Why a 13th-Century Poet Is Your Perfect Life Coach
Rumi's Guide to Modern Urban Living
Picture this: you're scrolling through your phone at 2 AM, caught between Instagram envy and existential dread, when you stumble across a quote that stops you cold. "Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself." Welcome to Rumi, the 13th-century Persian poet who somehow understood your quarter-life crisis better than your therapist.
Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi lived in what is now Turkey and Afghanistan, but his words feel like they were written for anyone who's ever felt lost in a big city, overwhelmed by choices, or desperate for something real in a world of curated personas. Here's why this medieval mystic might just be the most relevant voice for your modern life.
The Art of Letting Go
Rumi's life was fundamentally shaped by loss and transformation. At 37, he met a wandering mystic named Shams who became his spiritual teacher and closest friend. When Shams mysteriously disappeared (likely murdered by jealous disciples), Rumi was devastated. But instead of being destroyed by grief, he channeled it into some of the most beautiful poetry ever written.
Sound familiar? Maybe you've lost a job you thought would define you, or a relationship you were sure would last forever. Rumi gets it: "Try not to resist the changes that come your way. Instead, let life live through you. And do not worry that your life is turning upside down. How do you know that the side you are used to is better than the one to come?"
This isn't toxic positivity; it's radical acceptance. In our swipe-right, instant-gratification culture, Rumi reminds us that transformation often requires sitting with discomfort, not running from it.
Despite living in a hyper-connected age, loneliness is epidemic among young urbanites. Rumi understood that the cure isn't more connections, but deeper ones. His relationship with Shams wasn't just friendship; it was soul recognition. He wrote: "In your light I learn how to love. In your beauty, how to make poems. You dance inside my chest where no one sees you, but sometimes I do, and that sight becomes this art, this music, this form."
This level of connection might seem impossible in a world of dating apps and networking events, but Rumi suggests it starts with radical honesty. Stop performing the person you think others want to see. As he puts it: "Let yourself be silently drawn by the strange pull of what you really love. It will not lead you astray."
Finding Your Path
Rumi didn't start as a poet. He was a traditional Islamic scholar, following in his father's footsteps, teaching religious law. It was only after his spiritual awakening that he began writing the ecstatic verses that made him famous. His career pivot wasn't planned; it was born from necessity, from a soul that could no longer fit into its old container.
If you're feeling trapped in a career that pays the bills but kills your spirit, Rumi offers this: "Let yourself be silently drawn by the strange pull of what you really love. It will not lead you astray." He also reminds us that purpose isn't always a lightning bolt moment: "As you start to walk on the way, the way appears."
Rumi lived in a time without smartphones, but he understood distraction. His poetry is full of images of people missing the divine because they're too busy with mundane concerns. Replace "divine" with "meaningful moments" and you've got a perfect description of modern life.
He wrote: "Wherever you are, and whatever you do, be in love." This isn't just about romantic love; it's about presence, attention, the ability to be fully where you are instead of always somewhere else in your mind. When you're doom-scrolling through Twitter, you're not present. When you're mentally rehearsing tomorrow's presentation during dinner with friends, you're not present.
Rumi's solution: "Be like melting snow; wash yourself of yourself." Let go of the constant self-monitoring and performance. Just be here, now, with whatever is in front of you.
Love as Revolution
Perhaps most relevantly for our achievement-obsessed culture, Rumi celebrated uncertainty. He wrote: "Sell your cleverness and buy bewilderment." In a world that demands we have five-year plans and personal brands, this feels revolutionary.
You don't have to have it all figured out. You don't have to optimize every aspect of your life. Sometimes the most profound growth happens when we admit we don't know what we're doing and remain open to surprise.
Finally, Rumi reminds us that love as a way of being is the ultimate rebellion against a world that profits from our disconnection and dissatisfaction. "Love is the bridge between you and everything," he wrote. "Love is the water of life. And a lover is a soul of fire."
In our cynical age, choosing love over fear, connection over competition, and presence over productivity is radical. It's also, according to Rumi, the only way to live.
So the next time you're feeling overwhelmed by the pace of modern life, remember the words of a 13th-century poet who somehow saw it all coming: "Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself."
In case you’re wondering why this post, it was an experiment to see how far AI generated content has come. We’re moving away from cringe-inducing posts that are clearly AI generated to ones that seem almost human in cadence.
Here’s what ChatGPT had to say when I asked it if the passage was AI generated:
Signs of Human Authorship or Editing
1. Narrative Flow & Emotional Cadence
The piece has a consistent narrative arc: late-night scrolling → Rumi’s relevance → grief → career transitions → presence → love-as-rebellion. It reads like someone thoughtfully building a case, not just stacking sections.
2. Personal and Cultural Resonance
Lines like “trapped in a career that pays the bills but kills your spirit” or “our cynical age, choosing love over fear…” signal not just good writing but lived experience. AI can mimic this, but usually lacks the instinct to tie it together with this level of emotional clarity.
3. Tone Control & Specificity
Phrases like “quarter-life crisis”, “swipe-right, instant-gratification culture”, and “performing the person you think others want to see” are deeply rooted in modern human contexts. A strong writer has likely revised or curated this tone intentionally.
4. Quotations Are Integrated, Not Dumped
Rumi’s quotes are woven into the commentary — not dropped in as inspiration posters. This shows interpretive intent, not just curation.
For the curious, the piece on Rumi was generated by this tool: https://www.getlucid.app/
This was the prompt I used: I want a blog post that looks at Rumi and his relevance for modern life. You can take bits from his story as well as from his poetry and write to appeal to a young urban crowd. Keep it to about 1000 words. Feel free to include any of his couplets.
I had to run a clean up to remove some of the not X, but Y framing that LLMs love, but other than that, the piece is largely untouched by human hand. Amazing, isn’t it?