“Tripping over Joy” by Daniel Ladinsky

Posted on by Victoria Emily Jones
Leunig, Michael_Falling Fool
Falling Fool by Michael Leunig (Australian, 1945–)

What is the difference
Between your experience of Existence
And that of a saint?

The saint knows
That the spiritual path
Is a sublime chess game with God

And that the Beloved
Has just made such a Fantastic Move

That the saint is continually
Tripping over Joy
And bursting out in Laughter
And saying, “I Surrender!”

Whereas, my dear,
I am afraid you still think
You have a thousand serious moves.

This poem, inspired by the fourteenth-century Persian poet Hafiz, appears in I Heard God Laughing: Poems of Hope and Joy (Penguin, 2006) and is used here by permission of the author.

7 thoughts on ““Tripping over Joy” by Daniel Ladinsky”

  4. Oh my goodness, I love this curation so much. So. Much. Thank you!

    My spiritual direction cohort was given the assignment to name ourselves. We chose the name Holy Fools after listening to a teaching on the ascending and descending life which in its fullness produces what our teacher referenced as Holy Fools.

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