Only Thing I Own is a Pure Heart

"I thought Persian values was about driving Mercedes and Ferrari's," said the 20-year old Persian college student innocently as we were riding on a Long Island Railroad train to Great Neck the other night. "I understand why you might think that," I said, "but true Persian values, believe it or not, are actually quite non-materialistic." He was understandably surprised, so I told him about the song lyrics below, whose subplot is about a man who was dumped by a woman. But the real story of the song is about being content with what you have.

Utterly free
From Because and Why
With what is given by God
Always content
Always content

After complaining to her about why she left him, the man goes on to declare himself to be a Darvish, a mystical figure whose origins are beyond the scope of this blog. For our purposes, note the man's attitude toward material things.

I am a darvish
And the world to me
Is nothing but a fist full of soil
The whole sum of my belongings
Is a pure heart.

A darvish will spend the night
On any old rag
A drop of water
Or an entire sea
Makes no difference to him.

(Golpa's "Darvish")