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Happiness Is A Myth We Seek, If Manifested Surely Irks; Like River Speeding To The Plain, On Its Arrival Slows And Murks. For Man Is Happy Only In His Aspiration To The Heights; When He Attains His Goal, He Cools And Longs For Other Distant Flights.

-Khalil Gibran

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Happiness Is A Myth

Khalil Gibran

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Happiness Is A Myth We Seek, If Manifested Surely Irks; Like River Speeding To The Plain, On Its Arrival Slows And Murks. For Man Is Happy Only In His Aspiration To The Heights; When He Attains His Goal, He Cools And Longs For Other Distant Flights.

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But You Who Walk Facing The Sun, What Images Drawn On The Earth Can Hold You? You Who Travel With The Wind, What Weathervane Shall Direct Your Course? What Man's Law Shall Bind You If You Break Your Yoke But Upon No Man's Prison Door? What Laws Shall You Fear If You Dance But Stumble Against No Man's Iron Chains? And Who Is He That Shall Bring You To Judgment If You Tear Off Your Garment Yet Leave It In No Man's Path? People Of Orphalese, You Can Muffle The Drum, And You Can Loosen The Strings Of The Lyre, But Who Shall Command The Skylark Not To Sing?

Trees Are Poems The Earth Writes Upon The Sky, We Fell Them Down And Turn Them Into Paper, That We May Record Our Emptiness.

A Friend Who Is Far Away Is Sometimes Much Nearer Than One Who Is At Hand. Is Not The Mountain Far More Awe-inspiring And More Clearly Visible To One Passing Through The Valley Than To Those Who Inhabit The Mountain?

For Love Is Sufficient Unto Love.

Weddings And Love

I Slept And I Dreamed That Life Is All Joy. I Woke And I Saw That Life Is All Service. I Served And I Saw That Service Is Joy.

And You Receivers - And You Are All Receivers - Assume No Weight Of Gratitude, Lest You Lay A Yoke Upon Yourself And Upon Him Who Gives. Rather Rise Together With The Giver 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.

Disagreement May Be The Shortest Cut Between Two Minds.

Only When You Drink From The River Of Silence Shall You Indeed Sing.

Life Is Not Only Merriment,it Is Desire And Determination.

Do Not Fear The Thorns In Your Path, For They Draw Only Corrupt Blood.

Seek Ye Counsel Of The Aged For Their Eyes Have Looked On The Faces Of The Years And Their Ears Have Hardened To The Voices Of Life. Even If Their Counsel Is Displeasing To You, Pay Heed To Them.

He Alone Is Great Who Turns The Voice Of The Wind Into A Song Made Sweeter By His Own Loving.

Yea, Death And Prison We Mete Out To Small Offenders Of The Laws, While Honor, Wealth, And Full Respect On Greater Pirates We Bestow. To Steal A Flower We Call Mean. To Rob A Field Is Chivalry; Who Kills The Body He Must Die, Who Kills The Spirit He Goes Free.

Am I Less Man Because I Believe In A Greater Man?

Your Reason And Your Passion Are Your Rudder And Sails Of Your Seafaring Soul, If Either Your Sails Or Your Rudder Be Broken, You Can But Toss And Drift, Or Else Be Held At A Standstill In Mid-seas. For Reason, Ruling Alone, Is A Force Confining; And Passion, Unattended, Is A Flame That Burns To Its Own Destruction.

My Friend, I Am Not What I Seem. Seeming Is But A Garment I Wear — A Care-woven Garment That Protects Me From Thy Questionings And Thee From My Negligence. The "i" In Me, My Friend, Dwells In The House Of Silence, And Therein It Shall Remain For Ever More, Unperceived, Unapproachable.

The Deeper That Sorrow Carves Into Your Being, The More Joy You Can Contain... When You Are Joyous Look Deep Into Your Heart And You Will Find That It Is Only That Which Has Given You Sorrow That Is Giving You Joy.

Inspirational Love

To Understand The Heart And Mind Of A Person, Look Not At What He Has Already Achieved, But At What He Aspires To.

