YOUR THOUGHT AND MINE

Written by Gibran Khalil

Your thought is a tree rooted deep in the soil of tradition and whose branches grow in the power of continuity.

My thought is a cloud moving in the space. It turns into drops which, as they fall, form a brook that sings its way into the sea. Then it rises as vapour into the sky.

Your thought is a fortress that neither gale nor the lightning can shake.

My thought is a tender leaf that sways in every direction and finds pleasure in its swaying.

Your thought is an ancient dogma that cannot change you nor can you change it.

My thought is new, and it tests me and I test it morn and eve.

You have your thought and I have mine.

Your thought allows you to believe in the unequal contest of the strong against the weak, and in the tricking of the simple by the subtle ones.

My thought creates in me the desire to till the earth with my hoe, and harvest the crops with my sickle, and build my home with stones and mortar, and weave my raiment with woollen and linen threads.

Your thought urges you to marry wealth and notability.

Mine commends self-reliance.

Your thought advocates fame and show.

Mine counsels me and implores me to cast aside notoriety and treat it like a grain of sand cast upon the shore of eternity.

Your thought instils in your heart arrogance and superiority.

Mine plants within me love for peace and the desire for independence.

Your thought begets dreams of palaces with furniture of sandalwood studded with jewels, and beds made of twisted silk threads.

My thought speaks softly in my ears, “Be clean in body and spirit even if you have nowhere to lay your head.”

Your thought makes you aspire to titles and offices.

Mine exhorts me to humble service.

You have your thought and I have mine.

Your thought is social science, a religious and political dictionary.

Mine is simple axiom.

Your thought speaks of the beautiful woman, the ugly, the virtuous, the prostitute, the intelligent, and the stupid.

Mine sees in every woman a mother, a sister, or a daughter of every man.

The subjects of your thought are thieves, criminals, and assassins.

Mine declares that thieves are the creatures of monopoly, criminals are the offspring of tyrants, and assassins are akin to the slain.

Your thought describes laws, courts, judges, punishments.

Mine explains that when man makes a law, he either violates it or obeys it. If there is a basic law, we are all one before it. He who disdains the mean is himself mean. He who vaunts his scorn of the sinful vaunts his disdain of all humanity.

Your thought concerns the skilled, the artist, the intellectual, the philosopher, the priest.

Mine speaks of the loving and the affectionate, the sincere, the honest, the forthright, the kindly, and the martyr.

Your thought advocates Judaism, Brahmanism, Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam.

In my thought there is only one universal religion, whose varied paths are but the fingers of the loving hand of the Supreme Being.

In your thought there are the rich, the poor, and the beggared.

My thought holds that there are no riches but life; that we are all beggars, and no benefactor exists save life herself.

You have your thought and I have mine.

According to your thought, the greatness of nations lies in their politics, their parties, their conferences, their alliances and treaties.

But mine proclaims that the importance of nations lies in work – work in the field, work in the vineyards, work with the loom, work in the tannery, work in the quarry, work in the timberyard, work in the office and in the press.

Your thought holds that the glory of the nations is in their heroes. It sings the praises of Rameses, Alexander, Caesar, Hannibal, and Napoleon.

But mine claims that the real heroes are Confucius, Lao-Tse, Socrates, Plato, Abi Taleb, El Gazali, Jalal Ed-din-el Roumy, Copernicus, and Pasteur.

Your thought sees power in armies, cannons, battleships, submarines, aeroplanes, and poison gas.

But mine asserts that power lies in reason, resolution, and truth. No matter how long the tyrant endures, he will be the loser at the end.

Your thought differentiates between pragmatist and idealist, between the part and the whole, between the mystic and materialist.

Mine realizes that life is one and its weights, measures and tables do not coincide with your weights, measures and tables. He whom you suppose an idealist may be a practical man.

You have your thought and I have mine.

Your thought is interested in ruins and museums, mummies and petrified objects.

But mine hovers in the ever-renewed haze and clouds.

Your thought is enthroned on skulls. Since you take pride in it, you glorify it too.

My thought wanders in the obscure and distant valleys.

Your thought trumpets while you dance.

Mine prefers the anguish of death to your music and dancing.

Your thought is the thought of gossip and false pleasure.

Mine is the thought of him who is lost in his own country, of the alien in his own nation, of the solitary among his kinfolk and friends.

You have your thought and I have mine.

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LARUNG

Novelis: Ayu Utami

“Terang tidak mengalahkan kematian.” (h.2)

“Ada makhluk-makhluk, seperti kelelawar, yang hidup dalam gelap dan tak menyukai terang.” (h.2)

“Dalam perjalanan kita bertemu orang yang takkan kita kenal lagi.” (h.3)

“Pandanglah keindahan yang lahir dari kejijikan. Bukankah hidup adalah kutukan.” (h.9)

“Betapa anehnya ukuran, di manakah kita meletakkan patokan?” (h.22)

“Nak, menjadi tua adalah menjadi mata, dan hanya mata, melihat tanpa berada.” (h.25)

“Anak-anak tidak diajar membuat kata dari huruf-huruf, melainkan mengasosiasikan kata dengan makna.” (h.30)

“… tak ada yang benar di antara yang berseteru, hanya ada pemenang dan pecundang dari kaum yang sama bengis.” (h.35)

“Barangkali semua perempuan menjadi perkasa ketika mereka tua dan tak punya payudara. Dan lelaki akan seperti balon yang kisut, mereka masih memiliki syahwat pada matanya dan mani dalam zakarnya namun tanpa tenaga untuk memancarkannya.” (h.49)

“Hidup bukan menunda kematian, melainkan memutuskannya.” (h.49)

“… hanya para terhukum mati yang berhak mengetahui saat eksekusi.” (h.51)

“… tak ada yang menjijikkan di dunia ini sebagaimana tak ada yang salah tak ada yang benar.” (h.62)

“Sebab hidup adalah pilihan semena … Orang-orang harus menunjuk orang lain untuk menyelamatkan diri … Aku tidak menangis. Sebab aku telah mengosongkan diriku dari segala keheranan dan ketakbersediaan.” (h.69)

“Ngapain punya badan bagus kalau nggak dipamerin.” (h.79)

“Bayangkan, kambing dan kuda! Dua hewan yang birahi. Di hari raya kurban, kita bisa melihat kambing dan domba tidak pernah kehilangan nafsu seks meskipun kematian tinggal dua meter lagi …” (h.79-80)

“… lakor itu aman … Mereka nggak posesif karena punya keluarga. Bujangan cenderung mau menguasai kita. Dengan lakor, kita bisa putus dengan gampang.” (h.89)

“Malam itu ia memerawani hati saya.” (h.103)

“Tanda-tanda dewasa dan pengalaman seks telah ada pada mereka semua.” (h.118)

“Kalau kamu bersama orang yang kamu suka dan kamu tahu cara menikmatinya, maka seks akan menyenangkan. Tapi, kalau kamu tahu cara menikmatinya, seks juga menyenangkan tanpa orang yang kamu suka.” (h.128-9)

“Manusia tidak terdiri dari satu.” (h.134)

“… akal akan menaklukan badan. Kehendak akan mengungguli tubuh.” (h.139)

“Haruskan kebahagiaan mempunyai alasan yang cerdas (?)” (h.144)

“Tubuh tidak lebih rendah daripada bukan tubuh.” (h.146)

