In the market, in the cloister—only God I saw.

In the market, in the cloister—only God I saw.
In the valley and on the mountain—only God I saw.
Him I have seen beside me oft in tribulation;
In favour and in fortune—only God I saw.
In prayer and fasting, in praise and contemplation,
In the religion of the Prophet—only God I saw.
Neither soul nor body, accident nor substance,
Qualities nor causes—only God I saw.
I oped mine eyes and by the light of His face around me
In all the eye discovered—only God I saw.
Like a candle I was melting in His fire:
Amidst the flames outflashing—only God I saw.
Myself with mine own eyes I saw most clearly,
But when I looked with God’s eyes—only God I saw.
I passed away into nothingness, I vanished,
And lo, I was the All-living—only God I saw.

by Baba Kuhi of Shiraz

English version by Reynold A. Nicholson
Original Language Persian/Farsi

Hard times have great value. Don’t love it, but if I allow all to flow, I will grow. I read this poem and have come to realize how far away I have been living from the above poem. 

Great news! The journey from Screaming Mimi to the life that can be lived by seeing only God is an 18-inch journey. It is the journey from the mind to the heart. That is a hard 18 inches when we fight. Yet, once we stop fighting, we realize that the journey is already done. We don’t have to seek it because we have always had it within. 

As a child, I had a great imagination. I made delicious cakes out of mud and was a beautiful princess, a heroine, who saved her people. I even pretended I was the Virgin Mary.

Be a child again, but this time pretend you are enlightened. Instead of trying to make God in your image—judgmental, vindictive, etc., let God be God, Love. Pretend to see God in everyone and everything.  Just like when you were a child, it will be real and fill you with joy. Slowly your game will be a reality that always was—you just needed to wake up.

This sounds difficult, but is it? Think about it—when times get tough, I tend to imagine the worst-case scenario. I have no problem imagining the worst. Obviously, the imagination is working, so why not imagine something else? Imagining being surrounded by unicorns and butterflies is better than the worst-case scenario. If we can imagine all this, why not imagine seeing God in everyone and everything?

All events are conspiring to bring us home, to take us out of our heads and into our hearts. As I have said, it is our responsibility to see that. That is how we become co-creators.