For If You Bake Bread With Indifference, You Bake A Bitter Bread That Feeds But Half Man's Hunger.

Art Is A Step In The Known Toward The Unknown

If I Extend An Empty Hand And In Retrieving It And Finding It Still Empty, I Feel Disappointment, That Is Foolishness; Yet If I Extend A Hand Which Is Full And Yet Find No One To Receive It, Then That Is Hopelessness.

I Learnt Silence From The Talkative

If Your Knowledge Teaches You Not The Value Of Things, And Frees You Not From The Bondage To Matter, You Shall Never Come Near The Throne Of Truth.

Those To Whom Worshiping Is A Window, To Open But Also To Shut, Have Not Yet Visited The House Of Their Souls Whose Windows Are Open From Dawn To Dawn.

Should We All Confess Our Sins To One Another We Would All Laugh At One Another For Our Lack Of Originality

The Mother Is Everything - She Is Our Consolation In Sorrow, Our Hope In Misery, And Our Strength In Weakness. She Is The Source Of Love, Mercy, Sympathy, And Forgiveness. He Who Loses His Mother Loses A Pure Soul Who Blesses And Guards Him Constantly

When You Reach The Heart Of Life You Shall Find Beauty In All Things, Even In The Eyes That Are Blind To Beauty.

When You Have Solved All The Mysteries Of Life You Long For Death, For It Is But Another Mystery Of Life.

Mystery Of Life

Perhaps Time’s Definition Of Coal Is The Diamond.

And All Knowledge Is Vain Save When There Is Work, And All Work Is Empty Save When There Is Love; And When You Work With Love You Bind Yourself To Yourself, And To One Another, And To God.

He Was Gentle, Like A Man Mindful Of His Own Strength. In My Dreams I Beheld The Kings Of The Earth Standing In Awe In His Presence.

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.

Nor Shall Derision Prove Powerful Against Those Who Listen To Humanity Or Those Who Follow In The Footsteps Of Divinity, For They Shall Live Forever. Forever.

You May Chain My Hands, You May Shackle My Feet; You May Even Throw Me Into A Dark Prison; But You Shall Not Enslave My Thinking, Because It Is Free!

Tears Have Cleansed My Eyes, And Errors Have Taught Me The Language Of The Hearts.

Jesus Was Not Sent Here To Teach The People To Build Magnificent Churches And Temples Amidst The Cold Wretched Huts And Dismal Hovels. He Came To Make The Human Heart A Temple, And The Soul An Altar, And The Mind A Priest.

When God Threw Me, A Pebble, Into This Wondrous Lake, I Disturbed Its Surface With Countless Circles. But When I Reached The Depths, I Became Very Still.

Life Is The Mistress To Be Wooed.

In Every Winter's Heart There Is A Quivering Spring, And Behind The Veil Of Each Night There Is A Shining Dawn.

You Are Not Enclosed Within Your Bodies, Nor Confined To Houses Or Fields. That Which Is You Dwells Above The Mountain And Roves With The Wind.

You Would Know The Secret Of Death. But How Shall You Find It Unless You Seek It In The Heath Of Life? The Owl Whose Night-bound Eyes Are Blind Unto The Day Cannot Unveil The Mystery Of Light. If You Would Indeed Behold The Spirit Of Death, Open Your Heart Wide Unto The Body Of Life. For Life And Death Are One, Even As The River And Sea Are One. For What Is It To Die But To Stand Naked In The Wind And To Melt Into The Sun?

How Often Have You Sailed In My Dreams. And Now You Come In My Awakening, Which Is My Deeper Dream.

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.

The Most Solid Stone In The Structure Is The Lowest One In The Foundation.

The Giving And Receiving Of Pleasure Is A Need And An Ecstasy.

Believing Is A Fine Thing, But Placing Those Beliefs Into Execution Is A Test Of Strength. Many Are Those Who Talk Like The Roar Of The Sea, Gut Their Lives Are Shallow And Stagnant, Like The Rotting Marshes. Many Are Those Who Lift Their Heads Above The Mountain Tops, But Their Spirits Remain Dormant In The Obscurity Of The Caverns.

