Khalil Gibran

Khalil Gibran has captured my attention not once but twice. The poems written by him were introduced to me by Amma, she spoke about him and his poems at lengths and finished it with
"How rotten it would be to follow his words and bring up a child" :D
On the other hand, I can feel him urging us to give the "space" a relationship needs.

On bringing-up a child..

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 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 mark upon the path of the infinite,
and He bends you with His might
that His arrows may go swift and far.
Let our 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.

On Marriage...

Then Almitra spoke again and said, "And what of Marriage, master?"
And he answered saying:
You were born together, and together you shall be forevermore.
You shall be together when white wings of death scatter your days.

Aye, you shall be together even in the silent memory of God.
But let there be spaces in your togetherness,
And let the winds of the heavens dance between you.
Love one another but make not a bond of love:

Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.
Fill each other's cup but drink not from one cup.
Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf.
Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone,

Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music.
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.

tra-la la-la-la

It is pretty understandable that a man is a mirror of his moods-swings. To say "A happy person radiates laughter and life; while a vile one sulks around forcing his sour mood on others" would sound clichéd but is nevertheless the truth.

At times, you have those simple sweet moments, when you ride on a traffic infested road humming a tune, thinking of how super sunny it is instead of bitching about the sun (or) loving the rain instead of cursing the downpour and your drenched clothes!
Obviously when in perfect Joy!

Well... that's exactly what I've been doing! Sunny side-up :))
I've been wearing rose-colored glasses for over two weeks and indeed totally loving the quiet joyful route I've been walking in. Of course occasionally kicking a stone that comes my way ;)
still loving that distraction!

I guess, life can't get any better and thus this posts talks of some lighter lovelier excerpts.. my 6 yr old sweetheart.. a rascal, a know-it-all, an intelligent sarcastic bombastically imaginative darling! The sweetiepie whom I seek at times of vinegary moods.
Calvin of the Calvin and Hobbes fame..
Off you go, read 'em and be the happy camper,
while I try "mirroring" :D


Calvin: I've got an idea, Dad. Maybe I'd get better grades if you offered me $1 for every "D", $5 for every "C". $10 for every "B", and $50 for every "A"!
Dad: I'm not going to bribe you Calvin, you should apply yourself for your own good.
Calvin: Rats. I thought I could make an easy four bucks.


Calvin: I've been thinking, Hobbes.
Hobbes: On a weekend?
Calvin: Well, it wasn't on purpose...


Calvin: BU-URRP!
Mum: Good heavens, Calvin! What do we say after that?
Calvin: "Must be a barge coming through!"
Mum: WHAT do you say?!
Calvin: "That sure tasted better going down than coming up!"
Mum: Three strikes and you're history, kiddo.
Calvin: Excuse me :((




Calvin: Hey Dad, can I take the gas can for the lawn mower out in the back yard?
Dad: What on earth for? It's 8:00 at night!
Calvin: I want to pour gasoline in big letters on the lawn and set fire to it so airplanes can read it as they fly!
Dad: No, you can't do that! Don't be ridiculous!
Dad: I don't even want to know what he intended to write.




Calvin: Can I ride in the grocery cart?
Mum: I think you're a little big for that now.
Calvin: PLEASE??
Mum: All right, up you go.
Calvin: Oh boy! Now run down the aisle and let go!


Calvin: Psst... Susie! What's 12 + 7?
Susie: A billion.
Calvin: Thanks! Wait a minute. That can't be right... That's what she said 3 + 4 was.


Hobbes: What's wrong with you mom, do you know?
Calvin: No. She went to the doctor, though.
Hobbes: I wonder if... nah.
Calvin: What?
Hobbes: You don't suppose she's going to have a baby, do you?
Calvin: A BABY?!? Why would she want another kid? She's already got ME!
Hobbes: Yes, you'd think she'd have learned her lesson...






Calvin: "I'm a simple man, Hobbes."
Hobbes: "You?? Yesterday you wanted a nuclear powered car that could turn into a jet with laser-guided heat-seeking missiles!"
Calvin: "I'm a simple man with complex tastes."



Mom (to Calvin) : Your dad and I are going out for a movie tonight
C: Can I come too?
Mom: No, you are staying home.
C: What I got the plague? Why cant I come?
Mom: Because other people like to watch movies without hearing advise being shouted to the characters on screen.
C: So who does that? Are you saying I do that!!





C: Why does the sun set?
Dad: It’s because hot air rises. The sun’s hot in the middle of the day, so it rises high in the sky. In the evening then, it cools down and sets.
C: Why does it go from east to west?
Dad: Solar wind.
(hehehe beats me!)


C: Why does ice float?
Dad: Because it’s cold. Ice wants to get warm, so it goes to the top of liquids to be nearer to the sun.
C: Is that true?
Dad: Look it up and find out.
C: I should just look up stuff in the first place.

________

Mr.Bill Watterson, I miss the comic strips more than ever!

Quotes I can relate to.. Sir W-S

If you prick us do we not bleed? If you tickle us do we not laugh? If you poison us do we not die? And if you wrong us, shall we not revenge?
Merchant of Venice

Good night, good night! Parting is such sweet sorrow.
Romeo and Juliet

Be not afraid of greatness. Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon 'em.
Twelfth Night

Yes, they are written by Sir William Shakespeare.
There are a few quotes you can relate to, aren't they?

My wrath did grow..

A Poison Tree
I was angry with my friend:
I told my wrath, my wrath did end.
I was angry with my foe;
I told it not, my wrath did grow.

And I water'd it in fears,
Night & morning with my tears;
And I sunned it with my smiles
And with soft deceitful wiles.

And it grew both day and night,
Till it bore an apple bright;
And my foe beheld it shine,
And he knew that it was mine,

And into my garden stole
When the night had veil'd the pole:
In the morning glad I see
My foe outstretch'd beneath the tree
- William Blake

P.S. The Poison Tree not only grew in the Seventeen Hundreds,
you find her till date.

William Blake, an English poet and painter (found his exposure to classical forms thro' the works of Renaissance masters)