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When life seems to be crumbling, both around me and within me, I’ll often grab a book and retreat to my bed.

If I am feeling particularly lazy, I might choose a novel. But when I am willing to put forth the effort to revive some essential part of myself that is withering, I instead choose the insightful words of great teachers.

Enter Rumi.

The first time I lent continual attention to this wise poet, I was sitting in a cafe in India. The waiter presented me with my mango lassi and smiled. As I watched him walk away, my eyes trailed over to the wee library. Rumi’s book was the first one I picked up. With his fluidity and even more distinct, his honesty, I was hooked.

The lassi was gone in minutes, but I continued to read for hours.

The beauty I found in his writing is that it is universal—all of us can relate. On my stroll home from the cafe, I couldn’t help but to have more faith in both myself and the universe: at that point, I realized they were one in the same.

Each of these quotes targets the topic of finding the truth that is located within each and every one of us.

Sit in a clean, uncluttered space and take as much time as is needed to read through these.

Clarity will come.

“You are the truth from foot to brow. Now, what else would you like to know?”

“Your heart is the size of an ocean. Go find yourself in its hidden depths.”

“The garden of the world has no limits, except in your mind.”

“Stop acting so small. You are the universe in ecstatic motion.”

“You have to keep breaking your heart until it opens.”

“The universe and the light of the stars come through me.”

“You were born with wings, why prefer to crawl through life?”

“Everything in the universe is within you. Ask all from yourself.”

You are not a drop in the ocean. You are the entire ocean in a drop.”

“Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.”

Relephant Read:

This is how Meditation Wakes Up our Inner Spark.

Author: Jenna Meyer

Apprentice Editor: Lois Person / Editor: Renée Picard

Image: Petras Gagilas/Flickr