How Narrow Is The Vision That Exalts The Busyness Of The Ant Above The Singing Of The Grasshopper.

Often Times I Have Hated In Self-defense; If I Were Stronger I Would Not Have Used Such A Weapon.

Every Man Loves Two Women;the One Is The Creation Of His Imagination And The Other Is Not Yet Born

Men Who Do Not Forgive Women Their Little Faults Will Never Enjoy Their Great Virtues.

Wit Is Often A Mask. If You Tear It You Will Find Either Genius Irritated Or Cleverness Juggling.

Seek Not The Depths Of Your Knowledge With Staff Or Sounding Line. For Self Is A Sea Boundless And Measureless.

Your Confidence In The People, And Your Doubt About Them, Are Closely Related To Your Self-confidence And Your Self-doubt.

Self Confidence

Is Not The Cup That Holds Your Wine The Very Cup That Was Burned In The Potter’s Oven?

Inspirational Love

The Soul Is An Embryo In The Body Of Man, And The Day Of Death Is The Day Of Awakening, For It Is The Great Era Of Labour And The Rich Hour Of Creation.

Give Your Hearts, But Not Into Each Other's Keeping, For Only The Hand Of God Can Contain Your Hearts.

We Live Only To Discover Beauty. All Else Is A Form Of Waiting

Beautiful Women

Knowledge Of The Self Is The Mother Of All Knowledge. So It Is Incumbent On Me To Know My Self, To Know It Completely, To Know Its Minutiae, Its Characteristics, Its Subtleties, And Its Very Atoms.

In The Autumn I Gathered All My Sorrows And Buried Them In My Garden. And When April Returned And Spring Came To Wed The Earth, There Grew In My Garden Beautiful Flowers Unlike All Other Flowers. And My Neighbors Came To Behold Them, And They All Said To Me, "when Autumn Comes Again, At Seeding Time, Will You Not Give Us Of The Seeds Of These Flowers That We May Have Them In Our Gardens?"

God Listens Not To Your Words Save When He Himself Utters Them Through Your Lips.

The Human Heart Cries Out For Help; The Human Soul Implores Us For Deliverance; But We Do Not Heed Their Cries, For We Neither Hear Nor Understand. But The Man Who Hears And Understands We Call Mad, And Flee From Him. Thus The Nights Pass, And We Live In Unawareness; And The Days Greet Us And Embrace Us. But We Live In Constant Dread Of Day And Night.

Your Clothes Conceal Much Of Your Beauty, Yet They Hide Not The Unbeautiful. And Though You Seek In Garments The Freedom Of Privacy, You May Find In Them A Harness And A Chain. Would That You Could Meet The Sun And The Wind With More Of Your Body And Less Of Your Raiment.

Do Not Keep Crying When Your Love Has Been Gone. You Only Need Smile Because He Had Been Given You The Opportunity To Meet Someone Who Is Better.

My Soul Gave Me Good Counsel, Teaching Me Never To Delight In Praise Or To Be Distressed By Reproach. Before My Soul Taught Me, I Doubted The Value Of My Accomplishments Until The Passing Days Sent Someone Who Would Extol Or Disparage Them. But Now I Know That Trees Blossom In The Spring And Give Their Fruits In The Summer Without Any Desire For Accolades. And They Scatter Their Leaves Abroad In The Fall And Denude Themselves In The Winter Without Fear Of Reproof.

Money Is Like Love; It Kills Slowly And Painfully The One Who Withholds It, And Enlivens The Other Who Turns It On His Fellow Man.

To Belittle, You Have To Be Little.

We Who Love Him Beheld Him With These Our Eyes Which He Made To See; And We Touched Him With These Our Hands Which He Taught To Reach Forth.

The Highest Virtue Here May Be Least In Another World.

Music Is The Language Of The Spirit. It Opens The Secret Of Life Bringing Peace, Abolishing Strife.

