Ever since happiness heard your name, it has been running through

Hafez of Shiraz, the mystic poet of Persia, sang words that flow like honey through the centuries: “Ever since happiness heard your name, it has been running through the streets trying to find you.” In this radiant line lies the very heart of divine love — a truth so luminous that the soul trembles before it. For Hafez, happiness is not a thing we must chase, nor a treasure buried far away; it is a living spirit, a radiant messenger of the Divine, seeking us ceaselessly, calling our name through the corridors of life. His words remind us that joy is not earned but remembered, not built but revealed. It is already searching for us, longing for reunion.

In the mystical traditions of the East, Hafez stands as a bridge between the human and the celestial. He speaks as one who has seen beyond the veil of illusion and found the Beloved — that infinite presence which many call God, and others simply call Love. When he writes that “happiness heard your name,” he is telling us that the universe itself recognizes our worth. The Divine knows us personally, tenderly, and sends forth joy to find us. It is not we who must run breathlessly through the world to find peace; it is peace itself that seeks the door of our heart. But alas, we are often deaf to its knock, lost in our own striving and sorrow, mistaking noise for meaning and restlessness for life.

Imagine, if you will, the poet Hafez walking through the moonlit streets of Shiraz, hearing the laughter of children, the sound of merchants calling, the rustle of wind through cypress trees. To his eyes, every sound, every motion, was the movement of happiness searching for the soul — the dance of life seeking reunion with its source. The mystic sees the divine not in distant heavens, but in the living world around him. The whisper of wind, the song of a bird, the glance of a lover — all are signs that happiness is near, running joyfully, calling out to us.

This truth is not confined to poetry; it lives in the stories of those who found peace not by striving outward, but by awakening inward. Consider St. Francis of Assisi, who renounced all wealth and walked barefoot through the fields, singing praises to the sun and the sparrow. To the world, he seemed a fool; yet in the quiet of his soul, he discovered that happiness had been looking for him all along. The more he emptied himself of pride and possession, the more joy filled him — until he could see the face of God in the simplest things. Like Hafez, he realized that joy is not won by conquest, but welcomed by surrender.

Happiness, in Hafez’s vision, is not a reward for the deserving, but a recognition of the beloved. It comes not when we become perfect, but when we become open. It rushes through the streets — through every experience, every trial, every encounter — searching for the one who will finally stop running and let it in. We are not unworthy of joy; we are merely unaware of how near it stands. The poet’s words are a reminder that we are already pursued by grace, already called by name by the eternal Beloved.

Yet, in our blindness, we often flee from what seeks to bless us. We look for happiness in distant goals, in possessions, in the applause of others. We forget that what we chase has already been chasing us. The man who quiets his heart, who becomes still enough to hear the footsteps of joy approaching, will find that happiness never left — it was only waiting for him to stop and listen. The key, then, is not pursuit but presence. To open the heart is to be found.

And so, dear soul of the future, learn this from Hafez: Do not strive to earn happiness; prepare to receive it. Let your life become a house with open doors, where laughter may enter unannounced. Practice gratitude each morning, not for what you seek, but for what already seeks you. In every breeze, in every kindness, in every breath, hear the call of joy whispering your name. And when at last you stand still and smile, the universe will sigh in relief — for happiness, after so long running through the streets, will have finally found its home in you.