Contributed by Barbara Taylor
Hesitation, deadly. Hurrying, worse.
Escape both delay and haste.
—Rumi, 13th century; From These Branching Moments
I turn to the ancient words of Rumi often because, as so eloquently put by American translator Coleman Barks, “Rumi did not see the separate streams of different religions, but rather the ocean into which they were pouring.” Rumi himself didn’t write poems; he spoke aloud from the mystical longing at the center of his being. Lucky for us (seven centuries later), scribes or students wrote them down.
In this fast-paced world where we rarely give ourselves permission to slow down, how do we find and maintain a sane pace? Do we have much control over how we live each day?
I believe we do, although I also believe there is no magical formula for accomplishing this. Analyzing our actions and adjusting our goals is one popular approach to creating change. Rumi is pointing out—or at—a very different pathway to escaping the confines we find ourselves stuck in, the ones that keep us trapped in unconscious patterns that lead to stress, compromised health, and spiritual depletion.
You can’t Google Map the terrain Rumi is trying to show us. The trick is to start with the words themselves as it they were a gateway to somewhere impossible to describe, yet readily available to experience.
Try it with just the simple stanza written above. Imagine yourself attempting to find a pace that is not hesitation (Rumi warns that this is “deadly” to us), yet is also not hurrying (reportedly worse than hesitation!). If you were to set out to experience even an hour of your day in such a way that you were escaping both delay and haste:
- How would you appear to an observer as you lived this hour?
- What would it feel like to you as you lived it?
- Is this way of moving and being in the world sustainable?
- See what your answers are before, and after, you give this a try.
There is much talk these days about “living in the moment.” Rumi’s advice is one way to get there.
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
To answer the first question Barbara asks: I think I would appear to be a person who readily knows what needs to be done next and goes about doing it without any added ’suffering’ brought about by assigning unnecessary meaning to the actions.
Haste is one such added meaning.
I think this is what Rumi is saying when he refers to ‘haste.’ I think he is talking about the added suffering we create by the meaning we assign to something when we hurry.
Moving quickly and efficiently is not the same as haste. Haste is usually accompanied by added thoughts like, “I don’t have enough time in my life” – “this is a waste of my time” – “I’m missing out on something else” – “if I don’t get this all done fast, I am a disorganized, bad person” – etc.
You may not be able to avoid the pain of doing an unpleasant or difficult task, but haste, anger, blame, avoidance, fear – these add an extra layer of unnecessary suffering.
I love Rumi. He is poetic *because* he is mystical. But, sometimes I just need someone to say it in a more practical way so I can get it. The admonition in this stanza has been turned into a very practical way of living by David Reynolds in his book Constructive Living.