Many Of Us Spend Our Whole Lives Running From Feeling With The Mistaken Belief That You Can Not Bear The Pain. But You Have Already Borne The Pain. What You Have Not Done Is Feel All You Are Beyond That Pain.

For Thought Is A Bird Of Space, That In A Cage Of Words May Indeed Unfold Its Wings But Cannot Fly.

And As A Single Leaf Turns Not Yellow But With The Silent Knowledge Of The Whole Tree.

Your Living Is Determined Not So Much By What Life Brings To You As By The Attitude You Bring To Life; Not So Much By What Happens To You As By The Way Your Mind Looks At What Happens.

Have You Not Heard Of The Man Who Was Digging In The Earth For Roots And Found A Treasure?

Philosophy's Work Is Finding The Shortest Path Between Two Points.

If Any Of You Would Bring Judgment The Unfaithful Wife, Let Him Also Weight The Heart Of Her Husband In Scales, And Measure His Soul With Measurements.

If A Man Loses A Dear Friend, He Looks Around And Sees Many Friends Come To Console And Comfort Him. If A Man Loses His Wealth, After A Little Thought He Will Realize That The Delight That Came From Wealth Will Be Restored By Finding More. Thus He Forgets His Loss And Is Consoled. But If A Man's Heart Is Deprived Of Peace, Where Will He Find It Again, How Will He Replace It?

If We Were To All Sit In A Circle And Confess Our Sins, We Would Laugh At Each Other For Lack Of Originality.

The Sorrowful Spirit Finds Relaxation In Solitude. It Abhors People, As A Wounded Deer Deserts The Herd And Lives In A Cave Until It Is Healed Or Dead.

For What Is Evil But Good Tortured By Its Own Hunger And Thirst?

Hunger And Thirst

My Loneliness Was Born When Men Praised My Talkative Faults And Blamed My Silent Virtues.

Poverty Is A Veil That Obscures The Face Of Greatness. An Appeal Is A Mask Covering The Face Of Tribulation.

Man Struggles To Find Life Outside Himself, Unaware That The Life He Is Seeking Is Within Him.

I Once Heard A Learned Man Say, "every Evil Has Its Remedy, Except Folly. To Reprimand An Obstinate Fool Or To Preach To A Dolt Is Like Writing Upon The Water. Christ Healed The Blind, The Halt, The Palsied, And The Leprous. But The Fool He Could Not Cure."

Make Me, Oh God, The Prey Of The Lion, Ere You Make The Rabbit My Prey

Love Gives Naught But Itself And Takes Naught But From Itself.

The Nearest To My Heart Are A King Without A Kingdom And A Poor Man Who Does Not Know How To Beg.

When Your Friend Speaks His Mind You Fear Not The 'nay' In Your Own Mind, Nor Do You Withhold The 'ay. And When He Is Silent Your Heart Ceases Not To Listen To His Heart; For Without Words, In Friendship, All Thoughts, All Desires, All Expectations Are Born And Shared, With Joy That Is Unacclaimed. When You Part From Your Friend, You Grieve Not; For That Which You Love Most In Him May Be Clearer In His Absence, As The Mountain To The Climber Is Clearer From The Plain.

Keep Me Away From The Wisdom Which Does Not Cry, The Philosophy Which Does Not Laugh And The Greatness Which Does Not Bow Before Children.

From A Sensitive Woman's Heart Springs The Happiness Of Mankind, And From The Kindness Of Her Noble Spirit Comes Mankind's Affection.

Much Of Your Pain Is Self-chosen. It Is The Bitter Potion By Which The Physician Within You Heals Your Sick Self. Therefore Trust The Physician, And Drink His Remedy In Silence And Tranquility: For His Hand, Though Heavy And Hard, Is Guided By The Tender Hand Of The Unseen, And The Cup He Brings, Though It Burn Your Lips, Has Been Fashioned Of The Clay Which The Potter Has Moistened With His Own Sacred Tears.

Learn The Words Of Wisdom Uttered By The Wise And Apply Them In Your Own Life. Live Them - But Do Not A Make A Show Of Reciting Them, For He Who Repeats What He Does Not Understand Is No Better Than An Ass Loaded With Books.

