“If you know the value of every article of merchandise,
but you don’t know the value of your own soul,
it will all have been pointless.
You’ve come to know the fortunate and the inauspicious stars,
but you don’t know whether you yourself
are fortunate or unlucky.
This then is the essence of all sciences–
that you should know who you will be
when the Day of Reckoning arrives”
–Rumi
Take two on this one with some apology for cluttering email boxes. As I was saying last night when I was a young adult I studied all manner of things spiritual and philosophical. I had a guide through the thicket, a friend and brother who I loved and through lack of self-knowledge betrayed. Was it ignorance or innocence, not quite sure but in the years to come as I threw myself at life, scattered and tattered, exploring, explored, living, and perhaps learning. I played the instrument of life rather than listened to the music. I was the band, the singer and the song. If innocence was the price of knowledge I played gladly. No lesson was learned the easy way and eventually I was too full and too empty. I skim way too much in this brief description and will no doubt write more but my life experiences have given me context for the knowledge I’ve gained before and since. Perhaps it is the same for many of us.
Blessings, G
Click on images to see full-size
Woman with Snake by G A Rosenberg
Crawling Mandala by G A Rosenberg
I played the instrument of life rather than listened to the music.
That would make a great quote! I’m going to paraphrase it, and write it down