I said to the wanting-creature inside me:
What is this river you want to cross?
There are no travelers on the river-road, and no road.
Do you see anyone moving about on that bank, or nesting?
There is no river at all, and no boat, and no boatman.
There is no tow rope either, and no one to pull it.
There is no ground, no sky, no time, no bank, no ford!
And there is no body, and no mind!
Do you believe there is some place that will make the
soul less thirsty?
In that great absence you will find nothing.
Be strong then, and enter into your own body;
there you have a solid place for your feet.
Think about it carefully!
Don't go off somewhere else!
Kabir says this: just throw away all thoughts of imaginary
things,
and stand firm in that which you are.
The Kabir Book: Forty Four of the Ecstatic Poems of Kabir, Translation by Robert Bly.
Beacon Press, Boston, 1993. (affiliate link)
Kabir’s poem I Said to the Wanting Creature is one of my very favorite pieces of mindful poetry. It reminds me to stop chasing, stop searching, and just be. In my meditation practice, I see this as an invitation to come home to myself and to firmly plant both feet in the present moment...I don’t need to be anywhere else.
I think we all have that “wanting-creature” inside us! It's the part that always thinks happiness, peace, or fulfillment is somewhere over there, just out of reach. Kabir asks, “What is this river you want to cross?” In other words, what are we really searching for? A better job? A different relationship? A future where we’ve finally got it all figured out?
But then Kabir drops the real wisdom: There is no river, boat, or boatman. In mindfulness, I talk a lot about how much of our discomfort comes from the stories we tell ourselves. These might be stories about what we need, where we should be, or who we should become. But what if none of those stories are real? What if peace is already here, just waiting for us to notice?
Kabir continues: “There is no ground, no sky, no time, no body, and no mind!” As woo-woo as this might sound, I see this as when I sit in stillness, when I drop out of the frenzy of thoughts and simply exist, all the usual labels—time, space, identity—start to fade. What’s left? Just being here.
And then comes my favorite line: “Be strong then, and enter into your own body; there you have a solid place for your feet.” This is mindfulness in a nutshell! Instead of looking out there for answers, Kabir reminds me to turn inward. I can feel my breath, my feet planted on the ground, the simple hereness of my body. This is the one place that is always real, always available.
Finally, Kabir tells us: “Just throw away all thoughts of imaginary things, and stand firm in that which you are.” (ok, maybe THIS is my favorite line...haha!) Let go of the chase. Let go of the idea that peace is waiting somewhere else. You already are enough. You already are home.
A Simple Practice
Next time you catch yourself feeling restless, take a breath. Notice the sensation of your feet on the ground. Feel your body fully here. Instead of running toward some imagined future, try standing firm in this moment. Because this is where peace lives.
Comments