Words Of Wisdom

Philosophy Began When Man Ate The Produce Of The Earth And Suffered Indigestion.

The Lights Of Stars That Were Extinguished Ages Ago Still Reaches Us. So It Is With Great Men Who Died Centuries Ago, But Still Reach Us With The Radiations Of Their Personalities.

Men Would Bless You Or Curse You; The Curse, A Protest Against Failure, The Blessing, A Hymn Of The Hunter Who Comes Back From The Hills With Provision For His Mate.

For Reason, Ruling Alone, Is A Force Confining; And Passion, Unattended, Is A Flame That Burns To Its Own Destruction.

Clock Is Ticking

Solitude Is A Silent Storm That Breaks Down All Our Dead Branches; Yet It Sends Our Living Roots Deeper Into The Living Heart Of The Living Earth.

To Love Life Through Our Labor Is To Be Intimate With Life's Inmost Secrets.

My Friends: Music Is The Language Of Spirits. Its Melody Is Like The Frolicsome Breeze That Makes The Strings Quiver With Love. When The Gentle Fingers Of Music Knock At The Door Of Our Feelings, They Awaken Memories That Have Long Lain Hidden In The Depths Of The Past. The Sad Strains Of Music Bring Us Mournful Recollections; And Her Quiet Strains Bring Us Joyful Memories. The Sound Of Strings Makes Us Weep At The Departure Of A Dear One, Or Makes Us Smile At The Peace God Has Bestowed Upon Us.

Keep Your Heart In Wonder At The Daily Miracles Of Your Life.

I Purified My Lips With Sacred Fire That I Might Speak Of Love, But When I Opened My Mouth To Speak, I Found Myself Mute.

Marriage Is The Union Of Two Divinities That A Third Might Be Born On Earth. It Is The Union Of Two Souls In A Strong Love For The Abolishment Of Separateness. It Is That Higher Unity Which Fuses The Separate Unities Within The Two Spirits. It Is The Golden Ring In A Chain Whose Beginning Is A Glance, And Whose Ending Is Eternity. It Is The Pure Rain That Falls From An Unblemished Sky To Fructify And Bless The Fields Of Divine Nature.

He Who Wears His Morality But As His Best Garment Were Better Naked. The Wind And The Sun Will Tear No Holes In His Skin.

The Power To Love Is God's Greatest Gift To Man, For It Never Will Be Taken From The Blessed One Who Loves.

How Beautiful To Find A Heart That Loves You, Without Asking You For Anything, But To Be Okay.

The Obvious Is That Which Is Never Seen Until Someone Expresses It Simply.

The Just Is Close To The People's Heart, But The Merciful Is Close To The Heart Of God.

Strange That We All Defend Our Wrongs With More Vigor Than We Do Our Rights.

I Said To Life, I Would Hear Death Speak. And Life Raised Her Voice A Little Higher And Said, You Hear Him Now.

You Would Measure Time The Measureless And The Immeasurable. You Would Adjust Your Conduct And Even Direct The Course Of Your Spirit According To Hours And Seasons. Of Time You Would Make A Stream Upon Whose Bank You Would Sit And Watch Its Flowing.

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. Surely He Who Is Worthy To Receive His Days And 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. See First That Youyourself Deserve To Be A Giver , And An Insturument Of Giving. For In Truth It Is Life That Gives Unto Life-while You , Who Deem Yourself A Giver , Is But A Witness.

The Saint And The Sinner Are Twin Brothers...one Was Born But The Moment Before The Other.

Like The Seeds Dreaming Beneath The Snow Your Heart Dreams Of Spring.

No Lower Can A Man Descend Than To Interpret His Dreams Into Gold And Silver.

Wake At Dawn With A Winged Heart And Give Thanks For Another Day Of Loving.

I Existed From All Eternity And, Behold, I Am Here; And I Shall Exist Till The End Of Time, For My Being Has No End.

Education Sows Not Seeds In You, But Makes Your Seeds Grow.

