Ruminating with Rumi
I prefer sloth with a bit of gluttony. As for the rest of the “Seven Deadlys,” I shall not say. There is a certain wanting in them that might be a tad too far. But to sit and do nothing in the still silence seems almost too holy to be a sin. To do nothing is like a mantra to mystics. They do not see it as a sin, but almost as a requirement for awakening in the world to one’s true nature.
To do nothing is the act of leaving the world stage. You are no longer an actor in the footlights of desire and expectation. Your efforts to play a role in which certainty is the outcome are in vain. As often said, the only certainty in life is death. In the end, your labors to survive, attain, and achieve mean nothing. They simply fulfill your own desire to have meaning and purpose.
To do nothing is not necessarily a life of ease. It is to act under the guidance of your true nature rather than to follow the follies of the world. This may appear as leisure to those watching. Your ease in the world comes from holding peace of heart in all situations. You might even appear uncaring.
To sit in the still silence of unknowing is to remember twia. Remembering twia is like finding beauty in the cold rain of winter. Its grace drops upon your dry lips with what cannot be said. You are aware in the darkness of the stormy night. You remember that you were never born. You are dreaming a world of birth and death. Having no beginning, you have no end.
To remember twia is to live beyond the comings and goings of the world. This is not to be uncaring. You have chosen the harmony of the whole of the all. It suits you fine.