The Brown Book Commentaries

Image 185 (Page 76b - bottom) … This picture is a close-up Sandra &
Duncan (taken in 1999, shortly before Duncan's birth) – representing the
Oneness from which we all come before we are born, the Oneness to
which we all strive to return during our lives, and the Oneness into
which we do indeed return after we pass onward into death …
Image 186 (Page 76b - bottom overleaf) … This is a picture of a polar bear mother
with her cub – symbolizing the amazing Strength that comes to those who
willingly sacrifice their lives to nurture another and bring Solace to their way …
PAGE 77
―Some nights, stay up till dawn as the moon sometimes does for the sun. Be a full bucket
pulled up the Dark Way of a well, then lifted out into the Light. Stars burn clear all night. Do
that yourself, and a spring will rise … in the dark, with water your deepest thirst is for.‖ ~ Rumi
On the one hand, Rumi is pretty clearly encouraging us to literally stay up all night from time
to time – to allow the deep-seated fatigue that sets in during such endeavors to pierce the veil of
the subconscious and allow more profound illuminations to both seep into our Souls ―from above‖
and bubble up from our Souls into our conscious minds. Of course, on the other hand, Rumi is
probably also speaking metaphorically here, probably also referencing the symbolic reality that our
deeper Truths always shine brightest when effectuated in times of greatest darkness – that our
deeds of True Self are always most potent when done in the times of our greatest suffering– that
our Love is most potent when its ―full bucket‖ is ―pulled up a dark way‖; when it is given directly
& indeed Joy-fully to those who are bringing us the most distress.
210