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Long Were The Days Of Pain I Have Spent Within Its Walls, And Long Were The Nights Of Aloneness; And Who Can Depart From His Pain And His Aloneness Without Regret?

-Khalil Gibran

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Long Were The Days

Khalil Gibran

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Long Were The Days Of Pain I Have Spent Within Its Walls, And Long Were The Nights Of Aloneness; And Who Can Depart From His Pain And His Aloneness Without Regret?

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My Soul Gave Me Good Counsel, Teaching Me To Love What The People Abhor And To Show Good Will Toward The One They Hate. It Showed Me That Love Is A Property Not Of The Lover But Of The Beloved. Before My Soul Taught Me, Love Was For Me A Delicate Thread Stretched Between Two Adjacent Pegs, But Now It Has Been Transformed Into A Halo; Its First Is Its Last, And Its Last Is Its First. It Encompasses Every Being, Slowly Expanding To Embrace All That Ever Will Be.

Thus With My Lips Have I Denounced You, While My Heart, Bleeding Within Me, Called You Tender Names.

My Brothers, Seek Counsel Of One Another, For Therein Lies The Way Out Of Error And Futile Repentance. The Wisdom Of The Many Is Your Shield Against Tyranny. For When We Turn To One Another For Counsel We Reduce The Number Of Our Enemies.

The Brooks Flow To Their Lover, The Sea, And The Flowers Smile At The Object Of Their Passion, The Light. The Mist Rolls Down To Its Beloved, The Valley. And I? In Me Is What Brooks Do Not Know, What Flowers Do Not Hear, What The Mist Does Not Apprehend. You See Me Alone In My Love, Solitary In My Yearning.

He Who Does Not See The Angels And Devils In The Beauty And Malice Of Life Will Be Far Removed From Knowledge, And His Spirit Will Be Empty Of Affection.

He Who Understands You Is Greater Kin To You Than Your Own Brother. For Even Your Own Kindred Neither Understand You Nor Know Your True Worth.

Death Changes Nothing But The Mask That Covers Our Faces.

Perhaps Time’s Definition Of Coal Is The Diamond.

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.

Of The Good In You I Can Speak, But Not Of The Evil. For What Is Evil But Good Tortured By Its Own Hunger And Thirst? Verily When Good Is Hungry It Seeks Food Even In Dark Caves, And When It Thirsts It Drinks Even Of Dead Waters.

The Things Which The Child Loves Remain In The Domain Of The Heart Until Old Age. The Most Beautiful Thing In Life Is That Our Souls Remain Hovering Over The Places Where We Once Enjoyed Ourselves. I Am One Of Those Who Remembers Those Places Regardless Of Distance Or Time.

Work Is Love Made Visible.

Inspirational Life

Doubt Is A Pain Too Lonely To Know That Faith Is His Twin Brother.

Those Who Give You A Serpent When You Ask For A Fish, May Have Nothing But Serpents To Give.

Love Is All I Can Possess And No One Can Deprive Me Of It. Kahlil Gibran (visions Of The Prophet)

For A Love To Grow Through The Test Of Everyday Living, One Must Respect That Zone Of Privacy Where One Retires To Relate To The Inside Instead Of The Outside.

In The Depth Of Your Hopes And Desires Lies Your Silent Knowledge Of The Beyond.

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.

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.

Our God, Who Art Our Winged Self, It Is Thy Will In Us That Willeth. It Is Thy Desire In Us That Desireth. It Is Thy Urge In Us That Would Turn Our Nights, Which Are Thine, Into Days Which Are Thine Also. We Cannot Ask Thee For Aught, For Thou Knowest Our Needs Before They Are Born In Us: Thou Art Our Need; And In Giving Us More Of Thyself Thou Givest Us All.

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

If In The Twilight Of Memory We Should Meet Once More,we Shall Speak Again Together And You Shall Sing To Me A Deeper Song. And If Our Hands Should Meet In Another Dream We Shall Build Another Tower In The Sky.