“Cinta boleh hanya satu arah, tapi asmara memang harus resiprokal, agar sebuah hubungan berjalan.” (h.146)

“Vagina adalah sejenis bunga karnivora sebagaimana kantong semar … bunga karnivora bukan memakan daging melainkan menghisap cairan dari makhluk yang terjebak dalam rongga di balik kelopak-kelopaknya yang hangat.” (h.153)

“… kenapa kita menyebut “kenyataan” hanya untuk sesuatu yang bertentangan dengan keinginan.” (h.154)

“… cinta bukanlah hal yang direncanakan seperti perkawinan.” (h.155)

“Bukankah tubuh mengejang oleh rasa sakit maupun nikmat?” (h.155)

“Ada titik-titik di mana aku tak bisa membedakan rasa sakit dan nikmat. Kesakitan berpuncak pada sekon pertama kematian, dan seks berpuncak pada tiga detik orgasme. Jika ejakulasi mengingatkan kita pada kelangsungan hidup, tidakkah seks adalah ketegangan akibat pertentangan hidup dan mati yang hadir bersama di satu titik?” (h.156)

“Tidakkah kematian dan kenikmatan adalah ingatan purba yang sama?” (h.157)

“Masokisme dan humor melecehkan kekuatan dengan mentransfer ketertindasan menjadi kenikmatan. Keduanya sesungguhnya adalah kecerdasan mekanisme pertahanan diri.” (h.159)

“… sembilan puluh persen wanita di dunia ini adalah masokis.” (h.159)

“Kamu membangkitkan kembali khayal kanak-kanakku yang lama kukhianati.” (h.161)

“Kuinginkan tubuhmu yang sederhana.” (h.162)

“Mimpi membolehkan laki-laki menangis.” (h.182)

“Dan apakah yang membangun pengalaman manusia jika bukan ingatan?” (h.185)

“Ia takut pada kata-kata. Sebab kata-kata mengabadikan.” (h.187)

"Aku orang kampung." (h.199)

"Apa yang membuat orang bertahan sebagai manusia yang dikalahkan?" (h.204)

"Kalian hanya berharga jika kalian mati. Seperti vaksin. Jika tak kalah, akan jadi penyakit." (h.211)

"Bedebah itu seperti tak pernah puas menyelesaikan pernyataan tanpa serangan. Ia selalu mengentup di ekor kalimatnya, seperti kalajengking." (h.215)

"Tak ada pahlawan di sini. Yang ada hanya pemenang dan pecundang ... siapapun yang menang ... dengan ideologi apapun --akan melakukan kekejaman yang sama terhadap lawannya." (h.222-3)

"Apologis ... adalah sikap tidak adil sejak dalam pikiran ... Kejahatan dan kebaikan datang dalam satu paket." (h.223)

"Lepas dari aku nafsu, aku mengasihi kamu." (h.253)

THE FORERUNNER

by Khalil Gibran

We are the fields and the ploughmen, the gatherers and the gathered. [The Forerunner]

And always shall we be the beginning. [The Forerunner]

The bad omen of one is the good omen of another. [The Lion's Daughter]

Only the weak are sacrificed to the gods. [The Lion's Daughter]

Only a slave restores a crown that has fallen. [The Lion's Daughter]

It is true he no longer believes in me. But he went away much comforted. [The Saint]

Pity thou canst not sing. Pity, pity, my wise one, thou canst not fly. [The Scholar and the Poet]

What proof have you of other lives in other seas? [Other Seas]

Love humiliated in its nakedness is greater than love that seeks triumph in disguise. [The Last Watch]

He who renounces a kingdom must needs be greater than a kingdom. [The King-Hermit]

Said a sheet of snow-white paper, "Pure was I created, and pure will I remain for ever. I would rather be burnt and turn to white ashes than suffer darkness to touch me or the unclean to come near me." The ink-bottle heard what the paper was saying, and it laughed in its dark heart; but it never dared to approach her. And the multicoloured pencils heard her also, and they too never came near her. And the snow-white sheet of paper did remain pure and chaste for ever, pure and chaste -- and empty. [A Sheet of Snow-White Paper]

MANJALI DAN CAKRABIRAWA

Novelis: Ayu Utami

“Gadis sembilan belas tahun biasanya bergairah karena menjadi obyek, bukan karena menjadi subyek.” (h.4)

“Setiap orang memiliki bagian sensitif yang tak perlu kita orak.” (h.13)

“Iman, seperti cinta, bekerja dengan keterbatasan. Tapi sains, seperti logika, bekerja dengan batasan-batasan.” (h.16)

“Jika kebetulan-kebetulan terjadi terlalu banyak dan cocok satu sama lain, apakah kita tetap percaya bahwa itu adalah serangkaian kebetulan belaka?” (h.18) “Jika itu terjadi, seorang ilmuwan akan mencari pola-pola. Dan seorang beriman akan mencari rencana Tuhan.” (h.19)

“Orang Jawa sekarang sudah menjadi orang Indonesia yang kering!” (h.21)

“Seorang ilmuwan dikutuk untuk selalu meragukan segala hal.” (h.21)

“Ajaib, bisa jadi, adalah cara menamatkan proses berpikir.” (h.23)

“Di Barat, para ilmuwan melakukan penelitian ilmiah untuk menguji sebuah mitos. Di sini, sebaliknya. Orang Jawa bukan menguji, melainkan mencari pembenaran untuk apa yang mereka percaya.” (h.30)

“Ia barangkali nakal dan berani, tapi ia bukan pengkhianat.” (h.45)

“Saya seorang saintis, tapi saya tidak keberatan untuk menambahkan sopan santun dalam proses penelitian.” (h. 46)

“Kau tahu, jika suatu hubungan telah dalam, terkadang manusia menjadi peka untuk merasakan perubahan hati pasangannya, sekalipun berada di tempat jauh.” (h.48)

“Ada pria yang menikah, meninggalkan pelbagai kesenangan pribadi dan menjadi suami yang baik. Ada suami yang tidak bertanggung jawab. Ada pula pria yang memperlakukan istri dengan lemah lembut namun menuntaskan fantasi liar mereka pada pelacur. Lelaki amfibi, lelaki yang hidup di dua dunia.” (h.57)

“Apa yang bisa dilakukan manusia dan tidak bisa dilakukan jin?” (Mendongeng) (h.94)

“Manusia takut pada yang dekat.” (h.95)

“Tak ada makan malam yang gratis.” (h.103)

“Pada saat-saat cinta yang dalam, manusia tak lagi memiliki tuntutan. Pada saat-saat cinta yang hebat, manusia hanya ingin melebur.” (h.105)

“Perempuan, kau tahu, akan mengunci mulut jika mereka ngambek.” (h.107)

“Ada di dunia ini yang tak bisa diberi nilai, seperti ada di dunia ini yang tak bisa dibicarakan. Dan inilah tabu: sesuatu yang tak bisa kau bicarakan, sebab jika kau membicarakannya niscaya kau merusak maknanya.” (h.111)

“Jika kita tidak menemukan, kita tak bisa mengatakan bahwa sesuatu adalah tidak ada. Jika kita belum menemukan, maka kita belum menemukannya. Begitu saja.” (h.118)