Tolerance Is Love Sick With The Sickness Of Haughtiness.

I Had A Second Birth When My Soul And My Body Loved One Another And Were Married.

Love Is Not Without Its Flaws. The Stronger The Love, The More It Tests You. Compassion And Empathy Will Make True Love Persist.

History Does Not Repeat Itself Except In The Minds Of Those Who Do Not Know History.

I Would Tell You More Of Him, But How Shall I? When Love Becomes Vast Love Becomes Wordless. And When Memory Is Overladen It Seeks The Silent Deep.

Be Like A Flower And Turn Your Face To The Sun.

Your Thought Describes Laws, Courts, Judges, Punishments. Mine Explains That When Man Makes A Law, He Either Violates It Or Obeys It. If There Is A Basic Law, We Are All One Before It. He Who Disdains The Mean Is Himself Mean. He Who Vaunts His Scorn Of The Sinful Vaunts His Disdain Of All Humanity.

Love Is Timeless.... Death Does Not Separate The Lover From The Beloved.

And That Which Sings And Contemplates In You Is Still Dwelling Within The Bounds Of That First Moment Which Scattered The Stars Into Space.

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 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 On Your Lips.

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.

All Men Love You For Themselves. I Love You For Yourself.

Knowledge And Understanding Are Life's Faithful Companions Who Will Never Prove Untrue To You. For Knowledge Is Your Crown, And Understanding Your Staff; And When They Are With You, You Can Possess No Greater Treasures.

I Am One Of Those Who Believe That Spiritual Progress Is A Rule Of Human Life, But The Approach To Perfection Is Slow And Painful. If A Woman Elevates Herself In One Respect And Is Retarded In Another, It Is Because The Rough Trail That Leads To The Mountain Peak Is Not Free Of Ambushes Of Thieves And Lairs Of Wolves.

To Be Able To Look Back Upon Ones Life In Satisfaction, Is To Live Twice.

And How Shall You Punish Those Whose Remorse Is Already Greater Than Their Misdeeds?

Man Is Like The Foam Of The Sea, That Floats Upon The Surface Of The Water. When The Wind Blows, It Vanishes, As If It Had Never Been. Thus Are Our Lives Blown Away By Death.

People Of Orphalese, Beauty Is Life When Life Unveils Her Holy Face. But You Are Life And You Are The Veil. Beauty Is Eternity Gazing At Itself In A Mirror. But You Are Eternity And You Are The Mirror.

When We Turn To One Another For Counsel We Reduce The Number Of Our Enemies.

If My Survival Caused Another To Perish, Then Death Would Be Sweeter And More Beloved.

Every Man Is Two Men; One Is Awake In The Darkness, The Other Asleep In The Light.

A Woman Whom Providence Has Provided With Beauty Of Spirit And Body Is A Truth, At The Same Time Both Open And Secret, Which We Can Understand Only By Love, And Touch Only By Virtue.

There Must Be Something Strangely Sacred About Salt. It Is In Our Tears And In The Sea.

The Thirst Of Soul Is Sweeter Than The Wine Of Material Things, And The Fear Of Spirit Is Dearer Than The Security Of The Body.

It Is Not A Garment I Cast Off This Day, But A Skin That I Tear With My Own Hands.

Each Day Look Into Your Conscience And Amend Your Faults; If You Fail In This Duty You Will Be Untrue To The Knowledge And Reason That Are Within You. Keep A Watchful Eye Over Yourself As If You Were Your Own Enemy; For You Cannot Learn To Govern Yourself, Unless You First Learn To Govern Your Own Passions And Obey The Dictates Of Your Conscience.

God Has Created Several Doors Which Open Onto Truth. He Opens Them To All Those Who Knock On Them With The Hand Of Faith.

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.

They Tell Me: If You See A Slave Sleeping, Do Not Wake Him Lest He Be Dreaming Of Freedom. I Tell Them: If You See A Slave Sleeping, Wake Him And Explain To Him Freedom.

And God Said, Love Your Enemy, & I Obeyed Him & Loved Myself.

