Great Throughts Treasury

"Grieve not; though the journey of life be bitter, and the end unseen, there is no road which does not lead to an end."

"O you who would learn the marvels of Love from the copybook of reason, I am afraid that you will never really see the point."

"Grieve not, because thou understandest not life's mystery; behind the veil is concealed many a delight."

"Everyone, whether he is self-denying or self-indulgent, is seeking after the Beloved. Every place may be the shrine of love, whether it be mosque or synagogue."

"I know the way you can get When you have not had a drink of Love: Your face hardens, Your sweet muscles cramp. Children become concerned About a strange look that appears in your eyes Which even begins to worry your own mirror And nose. Squirrels and birds sense your sadness And call an important conference in a tall tree. They decide which secret code to chant To help your mind and soul. Even angels fear that brand of madness That arrays itself against the world And throws sharp stones and spears into The innocent And into one's self. O I know the way you can get If you have not been drinking Love: You might rip apart Every sentence your friends and teachers say, Looking for hidden clauses. You might weigh every word on a scale Like a dead fish. You might pull out a ruler to measure From every angle in your darkness The beautiful dimensions of a heart you once Trusted. I know the way you can get If you have not had a drink from Love's Hands. That is why all the Great Ones speak of The vital need To keep remembering God, So you will come to know and see Him As being so Playful And Wanting, Just Wanting to help. That is why Hafiz says: Bring your cup near me. For all I care about Is quenching your thirst for freedom! All a Sane man can ever care about Is giving Love!"

"Your love should never be offered to the mouth of a Stranger. Only to someone who has the valor and daring to cut pieces of their soul off with a knife. Then weave them into a blanket to protect you."

"An awake heart is like a sky that pours light."

"Build a House for men and birds. Sit with them and play music. For a day, for just one day, talk about that which disturbs no one and bring some peace, my friend, into your beautiful eyes."

"Even after all this time the sun never says to the earth, ?You owe Me.? Look what happens with a love like that, it lights the Whole Sky."

"Love is the funeral pyre where I have laid my living body. All the false notions of myself that once caused fear, pain, have turned to ash as I neared God. What has risen from the tangled web of thought and sinew now shines with jubilation through the eyes of angels and screams from the guts of Infinite existence itself. Love is the funeral pyre where the heart must lay its body."

"Stay close to anything that makes you glad you are alive."

"It is written on the gate of heaven: Nothing in existence is more powerful than destiny. And destiny brought you here, to this page, which is part of your ticket-as all things are-to return to God."

"Light will someday split you open."

"The beauty of You delights me. The sight of You amazes me. For the Pearl does this... and the Ocean does that."

"Run my dear, from anything that may not strengthen your precious budding wings."

"The earth has disappeared beneath my feet, It fled from all my ecstasy. Now like a singing air creature I feel the rose keep opening."

"True art awakens the extraordinary ovation."

"Why not become the one who lives with a full moon in each eye that is always saying, with that sweet moon language what every other eye in this world is dying to hear?"

"What is the root of all these words? One thing: Love. But a love so deep and sweet it needed to express itself with scents, sounds, colors that never before existed."

"What we speak becomes the house we live in."

"Build a House for men and birds. Sit with them and play music. For a day, for just one day, talk about that which disturbs no one and bring some peace, my friend, into your beautiful eyes."

"An awake heart is like a sky that pours light."

"Even after all this time the sun never says to the earth, ?You owe Me.? Look what happens with a love like that, it lights the Whole Sky."

"Light will someday split you open."

"It is written on the gate of heaven: Nothing in existence is more powerful than destiny. And destiny brought you here, to this page, which is part of your ticket-as all things are-to return to God."

"Love is the funeral pyre where I have laid my living body. All the false notions of myself that once caused fear, pain, have turned to ash as I neared God. What has risen from the tangled web of thought and sinew now shines with jubilation through the eyes of angels and screams from the guts of Infinite existence itself. Love is the funeral pyre where the heart must lay its body."

"Stay close to anything that makes you glad you are alive."

"Run my dear, from anything that may not strengthen your precious budding wings."

"The earth has disappeared beneath my feet, It fled from all my ecstasy. Now like a singing air creature I feel the rose keep opening."

"The beauty of You delights me. The sight of You amazes me. For the Pearl does this... and the Ocean does that."

"True art awakens the extraordinary ovation."

"What we speak becomes the house we live in."

"What is the root of all these words? One thing: Love. But a love so deep and sweet it needed to express itself with scents, sounds, colors that never before existed."

"Why not become the one who lives with a full moon in each eye that is always saying, with that sweet moon language what every other eye in this world is dying to hear?"