My dear heart, never think you are better than others. Listen to their sorrows with compassion. If you want peace, don't harbor bad thoughts, do not gossip and don't teach what you do not know.
RumiRead
An eye is meant to see things. The soul is here for its own joy. A head has one use: For loving a true love. Feet: To chase after. Love is for vanishing into the sky. The mind, for learning what men have done and tried to do. Mysteries are not to be solved: The eye goes blind when it only wants to see why. A lover is always accused of something. But when he finds his love, whatever was lost in the looking comes back completely changed.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote highlights the purpose of different aspects of being human, emphasizing love and joy as fundamental experiences.
Rumi's quote beautifully articulates the various elements of human existence, suggesting that each part serves a distinct purpose—eyes for seeing, the soul for joy, the head for love, and feet for pursuing desires. The essence of love and the transformative power it holds are central, implying that true love restores what was lost and leads to a deeper understanding of life beyond mere observation.
Themes
LoveJoyHuman ExperienceTransformationSeeing
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be shared at a wedding to emphasize the importance of love in relationships.
More from Rumi
All quotes →The Law of Wonder rules my life at last, _x000D_ ...I burn each second of my life to Love _x000D_ Each second of my life burns out in Love _x000D_ In each leaping second Love lives afresh.
RumiRead
Lovers have heartaches _x000D_ That can't be cured by drugs _x000D_ Or sleep, _x000D_ Or games, _x000D_ But only by seeing their beloved.
RumiRead
Every fragile beauty, every perfect forgotten sentence, you grieve their going away, but that is not how it is. Where they come from never goes dry. It is an always flowing spring.
RumiRead
Whatever you keep hidden in your heart, God _x000D_ manifests in you outwardly. Whatever the root of _x000D_ the tree feeds on in secret, affects the bough and _x000D_ the leaf.
RumiRead
Come on sweetheart let's adore one another before there is no more of you and me
RumiRead
Similar quotes
and you come away with a great little story of a mess of a dreamer with the nerve to adore you
Taylor SwiftRead
Love is like ice in the hands of children.
SophoclesRead
If I never see you again I will always carry you inside outside on my fingertips and at brain edges and in centers centers of what I am of what remains.
Charles BukowskiRead
Do not waste time bothering whether you "love" your neighbor; act as if you did.
C. S. LewisRead
I will make love my greatest weapon and none on whom I call can defend against its force._x000D_ _x000D_ My reasoning they may counter; my speech they may distrust; my apparel they may disapprove; my face they may reject; and even my bargains may cause them suspicion; yet my love will melt all hearts liken to the sun whose rays soften the coldest clay._x000D_ _x000D_ I will greet this day with love in my heart.
Og MandinoRead
Does he love me? “You’re asking the wrong question. What you need to know is are you in a position to give him the love he needs. And whatever happens or doesn’t happen will be equally gratifying, knowing that you are capable of love is enough. If it isn’t him, it will be someone else… Don’t try to keep a safe distance so as to see what happens. Don’t wait to be certain before you take a step. What you give, you will receive, although it might sometimes come from the place you least expect.
Paulo CoelhoRead