Status Updates From The Essential Rumi

“World-power means nothing. Only the unsayable,
jeweled inner life matters.”

“Stretch your arms and take hold the cloth of your clothes
with both hands. The cure for pain is in the pain.”

I wasn't expecting there to be so much poetry, rather more so a story about Rumi that goes along with his philosophies. However, I am quite invested now. The introduction by the translator in the begining drew me in lots because it gave summaries of some of the themes discussed within the book, and the struggles and strengths of Rumi seemed relatable to mine.

“If you can’t do this work yourself, don’t worry.
You don’t even have to make a decision,
one way or another. The Friend, who knows
a lot more than you do, will bring difficulties,
and grief, and sickness,
as medicine, as happiness,
as the essence of the moment when you’re beaten,
when you hear Checkmate, and can finally say
with Hallaj’s voice,
I trust you to kill me.”