My Eyes So Soft

By: Hafiz

Don't surrender your loneliness so quickly

let it cut more deep.

Let it ferment and season you

as few human or even divine ingredients can

Something missing in my heart tonight

has made my eyes so soft

my voice so tender

my need of God

absolutely clear.

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This poem is brilliant and insightful of our human tendency to, when we feel difficult to bear emotions, or have an extreme emotional reaction, we want immediate relief or gratification (naturally). We go to what some refer to as "empty wells" those things that we think we will obtain fulfillment in, but never truly do. For some it can be alcohol or drugs, some it is sex, others material belongings, for some it is sought out in other people - please validate me, tell me I am lovable, make me feel worthy. But experiences of pain, loneliness, desperation, failure,abandonment, hopelessness - if we can truly face them - as Hafiz urges "let it cut more deep" we can gain insight into a void "something missing in my heart tonight" - that helps us identify we are futile in our efforts to fill ourselves through external or fleeting sources - for they never fully, completely alleviate (for the long-term) the pain. So Hafiz guides us to "let it ferment and season you as few human or divine ingredients can" - Can we allow our deepest suffering to become so highlighted we actually face it head on? And when we do face it can we then, instead of running from it, become clear of our "need of God" - for it is in finally, after running and avoiding and grasping and trying to control, turning to God, who is living and still speaking, that we can find true fulfillment, hope, and transformation. For that car you buy will burn up in the end, or lose its allure in time, or that person that makes you feel lovable will likely hurt or disappoint you at some point. It is thus, in those dark moments, our need for God, if acted upon, that can and will truly create change and end unproductive dysfunctional patterns in our lives.