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

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

Be Patient, For It Is From Doubt That Knowledge Is Born.

Your Body Is The Harp Of The Soul.

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?

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.

Mother: The Most Beautiful Word On The Lips Of Mankind.

Should You Really Open Your Eyes And See, You Would Behold Your Image In All Images. And Should You Open Your Ears And Listen, You Would Hear Your Own Voice In All Voices.

When You Have Grasped A Problem Clearly, Face It With Resolution, For That Is The Way Of The Strong.

It Is Not The Sap Within The Furrowed Bark, Nor A Wing Attached To A Claw, But Rather A Garden Forever In Bloom And A Flock Of Angels Forever In Flight.

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.

It Was In My Heart To Help A Little Because I Was Helped Much.

Words Are Timeless. You Should Utter Them Or Write Them With A Knowledge Of Their Timelessness.

If You Would 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.

Art Is A Step In The Known Toward The Unknown

Yet You Shall Not Deplore Having Known Blindness, Nor Regret Having Been Deaf. For In That Day You Shall Know The Hidden Purposes In All Things. And You Shall Bless Darkness As You Would Bless Light.

Much Of Your Pain Is The Bitter Potion By Which The Physician Within You Heals Your Sick Self.

Thinking Is Always The Stumbling Stone To Poetry.

A Teacher Can Only Lead You To The Threshold Of Your Own Mind.

You Are Far, Far Greater Than You Know - And All Is Well.

When You Are Sorrowful, Look Again.

Death Of A Loved One

In Truth You Owe Naught To Any Man. You Owe To All Men.

Where Are You Now, My Beloved? Do You Hear My Weeping From Beyond The Ocean? Do You Understand My Need? Do You Know The Greatness Of My Patience?

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.

In The Mouth Of Society Are Many Diseased Teeth, Decayed To The Bones Of The Jaws. But Society Makes No Effort To Have Them Extracted And Be Rid Of The Affliction. It Contents Itself With Gold Fillings.

The Envier Praises Me Unknowingly.

Death Most Resembles A Prophet Who Is Without Honor In His Own Land Or A Poet Who Is A Stranger Among His People.

Truth Is Like The Stars; It Does Not Appear Except From Behind Obscurity Of The Night. Truth Is Like All Beautiful Things In The World; It Does Not Disclose Its Desirability Except To Those Who First Feel The Influence Of Falsehood. Truth Is A Deep Kindness That Teaches Us To Be Content In Our Everyday Life And Share With The People The Same Happiness.

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

For The Criminal Who Is Weak And Poor The Narrow Cell Of Death Awaits; But Honor And Glory Await The Rich Who Conceal Their Crimes Behind Their Gold And Silver And Inherited Glory.

He Who Loses His Mother Loses A Pure Soul Who Blesses And Guards Him Constantly.

When Love Beckons To You, Follow Him, Though His Ways Are Hard And Steep.

Let There Be Spaces In Your Togetherness...just As Strings Of A Lute Dance Alone Though They Quiver With The Same Music.

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

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.

Many Are The Places Of Worship, But Few Indeed Are Those Who Worship In Spirit And In Truth.

The Reality Of The Other Person Is Not In What He Reveals To You, But In What He Cannot Reveal To You. Therefore, If You Would Understand Him, Listen Not To What He Says But Rather To What He Does Not Say.

Who Can Depart From His Pain And Aloneness Without Regret? Too Many Fragments Of The Spirit Have I Scattered In These Streets, And Too Many Are The Children Of My Longing That Walk Naked Among These Hills, And I Cannot Withdraw From Them Without A Burden And An Ache. It Is Not A Garment I Cast Off This Day, Bit A Skin That I Tear With My Own Hands... Yet I Cannot Tarry Longer.

Your Pain Is The Breaking Of The Shell That Encloses Your Understanding.

The Appearance Of Things Changes According To The Emotions; And Thus We See Magic And Beauty In Them, While The Magic And Beauty Are Really In Ourselves.

