Perennial Wisdom

I am indebted to the wise ones who have come before us and not only left behind them a trail of ageless wisdom, but put it down on paper! J. Krishnamurti, Lao-Tzu, Alan Watts, Kahlil Gibran, to name a few: what gifts they have given to their generations and the generations that have followed and will follow them. Right now, I am especially grateful to Gibran for these lines of his, excerpted from The Prophet, that showed up today just when I needed to hear them:

You have been told also that life is darkness, and in your weariness you echo what was said by the weary.

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 weave the cloth with threads drawn from your heart, even as if your beloved were to wear that cloth.

It is to build a house with affection, even as if your beloved were to dwell in that house.

It is to sow seeds with tenderness and reap the harvest with joy, even as if your beloved were to eat the fruit.

It is to charge all things you fashion with a breath of your own spirit,

And to know that all the blessed dead are standing about you and watching.

Quelle sagesse! Love and thanks to Gibran for his generous heart.