“Memisahkan dunia gaib dan dunia nyata sama sulitnya dengan memisahkan hati dan kepala. Hanya dengan mengakui bahwa dua-duanya ada maka kita bisa memisahkannya. Lalu, hanya dengan memisahkannya maka kita bisa mencari keseimbangan di antara keduanya.” (h.130)

“Ketakutan, kau tahu, segera menjelma kebencian.” (h.137)

“Ketika lelaki memusuhi perempuan, maka kebencian mereka menjadi seksual.” (h.148)

“Marja takut jika kedalaman itu hilang dan menjelma satu saja lapisan makna … misteri menjelma hanya birahi.” (h.154)

“Ini bangsa konsumtif, bukan bangsa produktif.” (h.159)

“Kebodohan terlalu sering disebabkan oleh kemiskinan.” (h.166)

“Bagus adalah persoalan estetika. Tapi menarik adalah persoalan studi kebudayaan. Tidak selalu lebih bagus. Tapi selalu menarik.” (h.179)

“Bahagia lebih penting daripada diperkaya.” (h.183)

“Cemburu itu memurubkan birahi.” (h.198)

“Misteri adalah sesuatu yang jawabannya tak akan pernah kau capai dalam hidup ini. Teka-teki adalah sesuatu yang jawabannya ada dalam hidup ini.” (h.201)

“Kita mungkin tidak punya kemampuan untuk mengampuni. Yang bisa kita lakukan adalah berdamai.” (h.206)

“Setiap kita punya sisi gelap, Marja …” (h.206)

“Suhubudi … bagaikan seseorang yang telah menemukan. Sedangkan Parangjati adalah pemuda yang mencari. Suhubudi adalah orang yang memberi jawaban. Parang Jati pemuda yang mengajukan pertanyaan.” (h.208)

“Keduanya pemuda yang selalu mengajukan gugatan. Tapi Parang Jati menggugat dengan rasa hormat, Yuda menggugat sebab ia suka melawan. Yuda adalah seorang yang sinis. Parang Jati adalah seorang yang kritis.” (h.208-9)

“Ada banyak hal lain pada manusia yang membuat kita mampu menyimpan syahwat di tempat yang baik, di balik rerusuk.” (h.210)

“Hanya dengan adanya sistem alternatif, sistem yang lain, maka kita bisa tahu bahwa sistem yang pertama bukanlah satu-satunya kebenaran.” (h.216)

“Momen sunyi barangkali membuat kita mengalami kembali dunia tanpa jarak. Sebuah cara lain mengerti dunia.” (h.218)

“Ia ingin menjadi dewasa, tanpa kehilangan ketulusan kanak-kanak. Betapa tidak mudah untuk menjadi seimbang. Betapa tak gampang merawat kemampuan yang berbeda bersama-sama.” (h.230)

“Ia hanya orang biasa yang, kalau bisa, ingin berbuat baik pada orang lain.” (h.247)

THE ALCHEMIST

Novelis: Paulo Coelho

Penerjemah: Alan R. Clarke

Part One

“Well, usually I learn more from my sheep than from books.”

“They trust me, and they’ve forgotten how to rely on their own instincts, because I lead them to nourishment.”

“We have to be prepared for change.”

“He had wanted to know the world, and this was much more important to him than knowing God and learning about man’s sins.”

“I couldn’t have found God in the seminary.”

“The problem is that they don’t even realize that they’re walking a new road every day. They don’t see that the fields are new and the seasons change. All they think about is food and water.”

“It’s the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting.”

“Dreams are the language of God … if he speaks in the language of the soul, it is only you who can understand.”

“Everyone seems to have a clear idea of how other people should lead their lives, but none
about his or her own.”

What’s the world’s greatest lie? “It’s this: that at a certain point in our lives, we lose control of what’s happening to us, and our lives become controlled by fate. That’s the world’s greatest lie.”

“Everyone, when they are young, knows what their destiny is … But, as time passes, a mysterious force begins to convince them that it will be impossible for them to realize their destiny.”

“There is one great truth on this planet: whoever you are, or whatever it is that you do, when you really want something, it’s because that desire originated in the soul of the universe. It’s your mission on earth.”

“To realize one’s destiny is a person’s only real obligation. All things are one.”

“When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.”

“If you start out by promising what you don’t even have yet, you’ll lose your desire to work toward getting it.”

“Everything in life has its price. This is what the Warriors of the Light try to teach.”

“When each day is the same as the next, it’s because people fail to recognize the good things that happen in their lives every day that the sun rises.”

“It’s called the principle of favorability. When you play cards the first time, you are almost sure to win. Beginner’s luck.”

“Don’t forget that everything you deal with is only one thing and nothing else. And don’t forget the language of omens. And, above all, don’t forget to follow your destiny through to its conclusion.”

“You cannot trust a man if you don’t know his house.”

“The secret of happiness is to see all the marvels of the world, and never to forget the drops of oil on the spoon.”

“In money there was magic; whoever has money is never really alone.”

“When you really want something, the universe always conspires in your favor.”

“I’m like everyone else—I see the world in terms of what I would like to see happen, not what actually does.”

“When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.”

“This wasn’t a strange place; it was a new one.”

“I’m an adventurer, looking for treasure.”

“There must be a language that doesn’t depend on words … If I can learn to understand this language without words, I can learn to understand the world.”

“All things are one.”

Part Two

“It’s called the principle of favorability, beginner’s luck. Because life wants you to achieve your destiny.”

“Not everyone can see his dreams come true in the same way.”

“Beauty is the great seducer of men.”

“Every blessing ignored becomes a curse.”

“Sometimes, there’s just no way to hold back the river.”

“Never stop dreaming. Follow the omens … It was the language of enthusiasm, of things accomplished with love and purpose, and as part of a search for something believed in and desired.”

“When you want something, all the universe conspires to help you achieve it.”

“Making a decision was only the beginning of things. When someone makes a decision, he is really diving into a strong current that will carry him to places he had never dreamed of when he first made the decision.”

“Everything in life is an omen.”

“The desert is a capricious lady, and sometimes she drives men crazy.”

“Creatures like the sheep, that are used to traveling, know about moving on.”

“Intuition is really a sudden immersion of the soul into the universal current of life, where the histories of all people are connected, and we are able to know everything, because it’s all written there … Maktub.”

“No matter how many detours and adjustments it made, the caravan moved toward the same compass point.”

“People need not fear the unknown if they are capable of achieving what they need and want.”

“We are afraid of losing what we have … But this fear evaporates when we understand that our life stories and the history of the world were written by the same hand.”

“That’s the principle that governs all things. In alchemy, it’s called the Soul of the World. When you want something with all your heart, that’s when you are closest to the Soul of the World. It’s always a positive force.”

“Everything on earth is being continuously transformed, because the earth is alive … and it has a soul. We are part of that soul, so we rarely recognize that it is working for us.”

“The caravan and the desert speak the same language, and it’s for that reason that the desert allows the crossing.”

“All things are the manifestation of one thing only.”

“Alchemy could be learned in one’s daily life.”

“I learned that the world has a soul, and that whoever understands that soul can also understand the language of things.”

“His way isn’t the same as mine, nor mine as his. But we’re both in search of our destinies, and I respect him for that.”

“If you can concentrate always on the present, you’ll be a happy man … Life will be a party for you, a grand festival, because life is the moment we’re living right now.”

“The world speaks many languages.”

“Maybe God created the desert so that man could appreciate the date trees.”

