"if they give you ruled paper, write the other way." -JRJM
Catching Elephant is a theme by Andy Taylor
And ever has it been that love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation.
Khalil Gibran, The Prophet
[ favorite. in the whole book. and it wasnt even the prophet’s words ]
Love gives naught but itself and takes naught but from itself.
Love possesses not not would it be possessed;
For love is sufficient unto love.
…And think not you can direct the source 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 under-standing of love;
And to bleed willingly and joyfully.
…And then to sleep with a prayer for the beloved in your heart and a song of praise upon your lips.
Khalil Gibran, The Prophet
Love one another, but make not a bond of love;
Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone,
Give your hearts, but not into each other’s keeping
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
Khalil Gibran, The Prophet
When love beckons 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.
..
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.
Khalil Gibran, The Prophet
[ My favorites are his ones on marriage, love, and children. ]
You are good when you strive to give of yourself.
Yet you are not evil when you seek gain for yourself.
Khalil Gibran, The Prophet
[ i always struggle to remember this simple fact… ]
Some of your youth seek pleasure as if it were all, and they are judged and rebuked.
I would not judge nor rebuke them. I would have them seek.
For they shall find pleasure, but not her alone;
Khalil Gibran, The Prophet
And beauty is not a need but an ecstasy.
It is not a mouth thirsting nor an empty hand stretched forth,
But rather a heart enflamed and a soul enchanted.
Khalil Gibran, The Prophet
Man’s needs change, but not his love, nor his desire that his love should satisfy his needs.
Khalil Gibran, The Prophet
Work is love made visible.
Khalil Gibran, The Prophet
Your house is your larger body.
It grows in the sun and sleeps in the stillness of night;
Khalil Gibran, The Prophet
You delight in laying down laws,
Yet you delight more in breaking them…
…you can muffle the drum, and you can loosen the strings of the lyre, but who shall command the skylark not to sing?
Khalil Gibran, The Prophet
And a man said, Speak to us of Self-Knowledge
He answered, saying:
Your hearts know in silence the secrets of the days and the nights
But your ears thirst for the sound of your heart’s knowledge
You would know is words that which you have always known in thought
Khalil Gibran, The Prophet
And a woman spoke, saying, Tell us of Pain
He said, Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding
…Much of your pain is self-chosen.
Khalil Gibran, The Prophet
For the vision of one man lends not its wings to another man
Khalil Gibran, The Prophet
No man can reveal to you aught but that which already lies half asleep in the dawning of your knowledge
…If he is indeed wise he…leads you to the threshold of your own mind
Khalil Gibran, The Prophet