The Subtlest Beauties In Our Life Are Unseen And Unheard.

You Are The Bows From Which Your Children As Living Arrows Are Sent Forth.

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

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.

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

When You Work You Are A Flute Through Whose Heart The Whispering Of The Hours Turns To Music. Which Of You Would Be A Reed, Dumb And Silent, When All Else Sings Together In Unison?

The Bird Has An Honor That Man Does Not Have. Man Lives In The Traps Of His Abdicated Laws And Traditions; But The Birds Live According To The Natural Law Of God Who Causes The Earth To Turn Around The Sun.

God Has Placed In Each Soul An Apostle To Lead Us Upon The Illumined Path. Yet Many Seek Life From Without, Unaware That Is Within Them.

To Know The Pain Of Too Much Tenderness

Each Thing That Exists Remains Forever, And That Very Existence Of Existence Is Proof Of Its Eternity. But Without That Realization, Which Is The Knowledge Of Perfect Being, Man Would Never Know Whether There Was Existence Or Non-existence. If Eternal Existence Is Altered, Then It Must Become More Beautiful; And If It Disappears, It Must Return With More Sublime Image; And If It Sleeps, It Must Dream Of A Better Awakening, For It Is Ever Greater Upon Its Rebirth.

A Word I Want To See Written On My Grave: I Am Alive Like You, And I Am Standing Beside You. Close Your Eyes And Look Around, You Will See Me In Front Of You.

Humanity Looks Upon Jesus The Nazarene As A Poor-born Who Suffered Misery And Humiliation With All Of The Weak. And He Is Pitied, For Humanity Believes He Was Crucified Painfully. . . . And All That Humanity Offers To Him Is Crying And Wailing And Lamentation. For Centuries Humanity Has Been Worshiping Weakness In The Person Of The Savior. The Nazarene Was Not Weak! He Was Strong And Is Strong! But The People Refuse To Heed The True Meaning Of Strength.

Trickery Succeeds Sometimes, But It Always Commits Suicide.

Among The Hills, When You Sit In The Cool Shade Of The White Poplars, Sharing The Peace And Serenity Of Distant Fields And Meadows - Then Let Your Heart Say In Silence, "god Rests In Reason." And When The Storm Comes, And The Mighty Wind Shakes The Forest, And Thunder And Lightning Proclaim The Majesty Of The Sky, - Then Let Your Heart Say In Awe, "god Moves In Passion.

At Ebb Tide I Wrote A Line Upon The Sand, And Gave It All My Heart And All My Soul. At Flood Tide I Returned To Read What I Had Inscribed And Found My Ignorance Upon The Shore.

Generosity Is Not Giving Me That Which I Need More Than You Do, But It Is Giving Me That Which You Need More Than I Do.

When You Love You Should Not Think You Can Direct The Course Of Love, For Love, If It Finds You Worthy, Directs Your Course.

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.

Between What Is Said And Not Meant, And What Is Meant And Not Said, Most Of Love Is Lost.

Spring Is Beautiful Everywhere, But It Is More Than Beautiful In Lebanon. Spring Is The Spirit Of An Unknown God Speeding Through The World, Which, As It Reaches Lebanon, Pauses, Because Now It Is As At Home With The Souls Of The Prophets And Kings Hovering Over The Land, Chanting With The Brooks Of Judea, The Eternal Psalms Of Solomon, Renewing With The Cedars Of Lebanon Memories Of An Ancient Glory.

I Use Hate As A Weapon To Defend Myself; Had I Been Strong, I Would Never Have Needed That Kind Of Weapon.

Come With Us To The Field, Or Go With Our Brothers To The Sea And Cast Your Net. For The Land And The Sea Shall Be Bountiful To You Even As To Us.

If You Cannot Work With Love But Only With Distaste, It Is Better That You Should Leave Your Work.

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

Your Friend Is Your Needs Answered. He Is Your Field Which You Sow With Love And Reap With Thanksgiving. And He Is Your Board And Your Fireside. For You Come To Him With Your Hunger, And You Seek Him For Peace.

