 |
| Khalil Gibran |
I emailed a few lines of Khalil Gibran to a friend today. Simply because his daughter (thankfully) has a mind of her own. And the father can't stand it. The father, who is the wise man when it comes to handling other people's problems - crystal clear, reasonable, sensible, evolved, in sync with the times and the epitome of the kind of balance even Gods might crave for. Why do parents have to make asses of themselves when it comes to their own children? Why do they make the same mistake over and over again? Why can't they find new ones? I know my friend is too full of himself to let wisdom come anywhere near him right now. But he's always extolled Khalil Gibran to high heaven - come to think of it, that has always been after a couple of drinks...
"Your children are not your children.
They are 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.
They are 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 make 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 also loves the bow that is stable."
The archer sees the make 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 also loves the bow that is stable."
Most often we want to be both the bow and the arrow, especially when it comes to children.
ReplyDeleteMy dad quotes this every time my mom complains about me.
ReplyDeleteI was a teacher for class 4 students in a very interesting alternative-education-centred school in Pondicherry. This was before I became a mother. I loved teaching those kids. I lived every minute fully. And when you enjoy what you do, people respond with the same enthusiasm. they loved to have me around as well. Now that I am a mother and have to teach my son about life and other lessons...I feel that I stumble constantly. He dreads it when I have to teach him his subjects. He yawns when I tell him about life. I have lost the ability to be engaging when it came to my own. I lose my famed patience and the ability to be funny at the drop of the hat. Interesting what parenthood does to you.
ReplyDelete