Discourses of Rumi

290 V DISCOURSES OF RUMIthis city and its people vanish, and she realizesthat all her anguish and sorrow were over nothing.So she disregards the state she found herselfin, thinking her worries were quite wasted.However, the next time she falls asleep, she seesherself in exactly such a city again, and begins tofeel the same sorrow and loneliness. She regretscoming to such a city and doesn’t remember whenshe was awake how foolish she see it was toworry, since it was only a dream and nothing togrieve about.This is exactly how people are. They have seentheir desires come to nothing a hundred thousandtimes. Nothing proceeds according to their intricateplans. But God appoints an oblivion to covertheir eyes, so they forget all that has happened,and once again they plan out their own ideas andwills.“God stands between people and their hearts.”Once, when Ibrahim, son of Adham, was king,he galloped in the track of a deer he was hunting,until he became entirely separated from his soldiers,leaving them far behind. His horse wasweary and covered with sweat, but still he chased