I recently came across this poem by the Sufi poet, Jalal-ud Din Rumi:
The New Moon
Love, the new moon, grows slowly, stage by stage;
We should progress like that, deliberately, with patience.
I hear the new moon whispering, “Impatient fool!”
It is only step by step you climb to the roof.
Be a seasoned cook, let the pot boil little by little;
A stew cooked in mad haste tastes terrible.
I couldn’t help but think, “Wow, that Rumi dude sure knows what he’s talkin’ about!” How often are we so eager for results that we don’t stop to savor the journey? When does impatience creep into your life, creating annoyance with the step by step approach of making what’s next in your life, what matters?
Where in your life are you cooking a terrible, hasty stew?