“God revealed his secrets easily to all his creatures … Because people become fascinated with pictures and words, and wind up forgetting the Language of the World.”

“In his pursuit of the dream, he was being constantly subjected to tests of his persistence and courage. So he could not be hasty, nor impatient. If he pushed forward impulsively, he would fail to see the signs and omens left by God along his path.”

“Don’t be impatient … Eat when it’s time to eat. And move along when it’s time to move along.”

“The language that everyone on earth was capable of understanding in their heart. It was love. Something older than humanity, more ancient than the desert.”

“When two such people encounter each other, and their eyes meet, the past and the future become unimportant. There is only that moment, and the incredible certainty that everything under the sun has been written by one hand only. It is the hand that evokes love, and creates a twin soul for every person in the world. Without such love, one’s dreams would have no meaning … Maktub.“

“He knew that his love for her would enable him to discover every treasure in the world.”

“It’s not a battle of good against evil. It’s a war between forces that are fighting for the balance of power, and, when that type of battle begins, it lasts longer than others—because Allah is on both sides.”

“Maktub … If I am really a part of your dream, you’ll come back one day.”

“I’m a desert woman, and I’m proud of that. I want my husband to wander as free as the wind that shapes the dunes.”

“It was my fear of failure that first kept me from attempting the Master Work. Now, I’m beginning what I could have started ten years ago. But I’m happy at least that I didn’t wait twenty years.”

“When you are in love, things make even more sense.”

“Each day, in itself, brings with it an eternity.”

“Whoever believes in dreams also knows how to interpret them.”

“To die tomorrow was no worse than dying on any other day. Every day was there to be lived or to mark one’s departure from this world. Everything depended on one word: Maktub.“

“When a person really desires something, all the universe conspires to help that person to

realize his dream.”

“It’s not what enters men’s mouths that’s evil. It’s what comes out of their mouths that is.”

“Wherever your heart is, there you will find your treasure.”

“Life attracts life.”

“You must understand that love never keeps a man from pursuing his destiny. If he abandons that pursuit, it’s because it wasn’t true love… the love that speaks the Language of the World.”

“One is loved because one is loved. No reason is needed for loving.”

“I love you because the entire universe conspired to help me find you.”

“If what one finds is made of pure matter, it will never spoil. And one can always come back. If what you had found was only a moment of light, like the explosion of a star, you would find nothing on your return.”

“There is only one way to learn. It’s through action.”

“They were looking only for gold. They were seeking the treasure of their destiny, without wanting actually to live out the destiny.”

“All you have to do is contemplate a simple grain of sand, and you will see in it all the marvels of creation.”

“Listen to your heart. It knows all things, because it came from the Soul of the World, and it will one day return there.”

“Wherever your heart is, that is where you’ll find your treasure.”

“Naturally it’s afraid that, in pursuing your dream, you might lose everything you’ve won.”

“You will never be able to escape from your heart. So it’s better to listen to what it has to say. That way, you’ll never have to fear an unanticipated blow.”

“People are afraid to pursue their most important dreams, because they feel that they don’t deserve them, or that they’ll be unable to achieve them.”

“The fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself. And that no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams, because every second of the search is a second’s encounter with God and with eternity.”

“All people who are happy have God within them … Everyone on earth has a treasure that awaits him.”

“Every search begins with beginner’s luck. And every search ends with the victor’s being severely tested.”

“The darkest hour of the night came just before the dawn.”

“When you possess great treasures within you, and try to tell others of them, seldom are you believed.”

“No one fails to suffer the consequences of everything under the sun.”

“Your eyes show the strength of your soul.”

“When something evolves, everything around that thing evolves as well.”

“Anyone who interferes with the destiny of another thing never will discover his own.”

“You can’t offer me something that is already mine.”

“It’s not often that money saves a person’s life.”

“If a person is living out his destiny, he knows everything he needs to know. There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure.”

“The world is only the visible aspect of God. And that what alchemy does is to bring spiritual perfection into contact with the material plane.”

“I learned the alchemist’s secrets in my travels. I have inside me the winds, the deserts, the oceans, the stars, and everything created in the universe. We were all made by the same hand, and we have the same soul.”

“When you are loved, you can do anything in creation. When you are loved, there’s no need at all to understand what’s happening, because everything happens within you, and even men can turn themselves into the wind. As long as the wind helps, of course.”

“If you know about love, you must also know about the Soul of the World, because it’s made of love.”

The sun: “From where I am —and I’m a long way from the earth— I learned how to love. I know that if I came even a little bit closer to the earth, everything there would die, and the Soul of the World would no longer exist. So we contemplate each other, and we want each other, and I give it life and warmth, and it gives me my reason for living.”

The boy: “You are wise, because you observe everything from a distance. But you don’t know about love. If there hadn’t been a sixth day, man would not exist; copper would always be just copper, and lead just lead. It’s true that everything has its destiny, but one day that destiny will be realized. So each thing has to transform itself into something better, and to acquire a new destiny, until, someday, the Soul of the World becomes one thing only.”

“That’s what alchemists do. They show that, when we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better, too.”

“He saw that omens were scattered throughout the earth and in space, and that there was no reason or significance attached to their appearance; he could see that not the deserts, nor the winds, nor the sun, nor people knew why they had been created. But that the hand had a reason for all of this, and that only the hand could perform miracles, or transform the sea into a desert… or a man into the wind. Because only the hand understood that it was a larger design that had moved the universe to the point at which six days of creation had evolved into a Master Work … The boy reached through to the Soul of the World, and saw that it was a part of the Soul of God. And he saw that the Soul of God was his own soul. And that he, a boy, could perform miracles.”

This payment goes well beyond my generosity. “Don’t say that again. Life might be listening, and give you less the next time.”

“Everything that happens once can never happen again. But everything that happens twice will surely happen a third time.”

“My Lord, I am not worthy that you should come under my roof. But only speak a word and my servant will be healed.”

“No matter what he does, every person on earth plays a central role in the history of the world. And normally he doesn’t know it.”

“Love would never keep a man from his destiny.”

“No project is completed until its objective has been achieved.”

Epilogue

“I’m coming, Fatima.”

MAKTUB

Penulis: Paulo Coelho

“Although everything is already written, God is compassionate, and wrote it all down just to help us.”

“If you are still living, it’s because you have not yet arrived at the place you should be.”

Think of the lizard. “He is surprised at the meaning of life and at God’s designs.”

“It is also impossible to keep yourself from thinking of things that offend God, (…) But, if you know how to say no to temptation, they will cause you no harm.”

“If the arts of divination were able to predict the future, every soothsayer would be wealthy, married and content.”

“A man who seeks only the light, while shirking his responsibilities, will never find illumination. And one who keep his eyes fixed upon the sun ends up blind.”

“God acts as the echo of our own deeds.”

“If we only watch the tape of our defeats, we become paralyzed. If we only watch the tape of our successes, we wind up thinking we are wiser than we really are. We need both of those tapes.”

“Likewise [Belladonna], negative desires can cause no evil if you do not allow yourself to be seduced by them.”

“God lives in those places where they allow Him to enter.”

“A master capable of taking the fire to wherever he desires, or of extinguishing it whenever he wants to do so. And, since he has taught no one how to light the fire, he is likely to leave everyone in the darkness.”

THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE! “Put your hand on the doorknob and open it.”

