Day 32 · Q1: Self-Knowledge · February 1, 2026
Pause. Breathe. Begin.
I . L E C T I O
Rumi
Masnavi, Book I
“Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.”
C O N T E X T
Jalal ad-Din Rumi, the 13th-century Sufi poet, composed the Masnavi as a spiritual encyclopedia of 25,000 verses. This couplet distills the difference between cleverness and wisdom — between directing energy outward and directing it inward.
I I . M E D I T A T I O
“Where are you still trying to change the world when you should be changing yourself?”
I I I . S C R I P T I O
Write one sentence about one thing you would change about yourself instead of complaining about the world.
I V . C O N N E X I O
Rumi's wisdom/cleverness distinction resonates with Lao Tzu's mastery of self vs. mastery of others. Both Eastern traditions agree: the inward turn is the mature turn.
This practice exists because of readers like you.
Sustain it →Tomorrow's passage, delivered at dawn.