For me, it’s been the poet Rumi whose musings are as modern as they are timeless. I’m such a Rumi fanatic that I made the pilgrimage to the annual Mevlana Whirling Dervish festival in Konya, Turkey, in December 2012. Rumi was the world’s first whirling dervish. I was there to celebrate Rumi’s “wedding day” (when he left earth in bodily form nearly 750 years ago).

Here are 8 Rumi quotes that are particularly relevant today:

1. "Try not to resist the changes that come your way. Instead let life live through you. And do not worry that your life is turning upside down. How do you know that the side you are used to is better than the one to come?"
2. “Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing there is a field. I'll meet you there. When the soul lies down in that grass the world is too full to talk about.”
3. “You have to keep breaking your heart until it opens.”
4. “Sell your cleverness and buy bewilderment. Cleverness is mere opinion. Bewilderment brings intuitive knowledge.”
5. “These pains you feel are messengers. Listen to them.”
6. “Take someone who doesn’t keep score, who’s not looking to be richer, or afraid of losing, who has not the slightest interest even in his own personality: he’s free.”
7. “When the world pushes you to your knees, you’re in the perfect position to pray.”
8. “If you say only one prayer in a day, make it thank you.”
   

P.S. Happy Hour with Chip and David

You’re welcome to join Chip Conley and David Harry Stewart, the founder and face of AGEIST, on Wednesday, April 8th at 5:00pm PST / 8:00pm EST for some fun conversation on Zoom between two friends who are fresh thinkers on modern midlife and thought leaders on the value of connection. Tickets are free and limited, reserve here today.