On Joy and Sorrow
Kahlil Gibran, from "The Prophet"
Your joy is your sorrow unmasked.
And the selfsame well from which your laughter rises was oftentimes filled with your tears.
And how else can it be?
The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain.
Is not the cup that holds your wine the very cup that was burned in the potter's oven?
And is not the lute that soothes your spirit, the very wood that was hollowed with knives?
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.
Some of you say, "Joy is greater thar 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 your joy.
Only when you are empty are you at standstill and balanced.
When the treasure-keeper lifts you to weigh his gold and his silver, needs must your joy or your sorrow rise or fall.
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It's been decades since I read The Prophet. Perhaps I should life my ban on re-reading and revisit it.
ReplyDeleteI hope you're not flooding there. My daughter said they've already had tons of rain at home (in Saline), but not at work (in Arcadia).
precisely.
ReplyDeletelove))
Thank you for the sweet card, Kelly. It made my day! I'm hanging on by a thread, but a strong one. Been reading a lot, in therapy and going to a group therapy weekly. Life turns on a dime... Love & hugs!!! xo
ReplyDeleteP.S. - Kelly!!!! NO, NO, NO!! Why the rereading ban??? I have a long list of MUST-REREADS, not counting the poetry. xo
A few books I reread annually:
A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
The Moviegoer by Walker Percy
S. by John Updike
Light Years by James Salter (Thanks, Erin, for this one!)
Pavilion of Women by Pearl S. Buck
The All of It by Jeannette Haien
Shantaram by Gregory Davis Roberts
Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc by Mark Twain
Before Women Had Wings by Connie May Fowler
Colony by Anne Rivers Siddons
The Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy
All 20 of James Lee Burke's Dave Robicheaux series
The Complete Sandman series by Neil Gaiman
The Prophet by Khalil Gibran
Beloved by Toni Morrison
Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins
House of Leaves by Mark Danielewski
The Fifth Guest, and Other Louisiana Stories by Debra Faircloth
The Floating World by Cynthia Gralla
Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard
Just a few off the top of my head. I'm a speed reader, which helps. Poetry, I read slowly.
Erin...love to you, too. xo
I am such a sloooow reader and feel like there are already more books than I'll ever be able to read in my lifetime! I've only read a fraction of those you have listed, but a couple are waiting in my TBR pile!
ReplyDelete((hugs))