Rabia wandered into a village, and the villagers asked her, "Where do you come from?"
"From the other world," she said.
Puzzled, they asked her, "And where are you going?"
"To the other world," Rabia replied.
"And what are you doing in our world?"
"I consume the bread of this world," she explained, "but my thoughts are elsewhere. I don't let what is inside me go out, nor do I let what is outside come in."
"You sound like a steward!" they said.
"I am!" Rabia agreed. "But I'm a steward of the heart, not of this lump of clay."
Inspired by: Sufi Women by Javad Nurbakshsh
Notes: This story is on p. 46 of the book. You can find out more about Rabia of Basra at Wikipedia.
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