Poem by Great Sufi Poet

Do you know those times when you feel overburdened, pressured, or maybe even desperate? This wonderful poem can help you lighten up. It’s by Hafiz, one of the three greatest medieval Sufi poets. The other two are Rumi and a woman whose less familiar name escapes me for the moment.

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Sufism, by the way, is a branch of Islam, defined as the inner mystical dimension. Be sure to read the poem all the way to the end. It’s from the book “I Heard God Laughing: Poems of Hope and Joy.”

“Tripping Over Joy”

What is the difference

Between your experience of Existence

And that of a saint?

The saint knows

That the spiritual path

Is a sublime chess game with God

And that the Beloved

Has just made such a Fantastic Move

That the saint is now continually

Tripping over Joy

And bursting out in Laughter

And saying, “I Surrender!”

Whereas, my dear,

I am afraid you still think

You have a thousand serious moves.