“Imagine the following scene: a flock of birds on the wing (…) Who was it that determined how many birds should appear in the imagined scene? Not you!”

“I won’t be able to see my face in the water if you keep throwing those pebbles.”

“It is an infallible prediction, without any doubt whatsoever. It’s the following: you are going to die (…) Think carefully about what you are going to do today. And tomorrow. And with the rest of your life.”

“We have been moving along at such a fast pace that we no longer know what we are doing. Now we have to wait until our soul catches up with us.”

“The wisdom of the world is madness in the eyes of God (…) God selected the crazy things on the earth so as to embarrass the wise men.”

“Today would be a good day for doing something out of the ordinary (…) Today is a day to enjoy life.”

“Those who embark in a new direction and want to keep a bit of the old life, wind up lacerated by their own past.”

“Make use of every blessing that God gave you today. A blessing cannot be saved (…) If you do not use them, they will be irretrievably lost (…) Each day has its own miracle. Accept the blessings, work, and create your minor works of art today. Tomorrow you will receive others.”

“Where force can only destroy, gentleness can sculpt.”

“Out of a fear of shrinking, we fail to grow. Out of a fear of weeping, we fail to laugh.”

“What makes a tree strong is its roots. And the roots of a plant cannot help another plant to grow. To be joined together in the same purpose is to allow each person to grow in his own fashion, and that is the path of those who wish to commune with God.”

“In such cases, there is nothing worse than delay.”

“Each person approaches God in his own way: some with certainty, some with denial and some with doubt.”

“It is a gift. The tears are cleansing your soul.”

“If you must cry, cry like a child. You were once a child, and one of the first things you learned in life was to cry, because crying is a part of life. Never forget that you are free, and that to show your emotions is not shameful. Scream, sob loudly, make as much noise as you like. Because that is how children cry, and they know the fastest way to put their hearts at ease.”

“It is not a sin to be happy. There is nothing wrong in -from time to time -breaking certain rules regarding diet, sleep and happiness. Do not criticize yourself if -once in a while -you waste your time on trifles. These are the small pleasures that stimulate us.”

“I decided to treat myself with greater generosity.”

“Those who have lost everything they owned are in a better position than many others, because, from that moment on, things can only improve.”

“If you accept your possibilities in the present, there is no doubt that you will improve in the future. But if you deny that you have limitations, you will never be rid of them. Confront your path with courage, and don’t be afraid of the criticism of others. And, above all, don’t allow yourself to become paralyzed by self-criticism (…) God is for the valiant.”

“Anyone who would rob for me, would rob from me.”

“There are certain things in our lives that carry a seal that says: You will appreciate my value only after you have lost me… and recovered me. It does no good to try to shorten the path.”

“A person who forgives is washing and perfuming his own heart.”

“Fear is not a sign of cowardice. It is fear that allows us be brave and dignified in the face of life’s situations (…) But someone who tackles difficult situations without taking the danger into account, is proving only his irresponsibility.”

“Commit to life! If you are alive, you have to shake your arms, jump around, make noise, laugh and talk to people. Because life is exactly the opposite of death. To die is to remain forever in the same position. If you are too quiet, you are not living.”

“All foods were holy.”

“They had used only gestures, smiles and facial expressions -but the will to share something had allowed them to enter into the world of language without words.”

“The closer I came to God’s work, the closer I came to His wisdom.”

“It is more important to live fully, and allow time to reveal to us the secrets of our existence. If we are too concerned with making sense of life, we prevent nature from acting, and we become unable to read God’s signs.”

“One person’s happiness does not mean others must be sad.”

“A simple courageous act is all that is needed to find our freedom.”

“Certain things in life simply have to be experienced -and never explained. Love is such a thing. God –who is love– is also such a thing (…) God will never enter your head. The door that He uses is your heart.”

“Lord, give me the strength to win out over evil.”

“God mixes shadow and light to see if the Earth has the courage to go on turning. If the Earth is not frightened by the darkness, night passes — a new sun shines the next day.”

“If a man is unable to grow fruit where he lives, he is not ready to talk with God.”

“Only love allows us to escape. Only love turns slavery into freedom. If we cannot love, it is better to stop now.”

“When you were humble, and sought help from others, God sent me (an angel).”

“Learn everything you need to know in order to handle the bright sword entrusted to you. Pay attention to how your friends, your masters and your enemies fight. Train yourself sufficiently, but do not commit the worst of errors: believing that you know what kind of blow your adversary is going to deliver.”

“Life is enthusiasm. Try to remember where it was that you hid away your enthusiasm. Take your wife and children with you and try to find it again, before it’s too late. Love never kept anyone from following his dream.”

Aren’t the lights on the tree pretty! “They are, but if you look closely, among the dozens of bulbs there is one that has burned out. It seems to me that, instead of seeing the past year in terms of the dozens of blessings that illuminated it, you are fixating on the only bulb that illuminated nothing.”

“I have done nothing in my life to deserve the attention of an angel.”

“You’re a pain in the neck! Why don’t you play just for yourself?”

“The spiritual quest is, above all, a challenge. Whoever uses it to flee from his problems will not go very far. It does no good for someone who cannot make friends to retire from the world. It accomplishes nothing to take a vow of poverty if you are already unable to earn a living. And it makes no sense to become humble if one is already a coward. It is one thing to have something and give it up. It is another not to have something and to condemn those who have (…) Praise the Lord’s work. Conquer yourself as you confront the world.”

“It is easy to be difficult. All we have to do is reject everything good that life offers.”

“Fear a few things, and concentrate all of your fear on them -so you can be courageous in facing the important things.”

“You should accept a gesture of love from someone. You have to allow others to help you, to give you the strength to go on. If you accept such love with purity and humility, you will understand that Love is neither giving nor receiving –it is participating.”

“I believe in you, my heart. I am on your side, and I will always ask for blessing in my prayers (…) I believe in you, my heart. I believe that you will share your love with anyone who needs or deserves it.”

“Wounds heal: they stay on as scars, and that is blessing. Such scars stay with us for the rest of our lives, and are of great help to us. If at some point –for whatever reason -our desire to return to the past is strong, we have only to look at our scars.”

“Sweetness is one of the main characteristics of love. Let us never forget: love is tenderness.”

“Certain things have to occur with the right pace and rhythm.”

“Your concern with yourself turned the only good thing you ever did into evil.”

“The pilgrim may rest, sleep a bit, and even consult with the gods that inhabit the crossroad. But no one can remain there forever: once his choice is made, he has to move on, without thinking about the path he has rejected. Otherwise, the crossroad becomes a curse.”

“It is not what provides us with certitudes. It is not what makes us better than others. It is not what we keep within the prison of our preconceived ideas. The Truth is what makes us free. Know the Truth, and the truth will make thee free.”

“Since I do not look behind me, and cannot see my own sins, I am able to judge another.”

A banana that was still green: “This is a life that has not yet run its course, and awaits the right moment.”

A ripe banana: “This is the present moment. Know how to live it without fear.”

“Today is my birthday. I was sad, and ashamed to be begging. So, I decided not to beg: if God exists, he will give me a present.”

“Wise is the man who can leave a situation when he sees that he is forced to do so.”

“Objects have their own energy. When they are not used, they turn into standing water in the house — a good place for rot and for mosquitos. You must be attentive, and allow that energy to flow freely. If you keep what is old, the new has no place in which to manifest itself.”

