DRINK OF LOVE

The mystic poet Hafiz writes,

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 out drinking Love;

How often have we felt that way? Empty...longing...searching...? And as hard as we try to hide the pain or emptiness we're feeling, we can't fool those closest to us. Sometimes even strangers see it or sense it in us. And sometimes, try as we might, our pain is transferred to others by the unhappiness we project on to them.

What do we do? Where do we go when we begin to feel this way? Let me answer with two possibilities:

Hafiz continues,

Bring your cup near me,
For I am a Sweet Old Vagabond
With an Infinite Leaking Barrel
Of Light and Laughter and Truth
That the Beloved has tied to my back.

Dear one,
Indeed, please bring your heart near me.
For all I care about
Is quenching your thirst for freedom!

All a sane man can ever care about
Is giving Love!

And then from the words of scripture, the book of 1 John:

We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us - and we ought to lay down our lives for one another (3:16).

Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action (3:18).

And this is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us (3:23).

Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God (4:7).

We love because he first loved us (4:19).

Who is your "Sweet Old Vagabond" to whom you can turn when you need a fill of love? How often do you position your "Infinite Leaking Barrel" so that you can fill the empty reservoirs of others? And when you find yourself living in love, do you give thanks to God who is love, and who makes it possible for us to love others? Let's chat...