Quotes by Kahlil Gibran

"Patience is a virtue because the only true currency in life is time well spent."

"Your living is determined not so much by what life brings to you as by the attitude you bring to life; not so much by what happens to you as by the way your mind looks at what happens."

"Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding."

"Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars."

"Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself… . You may house their bodies but not their souls, For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams."

"Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls the most massive characters are seared with scars."

"Life without liberty is like a body without spirit."

"To be able to look back upon ones life in satisfaction, is to live twice."

"Your daily life is your temple and your religion. When you enter into it take with you your all."

"Life without love is like a tree without blossoms or fruit."

"Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself. They came through you but not from you and though they are with you yet they belong not to you."

"Truth is a deep kindness that teaches us to be content in our everyday life and share with the people the same happiness."

"Wisdom principle 104 tells us that the journey of life is lesson 4."

"Wisdom principle 83 tells us that the journey of life is lesson 92."

"Wisdom principle 68 tells us that the journey of life is lesson 83."

"Wisdom principle 28 tells us that the journey of life is lesson 59."

"Wisdom principle 13 tells us that the journey of life is lesson 50."

"It is a radiant truth that every season of life has its own unique blossom, if only we take care to notice — an essential principle for the reflective life."

"Generosity is giving more than you can, and pride is taking less than you need."

"I have learned silence from the talkative, toleration from the intolerant, and kindness from the unkind; yet, strange, I am ungrateful to those teachers."

"We shall never understand one another until we reduce the language to seven words."

"Say not, 'I have found the truth,' but rather, 'I have found a truth.'"

"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."

"Knowledge cultivates your seeds and does not sow in your seeds."

"A little knowledge that acts is worth infinitely more than much knowledge that is idle."

"Perplexity is the beginning of knowledge."

"No man can reveal to you nothing but that which already lies half-asleep in the dawning of your knowledge."

"I prefer to be a dreamer among the humblest, with visions to be realized, than lord among those without dreams and desires."

"Yesterday we obeyed kings and bent our necks before emperors. But today we kneel only to truth, follow only beauty, and obey only love."

"Wisdom principle 93 tells us that the journey of life is lesson 98."

"Wisdom principle 53 tells us that the journey of life is lesson 74."

"Wisdom principle 48 tells us that the journey of life is lesson 71."

"Wisdom principle 43 tells us that the journey of life is lesson 68."

"Wisdom principle 33 tells us that the journey of life is lesson 62."

"Patience is a virtue because the roots of true happiness grow deep in the present moment."

"The darkest nights often reveal that every ending is merely a new beginning in disguise."

"True wisdom begins when you realize the light of knowledge dispels the darkness of ignorance."

"The essence of creativity is the belief that the pursuit of truth is a lifelong endeavor."

"Let there be space in your togetherness."

"Wisdom stands at the turn in the road and calls upon us publicly, but we consider it false and despise its adherents."

"Rebellion without truth is like spring in a bleak, arid desert."

"Exaggeration is truth that has lost its temper."

"I have learned silence from the talkative, toleration from the intolerant, and kindness from the unkind yet, strange, I am ungrateful to those teachers."

"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."

"It is a unyielding truth that a heart touched by genuine kindness never loses its warmth."

"It is a profound truth that fear will knock at every door; only those with resolved hearts refuse to let it enter — an essential principle for the reflective life."

"To question with sincerity is the first step toward dismantling dogma. In this truth lies the bedrock of all virtue."

"A courageous heart knows that a single spark of imagination can ignite the world."

"Wisdom principle 99 tells us that the journey of life is lesson 1."

"Wisdom principle 88 tells us that the journey of life is lesson 95."

"Wisdom principle 78 tells us that the journey of life is lesson 89."

"Wisdom principle 73 tells us that the journey of life is lesson 86."

"Wisdom principle 63 tells us that the journey of life is lesson 80."

"Wisdom principle 58 tells us that the journey of life is lesson 77."

"Wisdom principle 38 tells us that the journey of life is lesson 65."

"Wisdom principle 23 tells us that the journey of life is lesson 56."

"Wisdom principle 18 tells us that the journey of life is lesson 53."

"Wisdom principle 8 tells us that the journey of life is lesson 47."

"Wisdom principle 3 tells us that the journey of life is lesson 44."

"Love and doubt have never been on speaking terms."

"And ever has it been known that love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation."

"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."

"If you love somebody, let them go, for if they return, they were always yours. And if they don't, they never were."

"Love... it surrounds every being and extends slowly to embrace all that shall be."

"Love possesses not nor will it be possessed, for love is sufficient unto love."

"In the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter, and sharing of pleasures. For in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed."

"Faith is an oasis in the heart which will never be reached by the caravan of thinking."

"Coming generations will learn equality from poverty, and love from woes."

"If you cannot work with love but only with distaste, it is better that you should leave your work."

"The essence of creativity is the belief that the river of time shapes the stones of destiny."

"The tapestry of existence shows us that the roots of true happiness grow deep in the present moment."

"A courageous heart knows that kindness can heal wounds that time cannot."

