For the last installment of the inspiration from Rumi, I chose two quotes. I thought it was fitting for these two quotes to be together in a blog as well as appear in the last entry because of the content — LOVE.
“Be certain that in the religion of Love, there are no believers and unbelievers. LOVE embraces all.”
Religion. Historically, there has been fighting and wars in the name of God. It’s human nature to want to be in the right and that does not fall short when it comes to religion. There is always words spoken against difference and most people lose sight of the ideas behind religion. Does it matter who the religious stories are referring to? Does is matter the rules and doctrines in place to control the religious masses? In my opinion, the answer is no to both. The points, I see, of religion is fellowship and love. Why do we join clubs or have specific groups of friends? We gravitate towards people of liked minds, similarities, beliefs, hobbies, etc. Religion is an institution where we can be with people who will love and support us in a way that makes sense to us. We live our lives similarly and therefore expect people of our same religion to understand us.
Christianity speaks to me like Buddhism speaks to a Buddhist or Hinduism speaks to a Hindu and so forth. In Christianity, I know that the basis of the teachings of Jesus is love. I know people of various religious backgrounds and the same could be said for their religions. No matter what your religious beliefs, your life should be governed by love and embracing all, which leads me to the next Rumi quote.
“Your task is not to seek love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.”
Life causes us to build walls based on experience and ancestral knowledge. This doesn’t help bring us closer to each other but breeds fear and misunderstandings.
Each person should look deep within themselves and find those barriers and walls that prevent love and break them down. We are not that different from one another, no matter the race, nationality, religious affiliations, gender, etc. The fact that we have differences creates more reason to embrace and love each other.
Life is not about seeking love and the approval of others. If love emanated from each person, love would be freely available and approval rendered unnecessary.
No matter who you are, know that you are loved by me. Will you break down your walls and bring forth love?
Look Within 
Thank you once again, Jennifer. Wise and needed words for all of us.
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