40 phrases by Rumi to learn more about this Persian poet

You are not just a drop in the ocean, you are the ocean inside a drop.

The inspiration you seek is already within you. Be silent and listen.

The task is not to seek love, but only to seek and undo all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.

There is a voice that does not use words. Listen.

Start a huge, mindless project, like Noah. It makes absolutely no difference what people think of you.

Ignorance is God’s prison. Knowledge is the palace of God.

What is planted in each person’s soul will one day blossom.

You go from village to village on your horse asking everyone, “Has anyone seen my horse?”

The moment you accept the problems you have been given the door will open.

Traveling brings love and power back into your life.

Keep silent because the world of silence is a vast fullness.

Knock, and the door will open. Disappear, you will shine like the sun. Fall, who will rise to the skies. Become nothing, and you will become everything.

Love is the bridge between you and everything else.

My soul is from somewhere else, I’m sure of it, and I intend to end up there.

All religions are one religion.

Perhaps you are looking in the branches for what we find in the roots.

There is a candle in your heart, ready to be lit. There’s a void in her soul, ready to be filled. You feel it, don’t you?

When you do things from your soul, you feel a river moving in you, a joy. When the action comes from another section, that feeling disappears.

What you seek is seeking you.

Many are those who flee from one danger to another worse. Many run away from a snake and encounter a dragon.

What hurts you, blesses you. Darkness is your candle.

Wherever you are, be the soul of the place.

Do not seek the water; just show that you are thirsty, and water will flow around you.

The entire universe is contained within a single human being – you.

These pains you feel are messengers. Listen to them.

Put your thoughts to sleep, don’t let us cast a shadow over the moon of your heart. Stop thinking.

I am not this hair, I am not this skin, I am the soul that lives inside.

Without love, not a single drop would turn into a pearl.

Lovers don’t finally meet somewhere. They were always inside each other.

Your task is not to seek love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against love.

Nothing but love itself can explain love and lovers.

Yesterday I was smart, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.

Be the melting snow. Wash yourself from yourself.

Do you lack feet to travel? Travel within yourself.

You were born with wings. Why do you still prefer to crawl through life?

The wound is where the light enters you.

Become the sky. Take an ax and break down the prison wall. Exhaust.

Come, seek, because seeking is the foundation of luck: all success depends on putting your heart into what you want.

Many of the flaws you see in others are your own flaws reflected in them.

It’s good to leave everyday behind, like running water, free from sadness.