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.
(...) Mon ami, ne sois pas comme celui qui s'assied près de l'être et regarde le feu s'éteindre, puis souffle en vain sur les cendres mortes. N'abandonne pas l'espoir, ne cède pas au désespoir pour ce qui est passé, car se lamenter sur l'irréparable est la pire de fragilités humaines.
Hier, je me repentais de ce que j'avais fait, et aujourd'hui, je comprends mon erreur et le mal que je me suis fait en brisant mon arc et en détruisant mon carquois.
Je t'aime, mon frère, qui que tu sois - que tu adores Dieu dans ton église, que tu t'agenouilles dans ton temple, que tu pries dans ta mosquée. Toi et moi sommes les enfants d'une même foi, car les divers sentiers des religions sont les doigts de la main aimante d'un seul Etre Suprême, une main tendue à tous, offrant à tous la totalité de l'esprit, avide d'acueillir tout le monde.
Dieu vous à donner un esprit dont les ailes vous permettent de voler dans le vaste firmament de l'Amour et de la Liberté. N'est-il pas dès lors regrettable que vous coupiez ces ailes de vos propres mains et que vous forciez votre âme à remper comme un insecte sur la terre?
Mon âme, la vie est un coursier de la nuit, plus rapide est son vol plus proche sera l'aube.
-- extrait de "La Voix Du Maître"
from The Prophet
Then a woman said, "Speak to us of Joy and Sorrow."
And he answered:
Your joy is your sorrow unmasked.
And the selfsame well from which your laughter rises was oftentimes filled with your tears.
And how else can it be?
The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain.
Is not the cup that hold your wine the very cup that was burned in the potter's oven?
And is not the lute that soothes your spirit, the very wood that was hollowed with knives?
When you are joyous, look deep into your heart and you shall find it is only that which has given you sorrow that is giving you joy.
When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight.
Some of you say, "Joy is greater than sorrow," and others say, "Nay, sorrow is the greater."
But I say unto you, they are inseparable.
Together they come, and when one sits alone with you at your board, remember that the other is asleep upon your bed.
Verily you are suspended like scales between your sorrow and your joy.
Only when you are empty are you at standstill and balanced.
When the treasure-keeper lifts you to weigh his gold and his silver, needs must your joy or your sorrow rise or fall.
A man can be free without being great, but no man can be great without being free.
-- Kahlil Gibran’s letter to Mary Haskell May 16, 1913.
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Recommended books:
- The Prophet
Kahlil Gibran; Hardcover
- The Voice of the Master
Kahlil Gibran / Paperback / Published 1990
- Broken Wings
Kahlil Gibran, et al / Paperback / Published 1998
You may forget the one with whom you have laughed, but never the one with whom you have wept.
--Gibran
Wisdom ceases to be wisdom when it becomes too proud to weep, too grave to laugh, and too self-ful to seek other than itself.
-- Gibran