Hero #060: Kahlil Gibran … (04/04/16)
Born in January of 1883, Gibran was a Lebanese artist, poet, and writer who, at least in the Arab world, is still regarded as a literary and political rebel. His romantic style was at the heart of a renaissance in modern Arabic literature, especially prose poetry, and he is still celebrated as a literary hero in Lebanon today.
Many of Gibran’s writings (including his brilliant book “The Prophet”, one of my personal favorites) deal with Christianity, especially related to the topic of unconditional, spiritual Love. And yet his mysticism is actually a convergence of several different religious influences: Christianity, Islam, Sufism, Judaism and theosophy, as exemplified in the following quote: “You are my brother and I love you. I love you when you prostrate yourself in your mosque, and kneel in your church and pray in your synagogue. You and I are sons of one faith—the Spirit.”
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“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 … Wisdom ceases to be wisdom when it becomes too proud to weep, too grave to laugh, and too selfish to seek other than itself … Indeed, 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 … Truth is a deep kindness that teaches us to be content in our everyday life, and share with the people the same happiness … You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give … Safeguarding the rights of others is the most noble and beautiful end of a human being.” ~ Kahlil Gibran
“The reality of the other person lies not in what he reveals to you, but 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 … Love one another, but make not a bond of love: Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls … Love possesses not nor will it be possessed, for Love is sufficient unto Love … Spare me the political events and power struggles. As a whole, Earth is my homeland, and all its men are my fellow countrymen.” ~ Kahlil Gibran
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