Your Fear Of Death Is But The Trembling Of The Shepherd When He Stands Before The King Whose Hand Is To Be Laid Upon Him In Honour.

You Cannot Judge Any Man Beyond Your Knowledge Of Him, And How Small Is Your Knowledge.

God Has Bestowed Upon You Intelligence And Knowledge. Do Not Extinguish The Lamp Of Divine Grace And Do Not Let The Candle Of Wisdom Die Out In The Darkness Of Lust And Error. For A Wise Man Approaches With His Torch To Light Up The Path Of Mankind.

I Have Never Agreed With My Other Self Wholly. The Truth Of The Matter Seems To Lie Between Us.

Hearts United In Pain And Sorrow Will Not Be Separated By Joy And Happiness. Bonds That Are Woven In Sadness Are Stronger Than The Ties Of Joy And Pleasure. Love That Is Washed By Tears Will Remain Eternally Pure And Faithful.

Your Soul Is Oftentimes A Battlefield, Upon Your Reason And Your Judgment Wage War Against Your Passion And Your Appetite.

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

It Takes A Minute To Have A Crush On Someone, An Hour To Like Someone, And A Day To Love Someone... But It Takes A Lifetime To Forget Someone.

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.

And Let There Be No Purpose In Friendship Save The Deepening Of The Spirit. For Love That Seeks Aught But The Disclosure Of Its Own Mystery Is Not Love But A Net Cast Forth: And Only The Unprofitable Is Caught.

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

Verily All Things Move Within Your Being In Constant Half Embrace, The Desired And The Dreaded, The Repugnant And The Cherished, The Pursued And That Which You Would Escape.

Do Not Be Merciful, But Be Just, For Mercy Is Bestowed Upon The Guilty Criminal, While Justice Is All That The Innocent Man Requires.

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.

The Veil That Clouds Your Eyes Shall Be Lifted By The Hands That Wove It.

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.

I Want Every Image To Be The Beginning Of An Unseen Image.

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

Some Who Are Too Scrupulous To Steal Your Possessions Nevertheless See No Wrong In Tampering With Your Thoughts.

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

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

Clock Is Ticking

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

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

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

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

Trust In Dreams, For In Them Is Hidden The Gate To Eternity.

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.

Only Those Beneath Me Can Envy Or Hate Me. I Have Never Been Envied Nor Hated; I Am Above No One. Only Those Above Me Can Praise Or Belittle Me. I Have Never Been Praised Nor Belittled; I Am Below No One.

There Are Those Who Give Little Of The Much Which They Have - And They Give It For Recognition And Their Hidden Desire Makes Their Gifts Unwholesome.

The Sun Teaches To All Things That Grow Their Longing For The Light. But It Is Night That Raises Them To The Stars.

When God Created Man, He Gave Him Music As A Language Different From All Other Languages. And Early Man Sang His Glory In The Wilderness; And Drew The Hearts Of Kings And Moved Them From Their Thrones.

Love Passes By Us, Robed In Meekness; But We Flee From Her In Fear, Or Hide In The Darkness; Or Else Pursue Her, To Do Evil In Her Name.

A Poet Is A Bird Of Unearthly Excellence, Who Escapes From His Celestial Realm Arrives In This World Warbling. If We Do Not Cherish Him, He Spreads His Wings And Flies Back Into His Homeland.

And Some Of Your Elders Remember Pleasures With Regret Like Wrongs Committed In Drunkenness. But Regret Is The Beclouding Of The Mind And Not Its Chastisement. They Should Remember Their Pleasures With Gratitude, As They Would The Harvest Of A Summer.

Most People Who Ask For Advice From Others Have Already Resolved To Act As It Pleases Them.

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.

We Choose Our Joys And Sorrows Long Before We Experience Them.

Verily The Kindness That Gazes Upon Itself In A Mirror Turns To Stone, And A Good Deed That Calls Itself By Tender Names Becomes The Parent To A Curse.

