The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran

"and when you work with love, you bind yourself to yourself, and to one another, and to God"

dan ketika Anda bekerja dengan cinta, Anda mengikat diri Anda sendiri, dan satu sama lain, dan kepada Tuhan

a book i got as farewell gift from a good friend that now living far away. though i cant thank you enough, i hope you live the blessed life there.

*

then a ploughman said, Speak to us of Work. 

and he answered, saying :

you work that you may keep pace with the earth and the soul of the earth.

for to be idle is to become a stranger unto the seasons, and to step out of life's procession, that marches in majesty and proud submission towards the infinite.

when you work, you are a flute through whose heart the whispering of the hours turns to music.

which of you would be a reed, dumb, and silent, when all else sings together in unison?

always you have been told that work is a curse and labour a misfortune.

but i say to you that whem you work, you fulfill a part of earth's furthest dream, assigned to you when that dream was born,

and in keeping yourself with labour you are in truth loving life,

and to love life through labour is to be intimate with life's inmost secret.

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 a woman who held a babe against her bosom said, Speak to us of Children.

and he said :

your children are not your children.

they are the sons and daughter of life's longing for itself.

they come through you but not from you,

and though they 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 int he 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 backwards, 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 your 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.

*

Then Almitra spoke again and said, And what of Marriage, master?

And he answered, saying :

You were born together, and together you shall be for evermore.

You shall be together when the white wings of death scatter your days.

Ay, 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 flute are alone, though they quiver with the same music.

Give you 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 cypress grow not in each other’s shadow.

*

And a man said, Speak to us of Self-Knowledge

And he answered, saying :

Your hearts know in silence the secret of the days and the nights,

But your ears thirst for the sound of your heart’s knowledge.

You would know in words that which you have always known in thought.

You would touch with your fingers the naked body of your dreams.

 

And it is well you should.

The hidden wellspring of your soul must needs rise and run murmuring to the sea,

And the treasure of your infinite depths would be revealed to your eyes.

But let there be no scales to weigh your unknown treasure,

And seek not the depths of your knowledge with staff or sounding line,

For self is a sea boundless and measureless.

 

Say not “I have found the truth”, but rather “I have found one truth”.

Say not “I have found the path of the soul”. Say rather “I have met the soul walking upon my path”,

For the soul walks not upon a line, neither does it grow like a reed,

The soul unfolds itself, like a lotus of countless petals.

*

Empat bagian favorit saya dari buku The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran. Empat, karena tiga saja tidak cukup. Bagian yang dicetak miring adalah kutipan dari buku, sedangkan yang tegak murni pendapat saya.

Work dari beberapa kalimat rasanya agak me-romantisasi pekerjaan ya.. Fase bekerja yang sedang saya jalani saat ini membawa perasaan naik turun. Kadang kita merasa yang di kerjakan tidak cukup worthy. Disaat seperti itu mungkin perlu kembali menyelami esensi pekerjaan. Work mengingatkan kembali bahwa, tidak ada yang sia-sia :)

Children.. the OG, versi lengkap dari kutipan yang seringgg dijumpai di instagram hahaha. Saya suka bagaimana bagian ini bercerita tidak hanya menitik beratkan orang tua agar tidak merasa 'memiliki' sang anak, tapi juga menghibur dengan memposisikan orang tua ibarat perpanjangan tangan Tuhan dalam memberikan hidup dan cinta kepada anak-anak :)

Marriage selaras dengan lagu Tulus berjudul Ruang Sendiri : baik buruk perubahan ku takkan kau sadari, kita berevolusi, bila kita ingin tahu seberapa besar rasa yang kita punya, kita butuh ruang. Bahkan dalam hubungan paling intens pun, kita tetap perlu ruang untuk mengembangkan diri.

The last Self-Knowledge, be wise, because self-knowledge covered by the ego can be a self-righteous attitude. The difference is almost invisible.

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P.