You would know the secret of death. But how shall you find it unless you seek it in the heath of life? The owl whose night-bound eyes are blind unto the day cannot unveil the mystery of light. 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 sea are one.
In the depth of your hopes and desires lies your silent knowledge of the beyond; and like seeds dreaming beneath the snow your heart dreams of spring. Trust the dreams, for in them is hidden the gate to eternity.
Your fear of death is but the trembling of the shepherd when he stands before the king whose hand is to be laid upon him in honor. Is the shepherd not joyful beneath his trembling, that he shall wear the mark of the king? Yet is he not more mindful of his trembling?
For what is it to die but to stand naked in the wind and to melt into the sun? And what is it to cease breathing, but to free the breath from its restless tides, that it may rise and expand and seek God unencumbered?
Only when you drink from the river of silence shall you indeed sing. And when you have reached the mountain top, then you shall begin to climb. And when the earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance.
The Prophet
Kahlil Gibran
Walker & Company
Phoenix Press, 1923
That's a great quote! My favorite is the way Oscar Wilde put it:
ReplyDelete"Yes, death. Death must be so beautiful. To lie in the soft brown earth, with the grasses waving above one’s head, and listen to silence. To have no yesterday, and no to-morrow. To forget time, to forget life, to be at peace. You can help me. You can open for me the portals of death’s house, for love is always with you, and love is stronger than death is.”
Thank you so much for sharing that....I can not think of a better way to spend my time but in contemplation and discussion of that which taints us all....
ReplyDeleteMy Grandma once told me that "Knowing that one day you may die might really be the best blessing you'll ever receive."-Samantha Batt
ReplyDeleteThis reminds me of the last and fifty second section (or is it a stanza? I'm not sure) of Walt Whitman's Song Of Myself.
ReplyDelete"The spotted hawk swoops by and accuses me, he complains of my gab
and my loitering.
I too am not a bit tamed, I too am untranslatable,
I sound my barbaric yaws over the roofs of the world.
The last scud of day holds back for me,
It flings my likeness after the rest and true as any on the shadow'd
wilds,
It coaxes me to the vapor and the dusk.
I depart as air, I shake my white locks at the runaway sun,
I effuse my flesh in eddies, and drift it in lacy jags.
I bequeath myself to the dirt to grow from the grass I love,
If you want me again look for me under your boot-soles.
You will hardly know who I am or what I mean,
But I shall be good health to you nevertheless,
And filter and fibre your blood.
Failing to fetch me at first keep encouraged,
Missing me one place search another,
I stop somewhere waiting for you."
Sorry for the long post.
What great comments....thank you all so much
ReplyDeletehow long have we had this?
ReplyDeletethis is dope, :o
I believe for one to desire life, you must desire death as well. For if life was everlasting it would be pointless and standing would be just the same as falling. It would be a world of chaos. For life is one that can only be envisioned once. Living life to it's fullest potential and welcoming the end.
ReplyDeleteAs you think you shall become .Bruce Lee
ReplyDelete"I dislike death, however, there are some things I dislike more than death. Therefore, there are times when I will not avoid danger." - Mencius
ReplyDelete