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.

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

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

Advance, And Never Halt, For Advancing Is Perfection. Advance And Do Not Fear The Thorns In The Path, For They Draw Only Corrupt Blood.

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.

You Were Born Together, And Together You Shall Be Forevermore. You Shall Be Together When The White Wings Of Death Scatter Your Days. Ay, 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.

Yet Has Not Man Wept At The Sounds? And Are Not His Tears Eloquent Understanding?

The Song Of The Voice Is Sweet, But The Song Of The Heart Is The Pure Voice Of Heaven.

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.

You Would Know The Secret Of Death. But How Shall You Find It Unless You Seek It In The Heart Of Life.

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

The Teacher Gives Not Of His Wisdom, But Rather Of His Faith And Lovingness.

You Progress Not Through What Has Been Done, But Reaching Towards What Has Yet To Be Done.

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

Your Joy Is Your Sorrow Unmasked. And The Same Well From Which Your Laughter Rises Was Oftentimes Filled With Your Tears. And How Else Can It Be? The Deeper That Sorrow Carves Into Your Being, The More Joy You Can Contain. Is Not The Cup That Holds Your Wine The Very Cup That Was Burned In The Potter's Oven? And Is Not The Lute That Soothes Your Spirit, The Very Wood That Was Hollowed With Knives?

Inspirational Love

Love... It Surrounds Every Being And Extends Slowly To Embrace All That Shall Be.

In The Depth Of My Soul There Is A Wordless Song - A Song That Lives In The Seed Of My Heart. It Refuses To Melt With Ink On Parchment; It Engulfs My Affection In A Transparent Cloak And Flows, But Not Upon My Lips.

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

Yesterday We Obeyed Kings And Bent Our Necks Before Emperors. But Today We Kneel Only To Truth, Follow Only Beauty, And Obey Only Love.

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

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?

There Is A Desire Deep Within The Soul Which Drives Man From The Seen To The Unseen, To Philosophy And To The Divine.

The Best Love Come From The Heart, Not From The Mouth.

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

Self Confidence

Love Is A Magic Ray Emitted From The Burning Core Of The Soul And Illuminating The Surrounding Earth. It Enables Us To Perceive Life As A Beautiful Dream Between One Awakening And Another.

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.

He Who Does Not Prefer Exile To Slavery Is Not Free By Any Measure Of Freedom, Truth And Duty.

Generosity Is Giving More Than You Can, And Pride Is Taking Less Than You Need.

All You Have Shall Some Day Be Given. Therefore Give Now, That The Season Of Giving May Be Yours And Not Your Inheritors.

Tell Your Secret To The Wind, But Don't Blame It For Telling The Trees.

Then It Is Also In My Heart To Be Worthy Of Your Hate.

You See But Your Shadow When You Turn Your Back To The Sun.

And Is Not The Lute That Soothes Your Spirit The Very Wood That Was Hollowed With Knives?

Inspirational Love

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

And What Word Is Knowledge But A Shadow Of Wordless Knowledge?

Women Opened The Windows Of My Eyes And The Doors Of My Spirit. Had It Not Been For The Woman-mother, The Woman-sister, And The Woman-friend, I Would Have Been Sleeping Among Those Who Seek The Tranquility Of The World With Their Snoring.

He Who Passes Not His Days In The Realm Of Dreams Is The Slave Of The Days.

Spare Me The Political Events And Power Struggles, As The Whole Earth Is My Homeland And All Men Are My Fellow Countrymen.

Love That Is Cleansed By Tears Will Remain Eternally Pure And Beautiful.

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.

Like The Ocean Is Your God-self; It Remains For Ever Undefiled. And Like The Ether It Lifts But The Winged. Even Like The Sun Is Your God-self; It Knows Not The Ways Of The Mole Nor Seeks It The Holes Of The Serpent. But Your God-self Does Not Dwell Alone In Your Being. Much In You Is Still Man, And Much In You Is Not Yet Man, But A Shapeless Pigmy That Walks Asleep In The Mist Searching For Its Own Awakening.

