The Prophet

Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.

Love one another, but make not a bond of love: Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.

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.

Work is love made visible. And if you cannot work with love but only with distaste, it is better that you should leave your work.

The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain.

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

And when you have reached the mountain top, then you shall begin to climb.

For what is it to die but to stand naked in the wind and to melt into the sun?

Time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.