Pierce Arnold - Rumi's Switching Trick 4/26/2026

In Rumi’s Dreaming of Bagdad poem there is one sentence that catches my attention more than the others. Rumi writes "Existence does this switching trick, giving you hope from one source, then satisfaction from another.” What I focused on the first time I read this is this beginning word, “Existence”. Why does Rumi use this word? Why not “life” or “the world” or something more akin to consciousness or society? Of course when asking this question I am assuming that the word “Existence” is the best translation of the original language of the poem, but given that it is, this seems like an interesting word to use against the other options. The word “Existence” has a connotation of being a universal experience. I have existence just as you have it, just as a rock or a tree has it. Isn’t it sort of odd to say that Existence is the thing that does the switching trick, is it really that universal of an experience that every possible thing that exists experiences this switching trick? If it had been me writing this poem I feel like I would have used the word “life” and not even given any other word a thought. I would consider this experience I am writing about, of a subversion of expectations, to be unique to living beings generally if not humans specifically. That said, far be it from me to claim to be a better poet than Rumi, so I am sure that this word choice means something. Perhaps it is a slight poetic license, where Rumi is not implying that literally every object in the universe has this experience, but he is rather just trying to emphasize just how widespread and fundamental this experience truly is.