As part of my “spiritual mentor” month, featuring the small handful of unlikely yet inspiring beings I’ve looked to for wisdom, I’m starting with this poem by the great Hafiz, a 13th century Persian poet.
Tripping over Joy~
What is the difference
Between your experience of Existence
and that of a saint?
The saint knows
That the spiritual path
Is a sublime chess game with God.
And that the Beloved
Has just made such a Fantastic Move
That the saint is now continually
Tripping over Joy
And bursting out in Laughter
And saying, “I surrender!”
Whereas, my dear,
I am afraid you still think
You have a thousand serious moves.
–Hafiz
The sublimity of the game, is that eventually, these Fantastic Moves shake us from what we think we can (or must) control, anticipate or manipulate. Taxes, girlfriends, boyfriends, spouses, split ends, the seriousness of Ego. It shows us even that when we cannot out-maneuver the contents of our life (divorce, illness, loss) — the game is still part of our Divine experience and that we can surrender and release. Go with the flow, trip over Joy.