Before people ask, this entry doesn't mean anything. You should know by now that when I feel up or down, I tell you why instead of posting some cryptic lyric or single emoticon. I hate guessing games, so I don't put people through them.
So, this is simply something I wanted to share. It's from one of my favorite books, one I haven't picked up in many years. It was mandatory reading among our little circle of friends at the coffee shop my senior year of high school, and it got me interested in different religions. After I read The Prophet, I moved onto the Tao Te Ching, Tao of Pooh (it's really cute... try it some time), The Power of Myth, various Judaic texts, Buddhist writings, etc. It opened my eyes to a world other than Catholicism and had a profound impact on my sense of religion.
This particular passage is about Joy and Sorrow. I thought some of my friends could use it right about now. It seems as though many people are having trouble in their lives lately, and I hope this will shed a little light on things... maybe give you some perspective.
-=-
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.
-=-
From The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran
So, this is simply something I wanted to share. It's from one of my favorite books, one I haven't picked up in many years. It was mandatory reading among our little circle of friends at the coffee shop my senior year of high school, and it got me interested in different religions. After I read The Prophet, I moved onto the Tao Te Ching, Tao of Pooh (it's really cute... try it some time), The Power of Myth, various Judaic texts, Buddhist writings, etc. It opened my eyes to a world other than Catholicism and had a profound impact on my sense of religion.
This particular passage is about Joy and Sorrow. I thought some of my friends could use it right about now. It seems as though many people are having trouble in their lives lately, and I hope this will shed a little light on things... maybe give you some perspective.
-=-
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.
-=-
From The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran
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