Love Your Enemies

Beauty Shall Rise With The Dawn From The East.

And Before My Soul Took Me To Task I Was Hard Of Hearing; I Heard Only Tumult And Uproar. But Now I Am All Ears Listening To The Silence And Its Choirs Singing The Hymns Of Time, Intoning The Praises Of The Firmament, Revealing The Secrets Of The Invisible.

Your House Shall Be Not An Anchor But A Mast It Shall Not Be A Glistening Film That Covers A Wound, But An Eyelid That Guards The Eye.

You May Give Them Your Love, But Not Your Thoughts. For They Have Their Own Thoughts.

My Yearning Is My Cup, My Burning Thirst Is My Drink, And My Solitude Is My Intoxication; I Do Not And Shall Not Quench My Thirst. But In This Burning That Is Never Extinguished Is A Joy That Never Wanes.

The Eye Of A Human Being Is A Microscope, Which Makes The World Seem Bigger Than It Really Is.

The Most Wonderful Thing, Mary, Is That You And I Are Always Walking Together, Hand In Hand, In A Strangely Beautiful World, Unknown To Other People. We Both Stretch One Hand To Receive From Life - And Life Is Generous Indeed.

We Fear Death, Yet We Long For Slumber And Beautiful Dreams.

And When You Have Reached The Mountain Top, Then You Shall Begin To Climb.

And Now You Ask In Your Heart, ‘how Shall We Distinguish That Which Is Good In Pleasure From That Which Is Not Good?’ Go To Your Fields And Your Gardens, And You Shall Learn That It Is The Pleasure Of The Bee To Gather Honey Of The Flower, But It Is Also The Pleasure Of The Flower To Yield Its Honey To The Bee. For To The Bee A Flower Is A Fountain Of Life, And To The Flower A Bee Is A Messenger Of Love, And To Both, Bee And Flower, The Giving And The Receiving Of Pleasure Is A Need And An Ecstasy. * People Of Orphalese, Be In Your Pleasures Like The Flowers And The Bees.

When You Reach The End Of What You Should Know, You Will Be At The Beginning Of What You Should Sense.

Many A Doctrine Is Like A Window Pane. We See Truth Through It But It Divides Us From Truth.

Oh, Lord God, Have Mercy On Me And Mend My Broken Wings.

And If There Come The Singers, And The Dancers And The Flute Players - Buy Of Their Gifts Also. For They Too Are Gatherers Of Fruit And Frankincense, And That Which They Bring, Though Fashioned Of Dreams, Is Raiment And Fod For Your Soul.

Remember, One Just Man Causes The Devil Greater Affliction Than A Million Blind Believers.

He That Tries To Seize An Opportunity After It Has Passed Him By Is Like One Who Sees It Approach But Will Not Go To Meet It.

Art Is A Step From What Is Obvious And Well-known Toward What Is Arcane And Concealed.

Native American

I Would Not Exchange The Sorrows Of My Heart For The Joys Of The Multitude. And I Would Not Have The Tears That Sadness Makes To Flow From My Every Part Turn Into Laughter. I Would That My Life Remain A Tear And A Smile.

Life Without Freedom Is Like A Body Without A Soul, And Freedom Without Thought Is Like A Confused Spirit. . . . Life, Freedom And Thought Are Three-in-one, And Are Everlasting And Shall Never Pass Away.

Like Sheaves Of Corn It Gathers You Unto Itself. It Threshes You To Make You Naked. It Sifts You To Free You From Your Husks. It Grinds You To Whiteness. It Kneads You Until You Are Pliant. And Then It Assigns You To Its 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.

Life Unfolds Itself In Mysteries Ways.

I Discovered The Secret Of The Sea In Meditation Upon A Dewdrop.

Your Joy Is Your Sorrow Unmasked.

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.

Extreme Torture Is Mute, And So We Sat Silent, Petrified, Like Columns Of Marble Buried Under The Sand Of An Earthquake. Neither Wished To Listen To The Other Because Our Heart-threads Had Become Weak And Even Breathing Would Have Broken Them.

