The Prophet is known around the world and has influenced a sea of influential modern artists including David Bowie, Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, The Beatles etc.
The Prophet is a brilliant pocket sized book adorned with his own beautiful drawings (shown here on the page). It tells the story of a prophet, Almustafa who is waiting for his ship to take him home to the place of his birth. Before he embarks on his homeward journey, he feels compelled to give divine advice and guidance to the city and the people with whom he has stayed for twelve years.
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| "On Giving" by Khalil Gibran |
They urge him to speak of themes such as: Love, home, work, parenting, marriage, death etc. The Prophet has gained world wide popularity and has especially been shared by literary intellectuals, students and spiritual individuals since the swinging sixties (if you were on the beat). Khalil Gibran is still the third best-selling poet of all times after Shakespeare and Lao-Tzu.
To me when I first read the Prophet I was completely sold to the beauty of the language and the profound knowledge embedded in each verse. It was like having a love affair reading the Prophet. You became so enthralled and loved up you couldn't think of anything else than being in the company of the prophet again.
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| "Love" By Gibran |
I'd like to share two sections with you that I love from the chapters about Marriage and Children.
There are many phrases, stunning and illuminated insights throughout the book but these two images has kept echoing in my heart.
The verse on Marriage was read out at our wedding by our dear friend, Liam and holds a special place in my heart. The same section in the book was later spontaneously read out in Danish by my dear friend Anne Sofie. And later another dear friend, Simon confessed that he had also been sitting with the book in his bag at the ceremony. This was a wonderful sign that this section is significant and hence played such a big part on our wedding day.
Marriage
Then Almitra spoke again and said, "And what of Marriage, master?"
And he answered saying:
You were born together, and together you shall be forevermore.
You shall be together when white wings of death scatter your days.
Aye, you shall be together even in the silent memory of God.
But 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.
I especially love the last two lines. I think this is so true in any relationship. You want to share and be together but not so close you stand in each other's shadow. There has to be space between you in order for you to see and appreciate each other fully.
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| "On Children" The Archer by Gibran |
On Children
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.
You are the bows from which your children
as living arrows are sent forth.
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite,
and He bends you with His might
that His arrows may go swift and far.
Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness;
For even as He loves the arrow that flies,
so He loves also the bow that is stable.
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| Marianna, Kahlil's Sister. Painting by Kahlil Gibran |
Enjoy and please share your favorite sections and tell us why...
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