There’s a reason Rumi’s poem The Guest House still resonates centuries later. It doesn’t sugarcoat pain or promise easy answers. Instead, it offers something more radical: the idea that every emotion — joy, sorrow, shame, fear — is a visitor worth welcoming.
If you're not familiar with the poem, this is where you may want to pause and read it. It’s not long, but it speaks volumes. (You’ll find the full poem below.)
What makes this piece so enduring is its compassionate permission: you don’t have to sort your feelings into good and bad. You don’t have to hide what hurts or cling to what feels good. You simply notice. Let it in. Sit with it. Let it teach you something. And when it’s ready to leave, you let it go.
This is not an easy practice — and it’s especially hard in a world that urges us to “stay positive,” “move on,” or “cheer up.” But as therapists, we see every day how healing begins when people stop fighting their internal experience and begin relating to it with kindness.
At Clarity, we work with clients who are learning to sit with uncomfortable emotions: grief, anxiety, self-doubt, anger, emptiness. Rather than trying to banish these feelings, therapy can become a place to explore what they might be trying to say.
Rumi’s line, “Be grateful for whoever comes,” isn’t a command to enjoy suffering — it’s a reminder that even our darkest moments can open doors within us. They might clear space, soften something, or remind us that we are still here, still feeling, still human.
If this way of relating to your inner world feels unfamiliar, you’re not alone. You might appreciate these other reflections on allowing, healing, and self-compassion:
- How Can I Come to Feel More Comfortable in Therapy?
- Imposture Syndrome: We All Experience It (But We Don’t Have To!)
- What to Do When You Are Feeling Depleted
Therapy isn’t about fixing you. It’s about welcoming every part of you — every visitor — with patience and curiosity. Just like Rumi’s guest house, your internal world is worth tending to, no matter who shows up at the door.
The Guest House
-Rumi
This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.
A joy, a depression, a meanness -
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.
Welcome and entertain them all.
Even if they're a crowd of sorrows
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still, treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.
The dark thought, the shame, the malice -
meet them at the door laughing,
and invite them in.
Be grateful for whoever comes.