February 14th and the world is frothing with pink and red paper hearts. Flowers fly out the florist door and chocolates pile on tables and desks.Valentine’s Day brings out the romantic – or at least the dutiful (!) – as people declare their love for one another.
For our Women’s Morning Out Valentine’s Day we read “the love passage”, chapter 13 of I Corinthians. It ends with the well known verse, “So faith hope abide these three, but the greatest of these is love.” As we spoke about the meaning of the words in this reading one woman spoke movingly about the true nature of deep love. She reminded us that it is not romance but a love that endures and deepens through life. This was the day after I officiated at a Celebration of Life for a man much loved by his family. He and his wife had celebrated 60 years of marriage in December. She spoke touchingly at the service about their devotion to each other through the years.
I am starting to prepare more intentionally for the trip I will be taking to Turkey in late March. One of the most famous Turks is Rumi, a thirteenth century poet and mystic. He has many beautiful writings and to mark Valentines Day I offer you this one.
A lover asked his beloved,
Do you love yourself more
than you love me?
The beloved replied,
I have died to myself
and I live for you.
I’ve disappeared from myself
and my attributes.
I am present only for you.
I have forgotten all my learnings,
but from knowing you
I have become a scholar.
I have lost all my strength,
but from your power
I am able.
If I love myself
I love you.
If I love you
I love myself.
Mevlana Rumi (1207 – 1273)
