
Ours is not a caravan of despair.
Come,
Even if you've broken your vow a thousand times.
Come,
Yet again,
Come.
Know there is no part of you that is unworthy of love.
No moment too messy for mindfulness,
No failure that disqualifies you from presence.
This poem is a reminder that belonging is not earned,
It is remembered.
So today our practice is a coming home to yourself,
To your breath,
To the place that you've never even left.
Begin by softening the face,
The jaw,
The shoulders.
Just let yourself arrive without the need to change anything.
Feel your breath as a quiet yes to life.
Each inhale a welcome.
Each exhale a letting go.
Now lace a hand gently over your heart if that feels comfortable.
Feel its rhythm.
This here is your home.
This is where you are always,
Always welcome.
Bring to mind a part of yourself that you usually push away.
Maybe a regret,
A flaw,
An old wound.
Now imagine Rumi saying to that part of yourself,
Come,
Come,
You're invited too.
Let the walls around your heart soften.
Not forced open,
Just relaxed.
Let the breath move freely through the body.
You are not broken.
You are a guest in this vast house of being.
Every single part of you is most welcome here.
Now rest in that warmth,
In the knowing that you do belong.
No matter what,
All of you as you are,
Belongs.
As Rumi writes,
Ours is not a caravan of despair.
You,
My friend,
Are enough.
You are invited.
In fact,
You are already home.
Thank you so much for walking this seven day journey with me.
May Rumi's words stay within you.
Not just the thoughts,
But in the breath.
In the heart.
And the moments in between.
My name is Mark Rowland.
Have a beautiful rest of your day.
Go in peace.
Namaste.
