There are many things in the life of a Sufi, but the greatest is to have a tendency to friendship….The one who knows the path of friendship, the one who knows what real friendship means, need not be told what sacrifice means; they know it. For friendship does not mean a good time, a pastime. Friendship means sacrifice. And when once by friendship sacrifice is learned, then one begins to know what sacrifice is necessary on the path of spiritual attainment. Hazrat Inayat Khan For millennia, human beings just like us have taken a vow to willingly accept responsibility for the wellbeing of the world. Called by many names, these ‘real human beings,’ or ‘bodhisattvas’ have cast a wide net of affection, personifying: nurse, comforter, healer, protector, guide, and teacher. This vow and these archetypal qualities are gestures of love embodied as friendship. The Sufis refer to the Divine as The Friend. I have heard that in Persian and Arabic, in order to say, “I love you” you have to say, “I have you as a friend.” Love and friendship are inseparable. Our yearning for this inseparability is compelling, fueling our determined commitment to consciously tame all that keeps us in […]