Getting Intimate

Al-Hallaj, the 9^th century Sufi mystic from Baghdad, left this pearl of wisdom for all to think about:

The Sufi is he who aims, from at first,
   at reaching God,
     the Creative Truth.
Until he has found what he seeks,
   he takes no rest,
     nor does he give heed to any person.
For Thy sake I haste over land and water;
   over the plain I pass and the mountain I cleave,
     and from everything I turn my face,
       until the time when I reach that place
where I am
alone with Thee.

Al-Hallaj

Lao Bendan, that 21^st century fool from Lockport, offers this to Al-Hallaj in response:

The Henro is she who aims, from at first,
   at reaching nothing,
     arriving nowhere.
Until surrender is complete,
   no rest is taken,
     no heed is given.
For who hastens? The land? The water?
   The plains and the mountains?
     Who turns their face from what?
       When has there been a place
where all aren't
intimately one?

Lao Bendan