Kahlil Gibran

The Prophet is a book by the Lebanese-American poet and writer Kahlil Gibran in 1923. 

The book consists of answers by Prophet Almustafa  to a crowd of villagers on a number of themes relating to life and the human condition. The Prophet has been translated into over one hundred languages and is one of the best-selling books of all time.

Excerpts: 

Your Children  

• Your children are not your children.
• They are the sons and daughters of life's longing for itself.
• They come through you but they are not from you.
• Though they are with you 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 you cannot make them just like you.

On Eating and drinking

Then an old man, a keeper of an inn, said, "Speak to us of Eating and Drinking." And he said:

Would that you could live on the fragrance of the earth, and like an air plant be sustained by the light. But since you must kill to eat, and rob the newly born of its mother's milk to quench your thirst, let it then be an act of worship. 

When you kill a beast say to him in your heart, "By the same power that slays you, I too am slain; and I too shall be consumed. For the law that delivered you in to my hand shall deliver me into a mightier hand. Your blood and my blood is naught but the sap that feeds the tree of heaven."

And when you crush an apple with your teeth, say to it in your heart, "Your seeds shall live in my body, And the buds of your tomorrow shall blossom in my heart, And your fragrance shall be my breath, And together we shall rejoice through all the seasons.

On Giving

Then a rich man asked, “Speak to us of Giving.”

And the prophet answered : “You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give. For what are your possessions but things you keep and guard for fear you may need them tomorrow'? And what shall tomorrow bring to the overprudent dog burying bones in the trackless sand? And what is fear of need but need itself'? Is not dread of thirst when your well is full, the thirst that is unquenchable'?

There are those who give little of the much which they have, and who give it for recognition. And there are those who have little and give it all. These are the believers in life and the bounty of life, and their coffer is never empty.

There are those who give with joy, and that joy is their reward. And there are those who give with pain, and that pain is their baptism. And there are those who give and know not pain in giving, nor do they seek joy, nor give with mindfulness of virtue. They give as in yonder valley the myrtle breathes its fragrance into space. Through the hands of such as these God speaks, and from behind their eyes He smiles upon the earth.

It is well to give when asked, but it is better to give unasked, through understanding. And to the open-handed the search for one who shall receive is joy greater than giving. And what is the point of withholding'? All you have shall some day be given. Therefore give now, that the season of giving may be yours and not your inheritors'.

On Love

Then, said Almitra, speak to us of Love.And he raised his head and looked upon the people, and there fell a stillness upon them. And with a great voice he said:

When love beckons to you, follow him, Though his ways are hard and steep. And when his wings enfold you yield to him, Though the sword hidden among his pinions may wound you. And when he speaks to you believe in him, Though his voice may shatter your dreams as the north wind lays waste the garden. FOR even as love crowns you so shall he crucify you.Even as he is for your growth so is he for your pruning.

Even as he ascends to your height and caresses your tenderest branches that quiver in the sun, So shall he descend to your roots and shake them in their clinging to the earth. LIKE sheaves of corn he gathers you unto himself.He threshes you to make you naked.He sifts you to free you from your husks.He grinds you to whiteness.He kneads you until you are pliant; And then he assigns you to his sacred fire, that you may become sacred bread for God’s sacred feast.

All these things shall love do unto you that you may know the secrets of your heart, and in that knowledge become a fragment of Life’s heart.BUT if in your fear you would seek only love’s peace and love’s pleasure, Then it is better for you that you cover your nakedness and pass out of love’s threshing–floor,Into the seasonless world where you shall laugh, but not all of your laughter, and weep, but not all of your tears.

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.WHEN you love you should not say, “God is in my heart,” but rather, “I am in the heart of God.”And think not you can direct the course of love, for love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course.

LOVE has no other desire but to fulfill itself. But if you love and must needs have desires, let these be your desires: To melt and be like a running brook that sings its melody to the night. To know the pain of too much tenderness. To be wounded by your own understanding of love; And to bleed willingly and joyfully. To wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving; To rest at the noon hour and meditate love’s ecstasy; To return home at eventide with gratitude; And then to sleep with a prayer for the beloved in your heart and a song of praise upon your lips.