By Rumi

The porter runs to the heavy load and takes it from others,
knowing burdens are the foundation of ease
and bitter things the forerunners of pleasure.
See the porters struggle over the load!
It’s the way of those who see the truth of things.

[Mathnawi II: 1834-6]

Reflection based on this text – “Struggling with Service” by Saimma Dyer.

The Masnavi, or Masnavi-ye-Ma’navi (Persian: مثنوی معنوی DMG Mas̲navī-e maʻnavī), also written Mathnawi, or Mathnavi, is an extensive poem written in Persian by Jalal al-Din Muhammad Balkhi, also known as Rumi. The Masnavi is one of the most influential works of Sufism, ascribed to be like a “Quran in Persian” It has been viewed by many commentators as the greatest mystical poem in world literature.