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More
from and about
Khalil Gibran
(biographical info at bottom of page) |
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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.
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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.
Your children are
not your children.
They are 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.
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Say not, 'I have found the
truth,' but rather, 'I have
found a truth.' Say not, ' I have found the path of
the soul.' Say rather, 'I have met the soul walking
upon my path.' For the soul walks upon all paths. The soul walks not upon a line, neither does it grow
like a reed. The soul unfolds itself, like a lotus
of countless petals.
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One
day you will ask me which is more important? My life
or yours? I will say mine and you will walk away not knowing
that you are my
life.
The timeless
in you is aware of life's timelessness. And knows that
yesterday is but today's memory and tomorrow is today's
dream.
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You
have been told that, even like a chain, you are as weak as your
weakest link. This is but half the truth. You are also as strong
as
your strongest link. To measure you by your smallest deed is to
reckon the power of ocean by the frailty of its foam. To judge you
by your failures is to cast blame upon the seasons for their
inconstancy.
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I
have learned silence from the talkative, tolerance from the
intolerant,
and kindness from the unkind. I should not be ungrateful to these
teachers. |
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Out
of suffering have emerged the strongest souls;
the most massive characters are seared with scars. |
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I
have learned silence from the talkative, tolerance
from the intolerant, and kindness from the unkind.
I should not be ungrateful to these teachers. |
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They
say: 'If one knew oneself, one would know all mankind.'
I say: 'If one loved mankind, one would know something of
oneself.' |
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Gibran
Khalil Gibran was born on January 6, 1883, in Northern Lebanon, a Turkish province that was part of Greater Syria.
His mother Kamila Rahmeh was thirty when she gave birth to
Khalil from her third husband Khalil Gibran, who proved to be an
irresponsible husband leading the family to poverty.
Gibran had a half-brother six years older than him called
Peter and two younger sisters, Mariana and Sultana, whom he was
deeply attached to throughout his life, along with his mother.
Growing up in the lush region of Bsharri, Gibran proved to be a
solitary and pensive child who relished the natural surroundings
of the cascading falls, the rugged cliffs and the neighboring
green cedars, the beauty of which emerged as a dramatic and
symbolic influence to his drawings and writings.
He did not receive any formal education or learning, which
was limited to regular visits to a village priest who taught him
the essentials of religion and the Bible, along with Syriac and
Arabic languages.
Recognizing Gibran's inquisitive and alert nature, the
priest began teaching him the rudiments of alphabet and language,
opening up to Gibran the world of history, science, and language.
At
the age of eight, Gibran's father was accused of tax evasion and
was sent to prison and the Ottomon authorities confiscated the
Gibrans' property and left them homeless.
The family went to live with relatives for a while;
however, the strong-willed mother decided that the family should
emigrate to the U.S., seeking a better life.
The father was released in 1894, but being an irresponsible
head of the family he was undecided about emigration and remained
behind in Lebanon.
On
June 25, 1895, the Gibrans embarked on a voyage to the American
shores of New York.
At
school, a registration mistake altered Gibran’s name
forever by shortening (and misspelling) it to Kahlil Gibran, which
remained unchanged the rest of his life despite repeated attempts
at restoring his full name.
Gibran entered school on September 30, 1895, merely two
months after his arrival in the U.S. Having no formal education, he was placed in an ungraded
class reserved for immigrant children, who had to learn English
from scratch.
Gibran's
curiosity led him to the cultural side of Boston, which exposed him to the rich world of the theatre, opera and
artistic galleries.
Prodded by the cultural scenes around him and through his
artistic drawings, Gibran caught the attention of his teachers at
the public school, who saw an artistic future for the boy. They
contacted Fred Holland Day, an artist and a supporter of artists
who opened up Gibran's cultural world and set him on the road to
artistic fame.
Gibran's
works were especially influential in the American popular culture
in the 1960s.
In 1904 Gibran had his first art exhibition in
Boston
.
From 1908 to 1910 he studied art in
Paris
with August Rodin.
In 1912 he settled in New York, where he devoted himself to writing and painting.
Gibran's early works were written in Arabic, and from 1918
he published mostly in English.
Gibran died in New York on April 10, 1931. Among his best-known works is The Prophet,
which has been translated into over 20 languages.
(adapted from Wikipedia)
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