The Guest House | Rumi Poem

This timeless poem by Rumi invites us to welcome every emotion and experience as a visitor at the door of our being. Joy or sorrow, each arrives with purpose, perhaps to cleanse, to teach, or to awaken. Through gentle awareness and acceptance, even life’s disturbances can reveal unexpected gifts.

Mawlana Jalaluddin Mohammad Balkhi, popularly known as "Rumi", is a 13th-century Sufi poet. Today, he is recognised as one of the greatest poets who ever lived, due in part to how his words seem to speak to the Divine.

Photo by Amal Bourkhis.
Translation by Coleman Barks.

Transcript

This being human is a guesthouse,

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.