I was introduced to Rumi in Sydney in 2003. I picked a book from a store on George St. - and life was never the same again.

A man sets his foot in the stream. That moment will never return- as the stream will never be the same, nor will the man!

Rumi's works have been an inspiration to me - personally contributing to how I continue to shape each day, and professionally too.. wherever I've been able to share lessons.

Photo by author. The book & Mr. Tiger 

In 2019 a conversation ensued. At the same apartment where this picture was taken. I remember reading the forty rules and feeling this constant urge to travel to Turkey. Konya specifically. 

And a friend visiting the house said I mustn't hold back. Oddly, miraculously, magically, I found myself in Konya a few months later. 

Forty rules come up in a series of reflections between two friends. Incidentally my middle name is Aziz. 

I sort of connected to Elif's work in a strange way: like .... She summairsed 15 years of me knowing Rumi in this book. It was a great preparation for my Konya visit. 

It's a beautiful read. Brings out the importance of having a friend or two, and some conversations that run between them, continuously. Some thoughts that take you beyond the mundane of living, and not living, and ultimately just merely hanging on. 

Forty rules summarise ... Open new ways of looking at ourselves, our thoughts and our responses to what life has in store. 

It's marvelous. It's a treat. Elif helps you embrace many beautiful historical and contemporary episodes in her own fluent, simple, and ever glowing style. 

Read on. It's a recipe for something of your own to dish out one day!