There Is Within Me A Friend Who Consoles Me Every Time That Troubles Overwhelm Me And Misfortunes Afflict Me. The Man Who Does Not Feel Friendship Towards Himself Is A Public Enemy, And He Who Finds No Confidant Within Himself Will Die Of Despair. For Life Streams Out Of Man's Inner Self And In No Way From What Surrounds Him.

Say Not, 'i Have Found The Truth,' But Rather, 'i Have Found A Truth.'

Your Daily Life Is Your Temple And Your Religion. When You Enter Into It Take With You Your All.

Love Is A Sacred Mystery. To Those Who Love, It Remains Forever Wordless; But To Those Who Do Not Love, It May Be But A Heartless Jest.

Your Body Is The Harp Of Your Soul And It Is Yours To Bring Forth Sweet Music From It Or Confused Sounds.

You Are Good When You Walk To Your Goal Firmly And With Bold Steps. Yet You Are Not Evil When You Go Thither Limping. For Those Who Limp Go Not Backwards. But You Who Are Strong And Swift, See That You Do Not Limp Before The Lame, Deeming It Kindness.

When You Love You Should Not Say, “god Is In My Heart,” But Rather, “i Am In The Heart Of God.

They Deem Me Mad Because I Will Not Sell My Days For Gold; And I Deem Them Mad Because They Think My Days Have A Price.

Let Passion Fill Your Sails, But Let Reason Be Your Rudder.

Marriage Is Like A Temple Resting On Two Pillars. If They Come Too Close To Each Other The Temple Will Collapse.

The Creator Gives No Heed To The Critic Unless He Becomes A Barren Inventor.

When You Part From Your Friend, You Grieve Not; For That Which You Love Most In Him May Be Clearer In His Absence, As The Mountain To The Climber Is Clearer From The Plain.

Much Of Your Pain Is Self-chosen.

If Indeed You Must Be Candid, Be Candid Beautifully.

The Tiny Flame That Lights Up The Human Heart Is Like A Blazing Torch That Comes Down From Heaven To Light Up The Paths Of Mankind. For In One Soul Are Contained The Hopes And Feelings Of All Mankind.

But You Who Walk Facing The Sun, What Images Drawn On The Earth Can Hold You?

And Let It Direct Your Passion With Reason, That Your Passion May Livethrough Its Own Daily Resurrection, And Like The Phoenix Rise Above Its Own Ashes.

One May Not Reach The Dawn Save By Path Of Night.

Wailing And Lamentation Befit Those Who Stand Before The Throne Of Life And Depart Without Leaving In Its Hands A Drop Of The Sweat Of Their Brows Or The Blood Of Their Hearts.

Happiness Is A Vine That Takes Root And Grows Within The Heart, Never Outside It.

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.

Hallow The Body As A Temple To Comeliness And Sanctify The Heart As A Sacrifice To Love; Love Recompenses The Adorers.

Out Of Suffering Have Emerged The Strongest Souls; The Most Massive Characters Are Seared With Scars.

And Your Fragrance Shall Be My Breath, And Together We Shall Rejoice Through All The Seasons.

O Love, Whose Lordly Hand Has Bridled My Desires, And Raised My Hunger And My Thirst To Dignity And Pride, Let Not The Strong In Me And The Constant Eat The Bread Or Drink The Wine That Tempt My Weaker Self. Let Me Rather Starve, And Let My Heart Parch With Thirst, And Let Me Die And Perish, Ere I Stretch My Hand To A Cup You Did Not Fill, Or A Bowl You Did Not Bless.

Love Is Quivering Happiness.

Truth Is A Deep Kindness That Teaches Us To Be Content In Our Everyday Life And Share With The People The Same Happiness.

And If You Would Know God, Be Not Therefore A Solver Of Riddles. Rather Look About You And You Shall See Him Playing With Your Children. And Look Into Space; You Shall See Him Walking In The Cloud, Outstretching His Arms In The Lightning And Descending In Rain. You Shall See Him Smiling In Flowers, Then Rising And Waving His Hands In Trees.

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