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Kahlil Gibran (i)

 

Kahlil Gibran
 

"Beauty is eternity looking at itself in a mirror;

You are eternity; You are the mirror"

- 'The Prophet', Kahlil Gibran


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Quotations from: 'The Prophet':
 

'Love'

"Love gives naught but itself, and takes naught but from itself. Love possesses not nor would it be possessed: For love is sufficient unto love."

'I have Found a Truth'

"Say not, "I have found the truth," but rather, "I have found a truth."

Say not, "I have found the path of the soul." say rather, "I have met the soul walking upon my path."

For the soul walks upon all paths.

The soul walks not upon a line, neither does it grow like a reed.

The soul unfolds itself, like a lotus of countless petals."


'Your Children are not Your Children'

"They are the sons and daughters of life's longing for itself.

They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.

You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts.

You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow,
which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.

You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you.

For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday."

'Let there be Spaces...'

"Let there be spaces in your togetherness. And let the winds of the heavens dance between you.

Love one another but make not a bond of love: Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.

Fill each other's cup but drink not from one cup. Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf. Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone, Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music.

Give your hearts, but not into each other's keeping. For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts...

...And stand together, yet not too near together: For the pillars of the temple stand apart, and the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other's shadow.”

'Understanding'

"If you would understand him, listen not to what he says, but rather to what he does not say."


'Out of Suffering...'

"Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars."

'Time'

"Yesterday is but today's memory, and tomorrow is today's dream."

'Generosity - and Pride'

"Generosity is giving more than you can, and pride is taking less than you need.”

'Giving'

"You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.

Generosity is not giving me that which I need - but it is giving me that which you need more than I do"

'Forgetting'

"You may forget with whom you laughed, but you will never forget with whom you wept."

'Look...' 

"To understand the heart and mind of a person, look not at what he has already achieved, but at what he aspires to."

 'Optimism'

"The optimist sees the rose and not its thorns; the pessimist stares at the thorns, oblivious to the rose."

'Belittling'

"To belittle, you have to be little."

'Face the sun...'

"You see but your shadow when you turn your back to the sun."

 'Wisdom'

 “Wisdom ceases to be wisdom when it becomes too proud to weep, too grave to laugh, and too selfish to seek other than itself.”

 'Injury'

 “If the other person injures you, you may forget the injury; but if you injure him you will always remember”

 'Freedom'

 “You may chain my hands, you may shackle my feet; you may even throw me into a dark prison; but you shall not enslave my thinking, because it is free!”

 'Action'

 “A little knowledge that acts is worth infinitely more than much knowledge that is idle.”

 'Rememberance'

 “Remembrance is a form of meeting.”

 'Love Directs You'

“And think not you can direct the course of love, for love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course.”

 'Life'

“Life unfolds itself in mysteries ways.”

 'Then we sought one another'

“When you were a wandering desire in the mist, I too was there, a wandering desire.

Then we sought one another, and out of our eagerness dreams were born.

...And dreams were time limitless, and dreams were space without measure.”

 'Wealth'

 “A man's true wealth is the good he does in the world.”

 "Reason & Passion"

"Reason, ruling alone, is a force confining. Passion unattended, is a flame that burns to its own destruction.

Let your soul exalt your reason to the height of passion; Let it direct your passion with reason.”

 'Souls'

“The philosopher's soul dwells in his head, the poet's soul is in his heart."

'Happiness' 

“Happiness is a vine that takes root and grows within the heart, never outside it.”

'Admiration'

"Admire what others have created in love and faith”

'Half Measures"

“Desire is half of life, indifference is half of death.”

'Children'

“Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself”

(Kahlil Gibran - Poems ...)