“New ideas need space. The body and the soul need new challenges. The future is knocking on our door, and all ideas -except those that are based upon preconceptions -will have a chance to appear. What is important will remain; what is useless will disappear. But let each person judge only his own concepts. We are not the judges of the dreams of others. In order to have faith in our own path, it is not necessary to prove that another’s path is wrong. One who does that does not believe in his own steps.”

“Life is like a great bike race, the goal of which is to live one’s own Personal Destiny. At the starting line, we are all together, sharing camaraderie and enthusiasm. But, as the race develops, the initial joy gives way to challenges: exhaustion, monotony, doubts as to one’s ability (…) We wind up asking ourselves if the effort is worth it. Yes, it is worth it. Don’t give up.”

“God wanted to care for the horses, but to do that, he needed your hands to tie them.”

“I’m only a particle in this immense universe, forced to act like a hero in the many fires I’ve fought.”

“Regard death as an advisor. Always ask: Since I’m going to die, what should I be doing now?”

“We must allow our angel to speak to us in the way he knows best -when he thinks it is needed (…) Advice is a theory about life -and the practice of life is generally quite different.”

“Instead of cursing the place where you fall, you should try to find out what made you slip in the first place.”

“When a man perceives that his soul is discontented, he cannot ask for advice. Make the decisions needed to preserve your passage through this life.”

“It is true that everything has its price, but the price is always relative. When we follow our dreams, we may give the impression to others that we are miserable and unhappy. But what others think is not important. What is important is the joy in our heart.”

“If there is anything else you want to know, ask your heart. It will provide you with the answer.”

“The word is power. Words transform the world, and man as well (…) Have no fear. Speak out about the good things in your life to whoever will listen.”

“The best is the one who is like the rock. Without unsheathing a sword, it demonstrates that no one can conquer it.”

“God has a particular time for showing us His glory.”

“There are two gods (…) The god who is on high, and the God who takes part in our daily lives.”

“There is a work of art each of us was destined to create. That is the central point of our life, and -no matter how we try to deceive ourselves -we know how important it is to our happiness (…) If we have no doubt as to our capability, we are capable of going forward with the mission that is our destiny. That is the only way to live with honor.”

“We all need love. Love is a part of human nature, as much as eating, drinking and sleeping (…) Beware of solitude. It is as much of an addiction as the most dangerous narcotic (…) Be humble, and go in search of love. Know that -as with other spiritual blessings -the more you are willing to give, the more you will receive in return.”

“Along our spiritual path, we should not look for visions, or believe the statements we hear from others on the same path. Our only support should be our faith, because that faith is clear, transparent and born within us. It cannot confused.”

“Forgiveness is a two-way street. Each time we forgive someone, we are also pardoning ourselves. If we are tolerant of others, it is easier to accept our own mistakes.”

“Never let the habit take command of your movements.”

“Accept with joy everything that life offers you. Do not commit sins against the spirit, but do not blaspheme the earth’s generosity.”

“If your journey is difficult, listen to your heart. Try to be as honest as possible with yourself, and see whether you are really following your path and paying the price for your dreams. If you do this, and nevertheless your life is hard, the moment comes when it is right to complain. But do it with respect, as a child complains to a parent. But do not fail to ask for more attention and help.”

“To follow one’s dream carries a price (…) But, no matter how high the price, it is never so high as at we pay for not having lived out our personal destiny. Because one day we will look back and see everything we have done, and hear our own heart say: I wasted my life. Believe me, that is the worst phrase you can ever hear.”

“Those who appear to be virtuous generally conceal their vanity, their pride and their intolerance.”

“Sometimes God takes back a certain blessing in order to help the person understand it better (…) When we feel far from His presence, we should ask ourselves: Do we understand how to make use of what he has placed in our path?”

“If we are capable of loving, we will also be capable of being loved. It is only a matter of time.”

“A wise man is he who, rather than killing his passions, is able to control them.”

“Instead of complaining, they composed songs and jokes about their difficulties. That way, they avoided discouragement and depression.”

“I want to free my soul so that it can enjoy all of the gifts that the spirits own.”

“We are often incapable of understanding the blessings we have received. Many times we do not perceive what He does to keep us spiritually nourished.”

“Everything always turns out for the best. If things are not going well, it is because you have not yet reached the end.”

“There are certain things that are already written, but God finds us a way to get past them without any serious problem.”

“I respected my own pace.”

“You have been with me all your life. I was nude, and you dressed me. I was hungry, and you fed me. I was imprisoned, and you visited me. I was in every poor soul along the way. Thank you for so many presents of love.”

“It is those who have been forced to make their own way that we admire most.”

“Fear of making a mistake is the door that locks us into the castle of mediocrity. If we are able to overcome that fear, we have taken an important step in the direction of our freedom.”

“Ask your soul what it wants to do. When your soul is in agreement with your dreams, it makes God happy.”

“When a tree is laden with fruit, its branches bend to touch the ground. The truly wise is he who is humble. When a tree bears no fruit, its branches are arrogant and haughty. The foolish man always believes that he is better than others.”

“Pathfinder, there is no path. The path is made to be walked.”

“Love forgives.”

“It is difficult for us to accept that we are good by nature.”

“In the pomegranates and the dates and the fruits, the miracle of Creation manifested itself without any interference by human beings.”

“Like the juggler, we throw a dream out into the world, but we don’t always have control over it. At times like that, you have to know how to put yourself in God’s hands –and ask that, in due time, the dream follows its course correctly and falls, completed, back into your hand.”

“I am an artist. I can charge for the vase I made, but not for its beauty. The beauty is free.”

“All roads lead to the same place. But choose your own, and follow it to the end. Do not try to walk every road.”

“The soul has its own path, and your angel will guide you. Pray without stopping. If you do not know how to pray incessantly, then pray to God to teach you how to do so. There is nothing to be taught, because you cannot transmit faith in the same way that you transmit knowledge about mathematics. Accept the mystery of faith, and the Universe will reveal itself.”

“Write! (…) In writing, we come closer to God and to others. (…)The word has power.”

“Do not fear being regarded as crazy -do something today that fits not at all with the logic you have learned (…) This little thing, no matter how little it is, can open the door to a great adventure -human and spiritual.”

“If you have spiritual treasures in your heart, put them into practice now. Or they will still.”

“In the middle of a great effort, let us look at ourselves, allow Him to reveal himself and guide us.”

“You are ready for the next step, because you have learned to laugh in the face of your problems.”

“There is always love. Even at those times when we feel most useless, we can still love -without expectation of reward, change or thanks. If we are able to act in that way, the energy of love begins to transform the Universe around us. When this energy appears, it is always able to do its work.”

“Do not do unto others anything you would not want him to do unto you.”

“Each of us knows the best way to do his work. Only the person confronted with the task knows what problems are involved.”

“Of all the powerful arms of destruction that man has been able to invent, the most terrible –and most cowardly– is the word. The word can destroy without leaving a clue.”

“Sometimes (…) our little joke may have been the drop that caused the goblet of suffering to overflow.”

“Only courage in walking the path makes the path reveal itself.”

“I am always being reborn. Every morning is a time to begin life again.”

“God is in life and life is in God (…) If we are able to penetrate into the holy harmony of our daily round, we will always be on the right path, and we will complete our task.”

