“Run like hell my dear, from anyone likely to put a sharp knife into the sacred tender vision of your beautiful heart. We have a duty to befriend those aspects of obedience that stand outside of our house and shout to our reason, ‘O please, O please, come out and play.’ For we have not come here to take prisoners or to confine our wondrous spirits but to experience ever and ever more deeply our divine courage, freedom and light.” - Hafez
What glorious words from the Persian poet in the mid 1300’s. How wise was he to champion love, faith and freedom while denouncing hypocrisy and fear. The philosopher and wordsmith whose works are lauded as the height of Persian Literature, taught such valuable lessons that he is studied and held in the highest of esteem 700 years later. He is demonstrably correct. We are not here to take prisoners or be taken prisoner. On the contrary, we are here to fly to our highest peak, soar through life unashamedly adoring whatever sets our souls on fire.
Still, as we live and breathe, as Havez lived and breathed, in a hostile world, there are those that will attempt to break our spirits. If someone comes at you with all the ingredients of a villain, hot with accusations, insults and false assumptions. You have the right, in fact the duty, to pass on any second-tier drama they serve up. There will forever be those who misunderstand you and in their misunderstanding, presume you threaten their egos or pocket books. This is the land where only the petty live. It was a reality in the fourteenth century and still is today.
Your heart is not free and up for grabs, nor is your attention. You may feel the burn of some character assassination and even experience a tightness in your chest. Breathe deeply in and out, in and out. Tell your body to let go of the fight and flight instinct until the air is even in your lungs. Embrace your power, acknowledge the feeling as if it were a completely new phenomenon. Don’t falsely rid of it, it will pass soon enough.
I have outgrown the vices which in the past hindered my inner strength. I no longer stuff my pain, fear or even excitement with cigarettes and booze. My insides are too clean, too pure to sully. The hurt even feels strangely good now as I examine emotions rather than fall victim to them. Embracing the depths of both my vulnerabilities and strengths, I heed the advice given by Havez and other long-gone mystics. Following only what rings true, I place myself at one with a higher calling, where no villain can reach.
“So you can stick your little pins in that voodoo doll, I’m very sorry baby doesn’t look like me at all. I’m standing in the window where the light is strong. They don’t let a woman kill you, not in the Tower of Song.” – Leonard Cohen