You were born with wings; why prefer to crawl through life?
~Rumi
Who but us the current generation to preserve, cherish, and treasure the gems that our ancestors left us? Our rich heritage is not something that we should take lightly. Then again, who am I to say anything when in my own case, it was a long time before I even accepted my Persian roots, much less appreciate them properly!
What you seek is seeking you.
~Rumi
But when I did accept, the unexpected happened. I started to feel a magnetic pull toward my Persian heritage, a compelling and persistent desire to read, to explore, to understand and to appreciate the ancient poets of Persia in more depth than my life can ever afford me. In fact, I have started informal lessons with my Mom and Dad to re-learn how to read the poetry in Farsi, the original language in which they are written.
And I already feel grateful for the experience. Not only is too much is lost in translation to English, poetry in one’s mother tongue touches the soul in a different way altogether. So, I want to urge you to read poetry of poets from your own country first, my dear constant reader!
My first love will always be Sa’adi and this poem we had to memorize in the 3rd grade in Iran and to this day, I love and know by heart. But you can fall in love more than once and today, Rumi – or Molana as he is called among Iranians – has captured my heart and just won’t let go.
My God is love.
I’m a child of love.
I’ve come to speak of nothing but love.
~Rumi
This idea for this book was born of a photo series that I started on my Facebook page, to inspire and share the message of Rumi through my photography with my amazing friends and peeps. Then as I worked through the poems and prose of Rumi, and went deeper into creating this art, I felt a need to bring it all to one place, a collection, a gallery … a book.
Come, come, whoever you are,
Wanderer, idolater, worshiper of fire,
Come even though you have broken your vows a thousand times,
Come, and come yet again.
Ours is not a caravan of despair.
~Rumi
I would bow and kiss the ground before him if that afforded me a chance to be in the presence of Rumi today, but alas, even the most precious gems of humanity are restrained by the curse – or blessing? – of mortality!
Rumi lived from Sept 30th, 1207 to December 17th, 1273 and during this short life, he proved beyond prolific in all senses of the word. Writing the introduction of this book was a pure joy as I went off to research the magnificent life and work of Rumi. In the thousands upon thousands of lines of poetry and stories, his singular message is nothing but love and inclusion for all.
There is no worse sickness for the soul than this pretense of perfection.
~Rumi
So today, on Rumi’s 805th birthday, I give you the first of many gifts in the appreciation and awareness of my Persian heritage. Enjoy Rumi: A Photographic Gallery of Inspirational Quotes with a free download to your Kindle Fire or an iPad, iPhone, Android or even a computer that has the free Kindle Reading App.
Be with those who help your being.
~Rumi
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I am Farnoosh, the founder of Prolific Living. So glad you are here. My mission is to empower you to unblock your creative genius to live your dream life.