“God is an artist. He invented the giraffe, the elephant and the ant. Actually, he never sought for a style -he was simply doing everything that he wanted to do (…) Who was it that invented the standard of ‘Everything right’? God made the giraffe, the elephant and the ant –why do we have to follow a standard?”

“A, B, C, D … I was hoping that if I recited the alphabet, God would use the letters to form the right words.”

“If someone exceeds his limits, their will is also broken He who is unable to balance work with relaxation loses his enthusiasm, and cannot go far.”

“There is only one important thing in our lives: to live our personal destiny –the mission that was fated for us. But we always wind up loading ourselves down with useless concerns that then destroy our dream.”

About the errors: “God’s vision is also clouded.” About the good things: “God never leaves his glasses at home.”

“Prayers are the branches of a tree, whose roots are called faith. There can be faith without prayer. But there can be no prayer without faith.”

“Everything around us is constantly changing. Every day, the sun shines upon a new world. What we call routine is full of new proposals and opportunities (…) Life is made up of large and small miracles. Nothing is boring, because everything constantly changes.”

THE NEW FRONTIER

Penulis: Khalil Gibran

“… two challenging ideas: old and new … two men: one of the past and one of the future. Which one are you?”

“Are you a politician asking what your country can do for you or a zealous one asking what you can do for your country? If you are the first, then you are a parasite; if the second, then you are an oasis in a desert …”

“… two processions: One procession is of old people … The other is a procession of young men … I tell you that the children of yesteryears are walking in the funeral of the era that they created for themselves. They are pulling a rotted rope that might break soon and cause them to drop into a forgotten abyss … But the children of tomorrow are the ones called by life, and they follow it with steady steps and heads high, they are the dawn of new frontiers, no smoke will veil their eyes and no jingle of chains will drown their voices. They are few in number, but the difference is as between a grain of wheat and a stack of hay. No one knows them but they know each other, they are like the summits, which can see and hear each other –not like caves, which cannot hear or see. They are the seed dropped by the hand of God in the field, breaking through its pod and waving its sapling leaves before the face of the sun. It shall grow into a mighty tree, its root in the heart of the earth and its branches high in the sky."

SAND AND FOAM

Penulis: Khalil Gibran

I am forever walking upon these shores, 

Betwixt the sand and the foam, 

The high tide will erase my foot-prints, 

And the wind will blow away the foam, 

But the sea and the shore will remain Forever. 

“Who are you?”

Remembrance is a form of meeting. Forgetfulness is a form of freedom.

My house says to me, “Do not leave me, for here dwells your past.” And the road says to me, “Come and follow me, for I am your future.” And I say to both my house and the road, “I have no past, nor have I a future. If I stay here, there is a going in my staying; and if I go there is a staying in my going. Only love and death will change all things.”

There is a space between man’s imagination and man’s attainment that may only be traversed by his longing.

You are blind and I am deaf and dumb, so let us touch hands and understand.

The significance of man is not in what he attains, but rather in what he longs to attain.

Our mind is a sponge; our heart is a stream.

The reality of the other person is not in what he reveals to you, but in what he cannot reveal to you. Therefore, if you would understand him, listen not to what he says but rather to what he does not say.

A truth is to be known always, to be uttered sometimes.

Every seed is a longing.

It takes two of us to discover truth: one to utter it and one to understand it.

Many a doctrine is like a window pane. We see truth through it but it divides us from truth.

Poetry is not an opinion expressed. It is a song that rises from a bleeding wound or a smiling mouth.

Words are timeless. You should utter them or write them with a knowledge of their timelessness.

A poet is a dethroned king sitting among the ashes of his palace trying to fashion an image out of the ashes.

“Yes, death is always the revealer.”

If you sing of beauty though alone in the heart of the desert you will have an audience.

Poetry is wisdom that enchants the heart. Wisdom is poetry that sings in the mind.

Inspiration will always sing; inspiration will never explain.

A great singer is he who sings our silences.

We live only to discover beauty. All else is a form of waiting.

Sow a seed and the earth will yield you a flower. Dream your dream to the sky and it will bring you your beloved.

Love is the veil between lover and lover.

Love that does not renew itself every day becomes a habit and in turn a slavery.

Love is a word of light, written by a hand of light, upon a page of light.

Friendship is always a sweet responsibility, never an opportunity. If you do not understand your friend under all conditions you will never understand him.

How shall my heart be unsealed unless it be broken? Only great sorrow or great joy can reveal your truth.

You cannot consume beyond your appetite.

Generosity is not in giving me that which I need more than you do, but it is in giving me that which you need more than I do. You are indeed charitable when you give, and while giving, turn your face away so that you may not see the shyness of the receiver.

We often borrow from our tomorrows to pay our debts to our yesterdays.

If your heart is a volcano how shall you expect flowers to bloom in your hands?

You may judge others only according to your knowledge of yourself. Tell me now, who among us is guilty and who is unguilty?

Only those beneath me can envy or hate me. I have never been envied nor hated; I am above no one. Only those above me can praise or belittle me. I have never been praised nor belittled; I am below no one.

When you reach the heart of life you will find yourself not higher than the felon, and not lower than the prophet.

If the other person laughs at you, you can pity him; but if you laugh at him you may never forgive yourself. If the other person injures you, you may forget the injury; but if you injure him you will always remember. In truth the other person is your most sensitive self given another body.

They deem me mad because I will not sell my days for gold; And I deem them mad because they think my days have a price.

The most pitiful among men is he who turns his dreams into silver and gold.

You cannot judge any man beyond your knowledge of him, and how small is your knowledge.

I would not listen to a conqueror preaching to the conquered.

Strife in nature is but disorder longing for order.

A scientist without imagination is a butcher with dull knives and out-worn scales.

In truth we talk only to ourselves, but sometimes we talk loud enough that others may hear us.

Fame is the shadow of passion standing in the light. A root is a flower that disdains fame.

There is neither religion nor science beyond beauty.

The truly great man is he who would master no one, and who would be mastered by none.

When you reach the end of what you should know, you will be at the beginning of what you should sense.

The nearest to my heart are a king without a kingdom and a poor man who does not know how to beg.

Birth and death are the two noblest expressions of bravery.

Man is two men; one is awake in darkness, the other is asleep in light.

There lies a green field between the scholar and the poet; should the scholar cross it he becomes a wise man; should the poet cross it, he becomes a prophet.

“Wisdom! Wisdom for sale!” Poor philosophers! They must needs sell their heads to feed their hearts.

“A bird and a feather in the bush is worth more than ten birds in the hand.”

There are only two elements here, beauty and truth; beauty in the hearts of lovers, and truth in the arms of the tillers of the soil.

Only those with secrets in their hearts could divine the secrets in our hearts.

He who would share your pleasure but not your pain shall lose the key to one of the seven gates of Paradise.

Faith is an oasis in the heart which will never be reached by the caravan of thinking.

If you reveal your secrets to the wind you should not blame the wind for revealing them to the trees.

Strange that creatures without backbones have the hardest shells.

It is stupid to play a role with the night and the day. They would both laugh at you.

Love which is not always springing is always dying.

A great man has two hearts; one bleeds and the other forbears.

There must be something strangely sacred in salt. It is in our tears and in the sea.

It is indeed misery if I stretch an empty hand to men and receive nothing; but it is hopelessness if I stretch a full hand and find none to receive.

