Friends and Lovers

There is a tradition in the sacred streams of wisdom which says that human beings in this world can become “secret lovers” and friends of God. It is a category quite different from merely being religious and a person of faith. Recently a young man that many of us know sent me an email saying that he had found someone and had fallen hopelessly in love.

I knew what me meant. Something suddenly had changed. Life had shifted and perceptions about what was important had swung in a totally new direction. Whether any one else knew it or not, he had become a “lover” and was now different inside than he was before.

All across this planet there is a secret society of lovers—lovers of God and friends. They do not belong to any one faith. They don’t all speak the same theological language. But when you find one, whether or not they appear different on the outside, you can detect signs of this deep inner friendship. As Rumi says:

Lovers are such strange people,
they are not like everyone else,
they don’t carry their souls in their bodies,
instead, their souls carry them.
People often run toward the river of the waters of life
in hopes of becoming immortal.
Yet for the lovers,
the waters of life are always running towards them.