The following pieces are not from scripture and please do not regard it as such. It only gives us some insight into some aspects of Love and Life, as described by a very wise man, and has meant a lot to me in my life.
It is taken from 'The Prophet' by Kahlil Gibran.
About LOVE :
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 caress
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 treshes 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 the sacred feast of God.
....
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.
Love is sufficient unto love.
....
And think not that you can direct love,
for love,
if it finds you worthy,
directs your course.
About MARRIAGE :
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.
I love Kahil Gibrans' work. Very insightful and universal. "...for love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course" Magnificent. The greatest of them all is LOVE
ReplyDeleteAbout GIVING
ReplyDeleteYou 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 tomorrow, what shall tomorrow bring to the over-prudent dog burying bones in the trackless sand as he follows the pilgrims to the Holy City ?
And what is fear of need but fear 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 they give it for recognition and their hidden treasure makes their gifts unwholesome.
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 a joy greater than giving.
And is there aught you would withold ? All you have shall some day be given; therefore give now, that the season of giving may be yours and not that of your inheritors'.
You often say, "I would give, but only to the deserving". The trees in your orchard say not so, nor the flocks in your pasture. They give that they may live, for to withold is to perish. Surely he who is worthy to receive his days and his nights is worthy of all else from you. And he who has deserved to drink from the ocean of life, deserves to fill his cup from your little stream.
And what dessert greater shall there be, than that which lies in the courage and the confidence, nay the charity, of receiving.
And who are you that men should rend their bosom and unveil their pride, that you may see their worth naked and their pride unabashed. See first that you yourself deserve to be a giver, and an instrument of giving. For in truth it is life that gives unto life - while you, who deem yourself a giver, are but a witness.
And you receivers - and all you are receivers - assume no weight of gratitude, lest you lay a yoke upon yourself and upon him who gives.
Rather rise together on his gifts as on wings; for to be overmindful of your debt is to doubt his generosity who has the free-hearted earth for mother, and God for father.