Author Spotlights The Prophet #kahlilgibran

Sometimes people get lost. And sometimes those who are lost are those who are most important to us. When that happens, I remember these words of wisdom:  If you love someone let them go, for if they return, they were always yours. If they don’t, they were never yours to begin with.

Of course, it hurts. Sometimes more than you think you can bear. But life moves on, sands ever shifting, tumultuous waves crashing against a rocky shore demanding more attention. However, that does not mean you forget.

I have always been a fan of Khalil Gibran and his philosophical fiction, The Prophet and Broken Wings.  In fact, both books were the first religious/philosophical books I ever read outside my faith. They  introduced me to a philosophy that has stayed with me all my life. As is often true, a man is never recognized within his own people, and in the Arab world, Khalil is known as a literary and political rebel.

Born in Bsharri, Mount Lebanon, Khalil was an accomplished poet, painter, sculptor, writer, philosopher, theologian, and visual artist, truly a man for all seasons.  His family immigrated from Lebanon to Boston  in 1895. Gibran never became an American citizen and requested that he be buried in Lebanon. In 1932 Mary Haskell and her sister Mariana purchased the Mar Sarkis Monastery in Lebanon, which is now the Gibran Museum. Next to his grave, it is written: a word I want to see  on my grave. I am alive like you, and I am standing beside you. Close your eyes and look around, you will see me in front of you.

Gibran was a Maronite Christian and was raised in Maronite schools. He was greatly influenced by Christianity, Islam, and the mysticism of the Sufis. He wrote: You are my brother and I love you. I love you when you prostrate yourself in your mosque, kneel in your church, and pray in your synagogue. You and I are sons of one faith—the spirit.

Truer words were never spoken, for at the bottom of it all lie the words do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

Gibran wrote many powerful books, but I think these two should get you going. If you’re going through troubles, if you’ve hit a bit of a headwind, or even if you’ve fallen flat on your face, these two books will get you up on your feet again. Even if you are not spiritually inclined these books contain a wisdom that moves beyond mere religion. It is more of a philosophy of the soul, a meeting place where two become one.

My truth has always been:

There is nothing done that cannot be undone.  No words that cannot be taken back. There is only one thing that can divide us. Death. So let us make peace---before it is too late.

(((hugs)))

Louann

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