The Soul's Music

I had lunch with my husband today. He was telling me about this person having a nervous breakdown. We started talking about the hopelessness this person must feel. Wheather the pain is emotional or physical, when it lasts for a very long period of time it leaves some scars behind. Sometimes out of these scars comes soul wrenching music and the most beautiful poetry.

I remember this story I had read about one sufi poet. He had always felt this calling for writing sufi poetry. One day he left his home to search for a good teacher. After a long search, He met this teacher who was also looking for a serious student. As the student began to write poems, he showed his work to the teacher. After reading the poems, the teacher asked the student if he had ever fallen in love and if he ever had his heart broken? The students said no to the both questions. The teacher proceded to tell him that in order to write about the beauty and the pain of separation, first you have to live it. Without experiencing the pain of heart break first hand, the student would lack depth in his poetry. The student, infact, went though a lot of pain and suffering and ended up being one of the best sufi writers of his time.

I love sufi music and poetry. It touches me somewhere deep and moves me to tears at times. One of my favourites is Rumi. The follwing poem was written by him:

"The minute I heard my first love story,
I started looking for you, not knowing
how blind that was.
Lovers don't finally meet somewhere,
they're in each other all along".
-Rumi

Does The Universe's beauty find its expression through pain more often than happiness? I know that I have become more compassionate and understanding after going through my ordeals. I can relate to my mother's pain better, after having my own two girls. Now I know what it feels like to have your heart walking outside your own body. Pain has taken me through so many ups and downs that I can now empathise better when someone is going through a rollercoster period in their life. Now that I have seen the darkness of hopelessness and despair, I am more willing to share my light. Does this mean that we realize the depth of our souls only after suffering, and till then our existeance is very shellow?