ON LOVE – KAHLIL GIBRAN

Kahlil Gibran was born into a Maronite Catholic family in northern Mount Lebanon, a semi-autonomous part of the Ottoman Empire, in 1883, Gibran received no formal education, but was taught by a local priest. When he was 12, he emigrated with his siblings and mother to Boston, Massachussetts. There, Gibran’s art teacher noticed his abilities and found support for him in the Boston art scene.  When he was 15, his mother sent Gibran back to Lebanon to complete his education.

He held his first exhibition in Boston when he was 21 and, apart from his art, he wrote poetry and novels in Arabic and then in English.  The Prophet, written in English, was published when he was 40.  He published more novels, but his health was failing and he died of cirrhosis of the liver and tuberculosis in 1931 in New York City, at the age of 48.  According to his wishes, he was burred in Lebanon.

Kahlil Gibran on Love

THEN said Almitra, Speak to us of Love.  And he raised his head and looked upon the people, and there fell a stillness upon them.  And with a great voice he said:

  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.

  And When he speaks to you believe in him, 

  Though his voice may shatter your dreams as the north wind lays waste the garden.

For even as love crowns you so shall he crucify you.

  Even as he is for your growth so is he for your pruning.

  Even as he ascends to your heights and caresses your tenderest branches that quiver in the sun, 

  So shall he descend to your roots and shake them in their clinging to the earth.

Like sheaves of corn he gathers you unto himself.

He threshes you to make you naked.

He sifts you to free your from your husks.

He grinds you to whiteness.

He kneads you until you are pliant;

And then he assigns you to his sacred fire, that you may become sacred bread for God’s sacred feast.

All these things shall love do unto you that you may know the secrets of your heart, and in that knowledge become a fragment of Life’s heart.

But if in your fear you would seek only love’s peace and love’s pleasure, Then it is better for you that you cover your nakedness and pass out of love’s threshing-floor, 

Into the seasonless world where you shall laugh, but not all of your laughter, and weep, but not all of your tears.

Love gives naught but itself and takes naught but from itself.

Love possesses not nor would it be possessed;

For love is sufficient unto love.

When you love you should not say, “God is in my heart,”  but rather, “I am in the heart of God.”

And think not you can direct the course of love, for love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course.

Love has no other desire but to fulfill itself.

But if you love and must needs have desires, let these be your desires:

To melt and be like a running brook that sings its melody to the night.

To know the pain of too much tenderness.

To be wounded by your own understanding of love;

And to bleed willingly and joyfully.

To wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving;

To rest at the noon hour and meditate love’s ecstasy;

To return home at eventide with gratitude;

And then to sleep with a prayer for the beloved in your heart and a song of praise upon your lips.

***All of the above is included in Kahlil Gibrans book, The Prophet.

I was introduced to the writings of Kahlil Gibran twice in my life.  The first time was when I lost my beloved pet, Freddy.  A good friend and co-worker send me an email message of sympathy with a very lovely quote from Kahlil.  Due to the pain I felt for the loss of my pet, I don’t believe I was ready to receive the message and consciously connect with his writings at that time.  The second time I was introduced to Kahlil’s writings was through another co-worker who read me excerpts from the book, The Prophet.  This time, I was ready to really listen and hear his words.  I was moved and went and purchased the book immediately.  I couldn’t believe that someone could write such words and have them complete move me.

In The Prophet, Kahlil shares his thoughts, ideas and words on love, marriage, children, eating and drinking, living, work, joy and sorrow, clothes, buying and selling, crime and punishment, laws, freedom, reason and passion, pain, self-knowledge, teaching, houses, friendship, talking, time, good and evil, prayer, pleasure, beauty, religion, and death.  I take much comfort each time I pick up The Prophet and read his words as it reminds me how important it is to live in each moment and to enjoy that very moment you are in.

Together, we can make the world a more positive one!

