The Guest House
I've been thinking about Rumi's idea of the 'guest house'.
The image is simple: every emotion, every mood, every state that arrives is welcomed rather than resisted. Not because it's pleasant. But because it has something to show us.
Midlife often brings guests we didn't invite. Fatigue. Uncertainty. A quiet sense that something needs attention. Your instinct is to tidy them away or push through. But sometimes the most settling move is simply to notice what's arrived, without trying to get rid of it.
That kind of welcome changes things. Not dramatically, but just enough.