As the winds sway the bough, so the gnostic's aspiration causes God to incline mercifully towards him.

According to Ibn Arabi, the Andalusian Sufi master, in his commentary on The Interpreter of Desires, the sincere longing of the one who seeks to know God with the heart — the “gnostic” — causes God to turn toward him with mercy, as the wind bends the branches; it echoes the divine word: “If anyone comes a span nearer to Me, I will come a cubit nearer to him.” Today, turn your longing toward God in a few simple words, and trust that He is already turning toward you.