I long for eternity because there I shall meet my unwritten poems and my unpainted pictures. Art is a step from nature toward the Infinite. A work of art is a mist carved into an image. Even the hands that make crowns of thorns are better than idle hands.

Our most sacred tears never seek our eyes.

Every man is the descendant of every king and every slave that ever lived.

Every thought I have imprisoned in expression I must free by my deeds.

THE PROPHET

Penulis: Khalil Gibran

The Coming of the Ship

“How often have you sailed in my dreams. And now you come in my awakening, which is my deeper dream.”

“Shall the day of parting be the day of gathering? And shall it be said that my eve was in truth my dawn?”

“Love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation.”

Love

“When love beckons to you, follow him … And when he speaks to you believe in him …”

“Love is sufficient unto love.”

“When you love you should not say, ‘God is in my heart’, but rather, ‘I am in the heart of God’.”

“Love has no other desire but to fulfill itself.”

Marriage

“You were born together, and together you shall be for evermore.”

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

Children

“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 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 not 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.”

Giving

“It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.”

“And there are those who have little and give it all. These are the believers in life and the bounty of life, and their coffer is never empty.”

“For in truth it is life that gives unto life –while you, who deem yourself a giver, are but a witness.”

Eating and Drinking

“But since you must kill to eat, and rob the newly born of its mother’s milk to quench you thirst, let it then be an act of worship.”

Work

“Always you have been told that work is a curse and labour a misfortune. But I say to you that when you work you fulfil a part of earth’s furthest dream, assigned to you when that dream was born. And in keeping yourself with labour you are in truth loving life, and to love life through labour is to be intimate with life’s inmost secret.”

“And I say that life is indeed darkness save when there is urge, and all urge is blind save when there is knowledge. And all knowledge is vain save when there is work, and all work is empty save when there is love; and when you work with love you bind yourself to yourself, and to one another, and to God.”

And what is it to work with love? “It is to charge all things you fashion with a breath of your own spirit.”

“Work is love made visible.”

Joy and Sorrow

“Your joy is your sorrow unmasked.”

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

“Some of you say, ‘Joy is greater than sorrow’, and others say, ‘Nay, sorrow is the greater’. But I say unto you, 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 you joy. Only when you are empty are you at standstill and balanced.”

Houses

“Your house is your larger body.”

“Your house shall be not an anchor but a mast.”

“You shall not dwell in tombs made by the dead for the living.”

Clothes

“Forget not that modesty is for a shield against the eye of the unclean.”

“And forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair.”

Buying and Selling

“And before you leave the market-place, see that no one has gone his way with empty hands.”

Crime and Punishment

“And as a single leaf turns not yellow but with the silent knowledge of the whole tree, so the wrongdoer cannot do wrong without the hidden will of you all.”

“You are the way and the wayfarers.”

“You cannot separate the just from the unjust and the good from the wicked; for they stand together before the face of the sun even as the black thread and the white are woven together.”

“And you who would understand justice, how shall you unless you look upon all deeds in the fullness of light? Only then shall you know that the erect and the fallen are but one man standing in twilight between the night of his pigmy-self and the day of his god-self. And that the cornerstone of the temple is not higher than the lowest stone in its foundation.”

Laws

“You delight in laying down laws, yet you delight more in breaking them. Like children playing by the ocean who build sand-towers with constancy and then destroy them with laughter. But while you build your sand-towers the ocean brings more sand to the shore, and when you destroy them the ocean laughs with you. Verily the ocean laughs always with the innocent.”

Freedom

“If it is an unjust law you would abolish, that law was written with your own hand upon your own forehead. You cannot erase it by burning your law books nor by washing the foreheads of your judges, though you pour the sea upon them. And if it is a despot you would dethrone, see first that his throne erected within you is destroyed.”

Reason and Passion

“Your soul is oftentimes a battlefield, upon which your reason and your judgement wage war against your passion and your appetite.”

“Surely you would not honour one guest above the other; for he who is more mindful of one loses the love and the faith of both.”

“… then let your heart say in silence, ‘God rests in reason’ … then let your heart say in awe, ‘God moves in passion’. And since you are a breath in God’s sphere, and a leaf in God’s forest, you too should rest in reason and move in passion.”

Pain

“Much of your pain is self-chosen.”

Self-Knowledge

“For self is a sea boundless and measureless. Say not, ‘I have found the truth’, but rather, ‘I have found a truth.’ Say not, ‘I have found the path of the soul.’ Say rather, ‘I have met the soul walking upon my path.’ For the soul walks upon all paths.”

Teaching

“The teacher who walks in the shadow of the temple, among his followers, gives not of his wisdom but rather of his faith and his lovingness. If he is indeed wise he does not bid you enter the house of his wisdom, but rather leads you to the threshold of your own mind … For the vision of one man lends not its wings to another man.”

Friendship

“When your friend speaks his mind you fear not the ‘nay’ in your own mind, nor do you withhold the ‘ay’. And when he is silent your heart ceases not to listen to his heart; for without words, in friendship, all thoughts, all desires, all expectations are born and shared, with joy that is unacclaimed … Seek him always with hours to live. For it is his to fill your need, but not your emptiness.”

Talking

“You talk when you cease to be at peace with your thoughts; and when you can no longer dwell in the solitude of your heart you live in your lips, and sound is a diversion and a pastime. And in much of your talking, thinking is half murdered.”

Time

“Yesterday is but today’s memory and tomorrow is today’s dream.”

“Let today embrace the past with remembrance and the future with longing.”

Good and Evil

“Surely the fruit cannot say to the root, ‘Be like me, ripe and full and ever giving of your abundance’. For to the fruit giving is a need, as receiving is a need to the root.”

Prayer

“It is enough that you enter the temple invisible.”

Pleasure

“Pleasure is a freedom-song, but it is not freedom. It is the blossoming of your desires, but it is not their fruit.”

“Your body is the harp of your soul.”

“Go to your fields and your gardens, and you shall learn that it is the pleasure of the bee to gather honey of the flower, but it is also the pleasure of the flower to yield its honey to the bee. For to the bee a flower is a fountain of life, and to the flower a bee is a messenger of love, and to both, bee and flower, the giving and the receiving of pleasure is a need and an ecstasy.”

Beauty

“Beauty is not a need but an ecstasy … a heart inflamed and a soul enchanted … an image you see though you close your eyes and a song you hear though you shut your ears … beauty is life when life unveils her holy face, but you are life and you are the veil. Beauty is eternity gazing at itself in a mirror, but you are eternity and you are the mirror.”

Religion

“Your daily life is your temple and your religion. Whenever you enter into it take with you your all.”

“And if you would know God, be not therefore a solver of riddles. Rather look about you and you shall see Him playing with your children. And look into space; you shall see Him walking in the cloud, outstretching His arms in the lightning and descending in rain. You shall see Him smiling in flowers, then rising and waving His hands in tress.”

Death

“If you would indeed behold the spirit of death, open your heart wide unto the body of life; for life and death are one, even as the river and the sea are one. In the depth of your hopes and desires lies your silent knowledge of the beyond.”

The Farewell

“I go with the wind, people of Orphalese, but not down into emptiness; and if this day is not a fulfillment of your needs and my love, then let it be a promise till another day.”

“How can one be indeed near unless he be far?”

“Patient, over patient, is the captain of my ship.”

“A little while, a moment of rest upon the wind, and another woman shall bear me.”