Give yourself a kiss.

Give yourself a kiss. If you live in China, don’t look somewhere else, in Tibet, or Mongolia.   If you want to hold the beautiful one, hold yourself to yourself.   When you kiss the Beloved, touch your own lips with your own fingers.   The beauty of every woman and every man is your own beauty.   The confusion of your hair obscures that sometimes.   An artist comes to paint you and stands with his mouth open.   Your love reveals your beauty, but all covering would disappear if only for a moment your holding-back would sit before your generosity and ask, “Sir, who are you?” At that, Shams’ life-changing face gives you a wink.   ~Mevlana Rumi     Version by Coleman Barks