In the Guest House Rumi rejoices in the value of the entire human experience. Do not discount anything as meaningless or avoidable. When feelings are denied and banished to the unconscious, they exert excessive influence and chaos. They demand to be acknowledged despite our attempts to repress them. All emotions are valid and indeed desirable, even those we wish to evade. One moment is jubilant, another is sad, even meanness summons our attention. Accept and honor them all, he says, because each heralds a new state of being. Open the door to them all. Each is the gateway to new awareness. Each guest is a serendipitous guide to our liberation. The shadow and the light carry equal weight. When all parts of our humanness are accepted, the house welcomes all guests.