Wisdom and I

[Guest guest]

In the silence of the night, Wisdom came into my chamber and stood by

my bed. She gazed upon me like a loving mother, dried my tears, and

said :

 

"I have heard the cries of your soul, and have come here to

comfort

you. Open your heart to me and I shall fill it with light. Ask, and I

shall show you the path of Truth."

 

I complied her with bidding, and asked :

 

"Who am I, Wisdom, and how came I to this place of horrors? What

are

these mighty hopes, these mountains of books, and these strange

figures? What are these thoughts that come and go like a flock of

doves? What are these words we compose with desire and write down in

joy? What are these sorrowful and joyous conclusion that embrace my

soul and enveloped my heart? Whose are these eyes that stare at me

and pierce the very inmost recesses of my soul, and yet are oblivious

of my grief? What are these voices that lament the passing of my days

and chant the praises of my childhood? Who is this youth that toys

with my desires and mocks my feelings, forgetting the deeds of

yesterday, contenting himself against the slow approach of tomorrow?

 

"What is this dreadful world that moves me and to what unknown

land?

 

"What is this earth that opens wide her jaws to swallow our

bodies

and prepares an everlasting shelter for greed? Who is this Man who

contents himself with the favors of Fortunes and craves a kiss from

the lips of Life while Death smites him in the face? Who is this Man

who buys a moment of pleasure with a year of repentance and gives

himself over to sleep, while dreams call to him? Who is this Man who

swims on the waves of Ignorance towards the gulf of Darkness?

 

"Tell me, Wisdom, what are all these things?"

 

And Wisdom open her lips and spoke :

" You Man, would see the world with the eyes of God, and would

grasp

the secrets of the hereafter by means of human thoughts. Such is the

fruit of Ignorance.

 

Go into the field, and see how the bee hovers over the sweet flowers

and the eagle swoops down on its prey. Go, into your neighbor's

house

and see the infant child bewitched by the firelight, while the mother

is busied at her task. Be like the bee, and do not waste your spring

days gazing on the doings of the eagle. Be like the child rejoicing

at the firelight and let the mother be. All that you see was, and

still is, yours.

 

The many books and strange figures and the lovely thoughts around you

are ghosts of the spirits that have been before you. The words your

lips utter are the link in the chain that binds you and your fellow

men. The sorrowful and joyful conclusions are the seeds sown by the

past in the field of your soul to be reaped by the future.

 

"The youth that toys with your desires is he who will open the

gate

of your heart for light to enter. The earth that opens wide her mouth

to swallow man and his works is the redeemer of our souls from

bondage to our bodies.

 

The world that moves with you is your heart, which is the world

itself. And Man, whom you deem so small and ignorant, is God's

messenger who has come to learn the joy of life through sorrow and

gain knowledge from ignorance"

 

Thus spoke Wisdom, and laid a hand upon my burning brow, saying :

 

" March on. Do not tarry. To go forward is to move towards

perfection. March on, and fear not the thorns or the sharp stones on

Life's path"

>From the treasured writings of Kahlil Gibran

[Guest guest]

Hi Nora.

 

I love "The Prophet!" In high school I memorized this "On Joy and

Sorrow"

 

"Then a woman said, Speak to us of Joy and Sorrow.

 

And he answered:

 

Your joy is your sorrow unmasked.

 

And the selfsame 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..."

 

Lynn

[Guest guest]

Greetings Lynn

 

Thanks. So you like KG too eh!. Im crazy over him. I think the best

poem of him that I really like is about children [ ... let your

bending in the archer's hand be for gladness... for even as he loves

the arrow that flies.... so he loves the bow that is stable ]. I

print it out , frame it and place it where i can see it, as a

reminder to me about my children.

 

Thanks again Lynn. I hope you are home here with us.

 

OM ParaShaktiye Namaha

[Guest guest]

Thanks, Nora. I have a lot to learn, but everyone has been friendly.

 

I like KG's speech on children, too. Here are my favorite parts:

 

"Your children are not your children.

They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself....

 

You may give them your love but not your thoughts,

For they have their own thoughts...

 

You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you.

For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday."

 

These helped me when I was trying to assert my independence in my

youth.