It’s been ten-thousand years* since I last posted, most of which has been spent avoiding the gym; I’ve become quite the expert. I’ve spent much of the remaining time avoiding the preparation for my return to university, which I’ve been less successful at. I’m actually looking forward to returning to Swinburne Uni after a 6 month break; what I have really been putting off is blowing a large chunk of my tax-return on textbooks.
One of the more useful things I’ve done in the past month is read Kahlil Gibran‘s “The Prophet“. I thought, rather than bore you with all the nothing I’ve done, I’d provide a lengthy quote from an exceptional and much loved author. “The Prophet” is the story of a prophet who speaks to a town on a range of important issues, from death to time, with each topic a short essay by Gibran.
The essay on Joy and Sorrow in Kahlil Gibran’s “The Prophet”:
Then a woman said, Speak to us of Joy and Sorrow.
And he answered:
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 than 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 a 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.
— Kahlil Gibran, 1926
Extract taken from page 36-37 of the 1972 Heinman, London reprint of “The Prophet” .
*This is, in fact, inaccurate.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Good luck with uni! I loved taking classes, but I hated paying for the textbooks. Those prices are evil!
And this essay on “The Prophet” sounds interesting. Maybe, if I ever get in an intellectual mood, I should check it out!
Thanks Tara! I really shouldn’t have procrastinated so much buying the textbooks – it turns out I only had to buy one! And I got it second-hand at 2/3 of the full price.
I highly recommend Gibran.