From Hafiz of Persia:
“Fear is the cheapest room in the house. I would like to see you living in better conditions.”
I could meditate on that quote for a good long time. It’s comforting, empowering, and full of compassion.
Words to live by.
© 2011 by Rachel Cohen-Rottenberg
Fear, I believe, is a very natural and “normal” response to closely examining the world which we all live and experience in. It is as natural as bleeding profusely when stabbed. I hope for better living conditions for all of us, for safety and security … Fear is the cheapest room, but one which exacts the highest personal price? I could spend days reflecting that quote.
Excellent reflections, Phil. Your words bring to mind my favorite lines from Isaiah: “I will give peace in the land, and you shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid.”
And I know what you mean about being able to reflect on that quote for days. It’s an amazing, evocative piece of writing.
I’m thinking ignorance is the cheapest room. It is full of sloth and littered with unusable, smelly waste. Fear has a view and can teach you something. It must be an upgrade.
Great point, Karen! I think that ignorance and fear can be adjoining rooms in the same suite, one leading to the other. Of course, if you close the door to the ignorance, then everything changes. Then it’s just fear. You do get a better view, and you can learn something essential.
Love it! Thanks for sharing.
No problem! It’s a good one.
LOVE IT! Thanks for sharing.
Gonna steal it, and put it on FB. 
Steal away! After all, something profound has to appear on FB once in a while.
I’ve got a book of religious poetry I love that includes a lot of Hafiz–he has such a great sense of humor!
I should read more of his work. I’ve just started finding it on the Internet, and it’s pretty amazing stuff.
In this link, http://www.hafizonlove.com/bio/index.htm , it says he “Became a poet of the court of Abu Ishak. Gained much fame and influence in Shiraz.” What an age and culture that must have been, to “gain fame and influence” through being a poet! Not many do that these days.
I also like al-Ghazali, an earlier Persian Sufi master. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghazali
Hi Clay, and thanks for the links. I’m always interested in learning more about the great ones.
I spent a good portion of my evening yesterday thinking about emotions as rooms because of this quote. My over-active imagination took over and, instead of rooms in a house, I found myself visualizing prison cells. Fear, regret, prejudice, anger and self-loathing are mine. I’m still looking for the keys known as courage, contentment, understanding, forgiveness and love.
The Hafiz quote, and your response, both provide a great deal to reflect upon.
I think that courage is the key to contentment, understanding, forgiveness, and love—and that fear is the basis of the others. Unfortunately, our culture doesn’t celebrate the everyday acts of courage that are so crucial to living the lives we want. We see the big acts of courage, such saving children from burning buildings and risking harm in the service of a cause; these are hugely important, of course, and I’m in awe of people who carry them out. But we don’t tend to focus on the more mundane acts that are equally important when it comes to creating a better world.
That’s awesome. I love quotes that are filled with meaning and yet easy to remember.
Yes, he really packed a lot into that one, didn’t he?
Now I’m on a Hafiz trail. Found this one, related to yours:
“Now that all your worry has proved such
an unlucrative business, why not
find a better job?”
Love it!
I love it.
The quote speaks to me on the politics level (which is the “why” behind how scarce I’ve been around here — my apologies — activism has crowded out bloggivism in my schedule the past couple of months.)
But it works on many, many levels.
Thank you!
Hey JoyMama,
So glad to hear you’re out there fighting the good fight. And welcome back!