The Root

I came across Hafiz recently and fell in love with his words (you can find another on Solo in Tandem). Its hard to know how close his actual voice was to the modern, English translations, but I like to think the essence of his message is still true.

This past February, I took a trip to Ketchum (aka heaven on earth). One morning, while sitting by the kitchen table still in my pjs and coffee in hand, with views of freshly snowed-on mountains in every direction out the window, the sun waking up the day, and a silence so deep it roared with gentle comfort, I read The Gift and stumbled upon this one. His words summed up the way I feel in the mountains and forests and woods so perfectly -in a way I never possibly could communicate- that I was immediately entranced...

What Is the Root?

What

Is the 

Root of all these 

Words?

One thing: love.

But a love so deep and sweet

It needed to express itself 

With scents, sounds, colors

That never before

Existed. 

Its the only explanation that makes sense to me as to how and why such beautiful places have been created. This feeling is one I crave, that I cannot live without and it makes me irresistibly long for an escape to some natural place; any natural place. So, I'd say its time to head into the mountains. 

The Gift - Poems by Hafiz, The Great Sufi Master, translated by Daniel Ladinsky can likely be found at your local mom-and-pop bookseller, on Amazon of course, and also through the Seattle Public Library