I should be suspicious.

WHO MAKES THESE CHANGES?

Who makes these changes?
I shoot an arrow right.
It lands left.
I ride after a deer and find myself
chased by a hog.
I plot to get what I want
and end up in prison.
I dig pits to trap others
and fall in.
I should be suspicious
of what I want.

-Rumi, translated by Coleman Barks

8 thoughts on “I should be suspicious.”

How apropos for Lent.
I read these two related (I think!) things earlier: “…without the demise of what is simply our own, there is no communion with God and no redemption.” – Pope Benedict. And, “Prompt our actions with your inspiration…and further them with your constant help…” from the Collect of today’s Mass. What is simply our own! That really struck me. It’s not always clear, though.

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GretchenJoanna says:

March 2, 2017 at 5:36 pm

I also find that phrase to be attention-getting… I’ve often heard it said that we tend to lose the good things we have; this makes me wonder what sorts of things we manage to keep as “our own.” Would that be anxieties, bad habits, resentments…? Oh, and desires! I’ve also heard people say that we have to bring those things as offerings to God. But probably some of them just get squeezed out as He fills up our spaces 🙂 Thank you, Lisa, for amplifying the theme.

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Ha! Very good. Or like someone told me when I was little, “That’ll learn you.”

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Very interesting… and indeed appropriate for these weeks before Easter.
We may not be digging pits to trap others (not all the time at least :)), but surely we don’t always know what is good for us. Wisdom grows with age, but alas so slowly. 🙂
Lovely flowers in the previous post!

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I love this. I have found a lot of wisdom in Rumi’s poetry. One of my favorites is one that mentions God hanging us upside down and shaking all the nonsense out 🙂 I often need that. Love and blessings during Lent.

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