Tag Archives for Kahlil Gibran

The Seasons of Our Heart

 

As I sit with the sadness and the grief of losing both of our girl Welsh Terriers – Dilys and now Meg,  I allow myself to feel the pain and loss. This has been a summer season of worry, stress and heartbreak. Now there is space for peace.

The words of Kahlil Gibran come to mind.

“Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding.

Just as the stone of the fruit must break, so that its heart may stand in the sun, so must you know pain.

And if you keep your heart in wonder at the daily miracles of your life, your pain would not seem less wondrous than your joy.

If you accept the seasons of your heart, as you have always accepted the four seasons, you would watch with serenity the winters of your grief.

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.”

 

 

Sorrow and Delight

man standing on seashore

Photo by Yogendra Singh on Pexels.com

“When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight.”

~Kahlil Gibran

Sometimes we get so wrapped up in the loss and sorrow. A part of us has been taught that this is somehow wrong, and we create stories to help us cope. We may get angry, resentful or vow never to put ourselves in that situation again. We resist these powerful feelings and try to escape them.

Yet it only takes a moment, a pause and perhaps a deep releasing sigh, to see that the source of this deep feeling is love.

Sorrow and love are interwoven because the two are always connected.

With our hearts open, there is yearning and longing. There is love here.

When we recognize that what we feel sad about, is really an opening of the heart, we can begin to smile in the knowing that we are alive and loving beings.
This is what makes us special.

Joy is Sorrow Unmasked

These inspiring words for the highs and lows of life are worth sharing again today.

sorrow and joy

“Your joy is your sorrow unmasked.
And the selfsame well from which your laughter rises was oftentimes filled with your tears.

When you are joyous, look deep into your heart and you shall find it is only that which has given you sorrow that is giving you joy.
When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight….

They are inseparable. Together they come, and when one sits alone with you at your board, remember that the other is asleep upon your bed.

Verily you are suspended like scales between your sorrow and your joy.
Only when you are empty are you at a standstill and balanced. “

~ Kahlil Gibran, “The Prophet”

There is so much wisdom in these words. They are worth coming back to again and again.

For me, when we see that sorrow and joy are inseparable, and come from the same sweet well of our being, there comes acceptance… and life flows more easily.

Love is the essence.

When we acknowledge that sorrow and joy are a part of life and let go of attachment to either … we discover the inner space and connection to Source in our middle ground.

Namaste

Inspiration – Kahlil Gibran on Love

love sunset

No matter where you are, follow love and trust it to direct your course. ❤️

I have shared these words before, but they are worth coming back to again and again. They are from “The Prophet” by the Lebanese American poet and writer Kahlil Gibran. His work touches me deeply. Its beautiful and real. No pink hearts, flowers and chocolates here. This embraces more than romantic love or love within relationships. It can also be read as an expression of divine love.

Notice where it resonates in your heart and soul. 💛

LOVE

When love comes to you, follow it, though its ways are hard and steep.
And when its wings enfold you yield to them, though its hidden sword may wound you.
For even as it is for your growth, it is for your pruning.
Even as it ascends you to your height, so shall it descend to your roots and shake them.

But if in your fear you would seek only love’s peace and pleasure,
then it is better for you to cover yourself into the seasonless world, where you shall laugh,  but not all of your laughter, and weep, but not all of your tears.

Love gives nothing but itself, and takes nothing but from itself.
Love does not possess, nor would it be possessed.
And do not think that you can direct the course of love, for love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course.

Love has no other desire but to fulfill itself.
 

* Understanding our Pain

My pain is self chosen - by michele cat

My pain is self chosen – by michele cat

We all experience emotional pain such as disappointment, anger and frustration ….. Much of it comes from the struggle when we want things to be different from the way they are.

If only they wouldn’t do that…

If only this never happened…

If only they would leave me alone…

If only … then I could be happy…

I wish I had a spouse like yours, a house like yours, a job like yours … then things would be better…

We learn how to deal with pain when we are very young, and from those around us as we grow up. As adults we continue to deal with it in the same way, until we realize there may be a different way of dealing with it that can lead to real healing and feeling better.

It isn’t good or bad, its all part of the highs and lows of life.

Suffering comes when we add evaluations and judgments to our thinking. We create stories about a situation. Not only does this cause us mental struggle, but it can also show up in our bodies as tension and sometimes physical pain.

This is a powerful excerpt from The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran.

Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding.

Just as the stone of the fruit must break, so that its heart may stand in the sun, so must you know pain.

And if you keep your heart in wonder at the daily miracles of your life, your pain would not seem less wondrous than your joy.

If you accept the seasons of your heart, as you have always accepted the four seasons, you would watch with serenity the winters of your grief.

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.

 

* Inspiration – bond of love

chains of love

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.

~ Khalil Gibran

2 hearts in the sandThe beauty of love is when it is like a moving sea between the shores of our souls, and when we come together yet do not over shadow one another.

Space and touch ignite. Bonds can only stifle.

Namaste

* Accept the Seasons of Your Heart

Here is some more powerful and inspiring wisdom from the heart of Kahlil Gibran in “The Prophet”. This moved me deeply and draws me back again and again. Val x

breaking the shell

“Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding.

Just as the stone of the fruit must break, so that its heart may stand in the sun, so must you know pain.

And if you keep your heart in wonder at the daily miracles of your life, your pain would not seem less wondrous than your joy.

woman with heart glowing

If you accept the seasons of your heart, as you have always accepted the four seasons, you would watch with serenity the winters of your grief.

Much of your pain is self-chosen. It is the bitter potion by which the physician within you heals your sick self.

healing the 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.”

 

Every time I read this it brings me into the present moment… no matter where I am in the highs and lows of life.

May we all embrace the seasons of our heart and the love that is always there.

Namaste

* Be Ready for Love – a poem by Kahlil Gibran

The Prophet book cover

These words on love come from “The Prophet” by the Lebanese American poet and writer Kahlil Gibran. His work touches the heart and soul. Its beautiful and real. No pink hearts, flowers and chocolates here.

Why not take some time and simply absorb the beauty of them … Love is truly a part of the highs and lows of life. Val x

LOVE

When love comes to you, follow it, though its ways are hard and steep.
And when its wings enfold you yield to them, though its hidden sword may wound you.
For even as it is for your growth, it is for your pruning.
Even as it ascends you to your height, so shall it descend to your roots and shake them.

But if in your fear you would seek only love’s peace and pleasure,
then it is better for you to cover yourself into the seasonless world, where you shall laugh,  but not all of your laughter, and weep, but not all of your tears.

Love gives nothing but itself, and takes nothing but from itself.
Love does not possess, nor would it be possessed.
And do not think that you can direct the course of love, for love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course.

Love has no other desire but to fulfill itself.