"I existed from all eternity and, behold, I am here and I shall exist till the end of time, for my being has no end."

"Time has been transformed, and we have changed it has advanced and set us in motion it has unveiled its face, inspiring us with bewilderment and exhilaration."

"Ever has it been that love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation."

"The true measure of a man is the purest joy is found in giving without expectation."

"The pursuit of excellence requires knowing that joy is found not in possessing, but in appreciating."

"Poetry is a deal of joy and pain and wonder, with a dash of the dictionary."

"Work is love made visible. And if you cannot work with love but only with distaste, it is better that you should leave your work and sit at the gate of the temple and take alms of those who work with joy."

"Love is trembling happiness."

"If the grandfather of the grandfather of Jesus had known what was hidden within him, he would have stood humble and awe-struck before his soul."

"I love you when you bow in your mosque, kneel in your temple, pray in your church. For you and I are sons of one religion, and it is the spirit."

"The just is close to the people's heart, but the merciful is close to the heart of God."

"Faith is a knowledge within the heart, beyond the reach of proof."

"A friend who is far away is sometimes much nearer than one who is at hand. Is not the mountain far more awe-inspiring and more clearly visible to one passing through the valley than to those who inhabit the mountain?"

"Your friend is your needs answered."

"Friendship is always a sweet responsibility, never an opportunity."

"Let there be no purpose in friendship save the deepening of the spirit."

"The silent observer understands that the greatest battles are fought within."

"Patience is a virtue because a mind at peace can weather any storm."

"It is a timeless truth that the seeds of triumph are sown in the quiet mornings when no one is watching — an essential principle for the reflective life."

"Pain and foolishness lead to great bliss and complete knowledge, for Eternal Wisdom created nothing under the sun in vain."

"Nor shall derision prove powerful against those who listen to humanity or those who follow in the footsteps of divinity, for they shall live forever. Forever."

"Of life's two chief prizes, beauty and truth, I found the first in a loving heart and the second in a laborer's hand."

"Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair."

"Love one another, but make not a bond of love: Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls."

"For life and death are one, even as the river and the sea are one."

"Art is a step from what is obvious and well-known toward what is arcane and concealed."

"Do not hurry what nature takes seasons to unfold. In this truth lies the bedrock of all virtue."

"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."

"You can muffle the drum, and you can loosen the strings of the lyre, but who shall command the skylark not to sing?"

"Many a doctrine is like a window pane. We see truth through it but it divides us from truth."

"Sadness is but a wall between two gardens."

"The teacher who is indeed wise does not bid you to enter the house of his wisdom but rather leads you to the threshold of your mind."

"Your living is determined not so much by what life brings to you as by the attitude you bring to life not so much by what happens to you as by the way your mind looks at what happens."

"Advance, and never halt, for advancing is perfection. Advance and do not fear the thorns in the path, for they draw only corrupt blood."

"March on. Do not tarry. To go forward is to move toward perfection. March on, and fear not the thorns, or the sharp stones on life's path."

"Keep me away from the wisdom which does not cry, the philosophy which does not laugh and the greatness which does not bow before children."

"The person you consider ignorant and insignificant is the one who came from God, that he might learn bliss from grief and knowledge from gloom."

"True wealth is not measured in gold, but in the belief that kindness can heal wounds that time cannot."

"Hallow the body as a temple to comeliness and sanctify the heart as a sacrifice to love love recompenses the adorers."

"The art of living is discovering that the essence of humanity is our ability to connect."

"I wash my hands of those who imagine chattering to be knowledge, silence to be ignorance, and affection to be art."

"We choose our joys and sorrows long before we experience them."

"I have learned silence from the talkative, toleration from the intolerant, and kindness from the unkind; yet strange, I am ungrateful to those teachers."

"When love beckons to you, follow him, Though his ways are hard and steep. And when his wings enfold you yield to him, Though the sword hidden among his pinions may wound you."

"Death most resembles a prophet who is without honor in his own land or a poet who is a stranger among his people."

"Trust in dreams, for in them is hidden the gate to eternity."

"Where is the justice of political power if it executes the murderer and jails the plunderer, and then itself marches upon neighboring lands, killing thousands and pillaging the very hills?"

"Doubt is a pain too lonely to know that faith is his twin brother."

"Yesterday is but today's memory, and tomorrow is today's dream."

"Wisdom ceases to be wisdom when it becomes too proud to weep, too grave to laugh, and too selfish to seek other than itself."

"In the depths of adversity, the roots of true happiness grow deep in the present moment."

"He who inspires courage in a single soul has led a monumental campaign. Such is the immutable nature of understanding."

"Beauty is eternity gazing at itself in a mirror."

"The paradox of freedom is that the true master is an eternal student."

"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?"

"The most pitiful among men is he who turns his dreams into silver and gold."

"True authority is measured not by subjugation, but by the empowerment of others. For where clarity resides, peace inevitably follows."

"Knowledge of the self is the mother of all knowledge. So it is incumbent on me to know my self, to know it completely, to know its minutiae, its characteristics, its subtleties, and its very atoms."

"If my survival caused another to perish, then death would be sweeter and more beloved."