There is a reason why we bump into the people that we do. It may be a part of a larger plan, sort of like an unveiling (Kashf) of God’s supreme power reflected through the good qualities and amazing abilities of the people we encounter.
Once you become attached to a person’s personality, it is extremely hard to let go. But essentially this is the purpose and idea behind the life of this world. Do not become stuck at a level and you will attain spiritual ascension.
Rumi discusses this when he speaks about the “tresses” of God’s “hair”. The tresses are the beautiful attributes of God that manifest through his creations. People hold onto the tresses and become so infatuated that they forget that the sole purpose behind the tress was to guide them to the Being behind it.
Yes, people are beautiful, intelligent, generous, loving. The world is beautiful, intelligent, generous, loving. But do not allow these things to block your view of the Being behind them all. Try not to allow yourself to hold onto a tress for so long that you cry when it is time to let it go.
It’s so hard sometimes because you wonder why you had to encounter the tress in the first place. Yet there is a wisdom behind it, you may not understand it now, nor 10 years from now. But use it as a tool to get beneath the “hair” that covers God. Use it as a way of understanding the vastness and wonder of God. Do not fall in love with the painting. Like the painting but fall in love with the Painter.
Goodbye beautiful tress.