If The Grandfather Of The Grandfather Of Jesus Had Known What Was Hidden Within Him, He Would Have Stood Humble And Awe-struck Before His Soul.

In Truth We Gaze But Do Not See, And Hearken But Do Not Hear; We Eat And Drink But Do Not Taste. And There Lies The Difference Between Jesus Of Nazareth And Ourselves. His Senses Were All Continually Made New, And The World To Him Was Always A New World.

The Truly Just Is He Who Feels Half Guilty Of Your Misdeeds.

The Very Strength That Protects The Heart From Injury Is The Strength That Prevents The Heart From Enlarging To Its Intended Greatness Within. The Song Of The Voice Is Sweet, But The Song Of The Heart Is The Pure Voice Of Heaven.

Hell Is Not In Torture; Hell Is In An Empty Heart.

Work Is Love Made Visible. And If You Cannot Work With Love But Only With Distaste, It Is Better That You Should Leave Your Work And Sit At The Gate Of The Temple And Take Alms Of Those Who Work With Joy. For If You Bake Bread With Indifference, You Bake A Bitter Bread That Feeds But Half Man's Hunger. And If You Grudge The Crushing Of The Grapes, Your Grudge Distils A Poison In The Wine. And If You Sing Though As Angels, And Love Not The Singing, You Muffle Man's Ears To The Voices Of The Day And The Voices Of The Night.

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

The Best Of Man Is He Who Blushes When You Praise Him And Remains Silent When You Defame Him.

Beauty Is Eternity Gazing At Itself In A Mirror.

The Soul Unfolds Itself, Like A Lotus Of Countless Petals.

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.

No Man Can Reveal To You Nothing But That Which Already Lies Half-asleep In The Dawning Of Your Knowledge.

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

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

I Love You When You Bow In Your Mosque, Kneel In Your Temple, Pray In Your Church. For You And I Are Sons Of One Religion, And It Is The Spirit.

Even As The Holy And The Righteous Cannot Rise Beyond The Highest Which Is In Each One Of You, So The Wicked And The Weak Cannot Fall Lower Than The Lowest Which Is In You Also.

Disagreement May Be The Shortest Cut Between Two Minds.

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.

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

But Memory Is An Autumn Leaf That Murmurs A While In The Wind And Then Is Heard No More.

A Truth Is To Be Known Always, To Be Uttered Sometimes.

Of Life's Two Chief Prizes, Beauty And Truth, I Found The First In A Loving Heart And The Second In A Laborer's Hand.

When The Earth Shall Claim Your Limbs, Then Shall You Truly Dance.

Science And Religion Are In Full Accord, But Science And Faith Are In Complete Discord.

Said A Skunk To A Tube-rose, "see How Swiftly I Run, While You Cannot Walk Nor Even Creep." Said The Tube-rose To The Skunk, "oh, Most Noble Swift Runner, Please Run Swiftly!"

He Who Denies His Heritage, Has No Heritage

Love Provided Me With A Tongue And Tears.

Inspiration Will Always Sing; Inspiration Will Never Explain.

The Fool Sees Naught But Folly; And The Madman Only Madness. Yesterday I Asked A Foolish Man To Count The Fools Among Us. He Laughed And Said, "this Is Too Hard A Thing To Do, And It Will Take Too Long. Were It Not Better To Count Only The Wise?"

In One Drop Of Water Are Found All The Secrets Of All The Oceans; In One Aspect Of You Are Found All The Aspects Of Existence.

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

Beauty Is That Which Attracts Your Soul, And That Which Loves To Give And Not To Receive.

These Things He Said In Words. But Much In His Heart Remained Unsaid. For He Himself Could Not Speak His Deeper Secret.

You Shall Be Free Indeed When Your Days Are Not Without A Care, Nor Your Nights Without A Want And A Grief, But Rather When These Things Girdle Your Life And Yet You Rise Above Them Naked And Unbound.

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