I came across this piece of profound philosophy by Kahlil Gibran a while ago and chanced upon it again this morning. Its a strange motivator, but I wanted to save it in a personal space and that's how I got started here.. so here goes..
Somehow, the idea of being a bow that needs to bend backwards while being stable is so deep and true, it's almost scary..
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.
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.
Somehow, the idea of being a bow that needs to bend backwards while being stable is so deep and true, it's almost scary..
1 comments:
AVP said...
And you needed Khalil Gibran to tell you this!!? I don't have kids and I know it already!! ;o)
Seriously though, I think they should teach this in that Mom and Dad finishing school so that all of them come to realize this.