CANADA LOVES DIRTY ENERGY

Canada has much to be proud of, here are some of things we can be proud of:

• CN Tower name one of the ‘Seven Wonders of the Modern World’ by the American  Society of Civil Engineers.
• Discovery of insulin for the treatment of diabetes by Frederick Banting and Charles Best of Toronto, 1922.  Awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1923.
• Development of Pablum in 1930:  three doctors from the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, developed the infant food as a way to prevent and treat rickets in children.
• Safer Stem Cells:  researcher, Andras Nagy, found a way to safely generate stem cells from adult human skill cells, opening the possibility in the future of using a patients own cells to reverse damage caused by disease, injury, aging or genetics and cure diseases whose treatment costs the Canadian health-care system billions of dollars a year.
• Universal health care.
• Gay marriage.
• Home to some of the most-successful musicians of all-time such as; Celine Dion, Justin Bieber, Avril Lavigne, Joni Mitchell, Alanis Morissette, Shania Twain, Rush, Drake.  Shania Twain has the most successful (and best-selling) album by a female artist of all-time.
• Dr. Roberta Bondar, Canada’s first woman in space and first neurologist in space.
• Terry Fox – Marathon of Hope.
• Rocky Mountains and other beautiful and natural landscapes.

With so much to be proud of – how can Canada recently rank last in environmental protection?  A recent Globe and Mail article, written by Paul Waldie and citing the Washington-based Center for Global Development, indicated the following:

The Washington-based Center for Global Development assesses 27 wealthy nations annually on their commitment to seven areas that impact the world’s poor.  Canada came 13th in this year’s survey.  Denmark led the list, followed by Sweden and Norway, with Japan and South Korea at the bottom.

Canada dropped from 12th place last year and did far worse in the environmental protection category, where it ranked 27th.  Every other country made progress in this area except Canada, the centre said in a report on the rankings.

Here is a link to the complete Globe and Mail article http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/canada-dead-last-in-oecd-ranking-for-environmental-protection/article15484134/  and link to the survey that the Center for Global Development completed http://www.cgdev.org/initiative/commitment-development-index/index

What can we expect from a country who withdrew from the Kyoto Protocol, the world’s only treaty governing the emissions of heat-trapping gasses.  Could this be because our Prime Minister is a big supporter of BIG OIL, the Keystone Pipeline and the horrible environmental ‘eyesore’ that is the Alberta Tar Sands?  Quite possibly, after all the tar sands is located in his home province of Alberta.

I was under the impression that world governments worked for the people, the greater good of their country and the planet.  When I hear of studies indicating that – Canada, as a wealthy nation is moving backwards, it completely deflated any respect and hope I have for our democratic system.  Why is our government not listening to the countless scientists that are saying we are at a very critical stage in the planets history.  Is it because our government(s) are trying to silence the scientific community?  Judge for yourself:

http://sciencewriters.ca/initiatives/muzzling_canadian_federal_scientists/

http://www.frankejames.com/canadian-government-tries-to-silence-franke-james/

The above links is clear evidence that our government does not have the best interests of its citizens but the interests of big corporations and big oil.  If people do not become engaged or involved in government policies – then they can expect more of their civil liberties and freedoms to be taken away from them.  What can you do?  Talk to your friends and inform and educate yourself as to what is happening.  Write to your Member of Parliament and insist that you will not vote for them should they continue to disregard what the people want.  Write, blog, share information that is sent to you about the lack of action that our/any government has on the important issues, such as; the environment, automation of jobs, lack of jobs, health care and education.  The government should not be in business to ensure their laws protect those who are breaking laws, polluting our planet and making profits on the backs of the poor and middle-class.

When the Center for Global Development publishes their report next year – will we have improved?  Probably not.  Why – because our government will continue to support BIG CORPORATIONS and DIRTY OIL.  We need new faces in politics – people who are not motivated by power, money or greed but motivated by their convictions to reach positive resolutions for the planet and its inhabitants.  If we elected people who are motivated by their convictions for positive change, we could make a dent in climate change, CO2 emissions, unemployment, human rights issues, poverty, starvation, crime, financial inequality and violence perpetuated by war.

Together, we can make the world a more positive one!