In Praise of Forty – From ‘The Forty Rules of Love’

Hey there

I was planning the celebration for my fortieth birthday party which, naturally, start to ponder on my life up until now – what I had achieved, what I have yet to achieve and how much I had changed over the years. For those of you who don’t know much about me, I moved to Istanbul, Turkey about seven years ago for a fresh start and haven’t looked back since. I have learned many things about myself while immersing myself in this sometimes difficult to comprehend culture and over the years, several things have really ‘spoken’ to me.

One thing I discovered recently is a wonderful book called  ’The Forty Rules of Love’ by Elif  Shafak, a very well-known Turkish writer.

The book chronicles the life of the revered Anatolian muslim poet Rumi and his much-fabled friendship with the whirling dervish Shams of Tabriz whose Forty Rules of life and love eventually transformed the poet.

The relationship is paralleled and simultaneously brought to life through the character of Ella, a middle class wife and mother whose life has lost its spark as she comes across the writer, Aziz Z. Zahara, whose work, ‘Sweet Blasphemy’ transforms Ella’s life in much the same way.

There are some wonderful passages in the novel, my favourite of which is about turning forty.

So without further ado, I’m going to do something I don’t usually do and share an excerpt:

‘Forty is a most beautiful age for both men and women. Did you know that in mystic thought forty symbolises the ascent from one level to a higher one and a spiritual awakening? When we mourn, we mourn for forty days. When a baby is born it takes forty days to get ready to start life on earth. And when we are in love, we need to wait forty days to be sure of our feelings.

The flood of Noah lasted forty days, and while the waters destroyed life, they also washed away all impurity and enabled human beings to make a new fresh start. In Islamic mysticism there are forty degrees between man and God. Likewise, there are four basic stages of consciousness and ten degrees in each, making forty in total. Jesus went into the wilderness for forty days and nights. Muhammed was forty years old when he recieved the call to become a prophet. Buddha meditated under a linden tree for forty days, not to mention the forty rules of Shams.

You recieve a new mission at forty, a new lease on life! You have reached a most auspicious number. Congratulations and don’t worry about getting old. There are no wrinkles or gray hair strong enough to defy the power of forty!’

Right on Elif.

Please share this post with anyone you know who is turning forty this year (alternatively, you could just reweet )

Cheers

Linda

Tags: Elif Shafak, Islamic mysticism, Rumi, Shams, The Forty Rules of Love