Happy Mothers day...An Ode to Mothers

Mothers are the foundation of the family. They make sacrifices to put a smile on our face at any given moment. In honor of their unconditional love, these Mother's  poems and quotes will surely remind all moms how much they are loved and appreciated 

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 quotes about Mother's Day:

1. "Mom, you have been the most influential person in my life. I appreciate all the sacrifices you made to raise me. Happy Mother's Day."

2. "Mothers are fonder than fathers of their children because they are more certain they are their own." -- Aristotle

3. "Thanks for everything that you have done for me, and all that you are still doing."

4. "Mother love is the fuel that enables a normal human being to do the impossible." -- Marion C. Garretty, quoted in "A Little Spoonful of Chicken Soup for the Mother’s Soul"

5. Hundreds of dewdrops to greet the dawn, Hundreds of bees in the purple clover, Hundreds of butterflies on the lawn, But only one mother the wide world over." -- George Cooper

6. "A Freudian slip is when you say one thing but mean your mother." -- Author Unknown

7. "Let us be grateful to people who make us happy, they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom." -- Marcel Proust

8. "Happy Mother's Day! I couldn't have had a better mother than you."

9. "Without mothers, our society would be doomed. You are a great example of what it takes to keep the chaos organized."

10. "Oh, the comfort, the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person, having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but pouring them all out, just as they are, chaff and grain together, certain that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping, and with a breath of kindness blow the rest away." -- Dinah Craik

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11. "Most mothers are instinctive philosophers." -- Harriet Beecher Stowe

12. "I love you mom, and am glad that God blessed me with such a caring mother. You went above and beyond the call of duty many times."

13. "Insanity is hereditary; you get it from your children." -- Sam Levenson

14. "The one thing children wear out faster than shoes is parents." -- John J. Plomp

15. "Mom, you must have been hand-picked to be the right mom for me. I wouldn't be the person I am today if it wasn't for you."

16. "This heart, my own dear mother, bends, With love’s true instinct, back to thee!" -- Thomas Moore

17. "A man loves his sweetheart the most, his wife the best, but his mother the longest." -- Irish Proverb

18. "I love you and I love you being my mom. You have provided the guidance I needed throughout my life. Things just seem to get a little more complicated the older I get. Thanks for all your support. Happy Mother's Day!"

19. "A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials heavy and sudden, fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine desert us; when trouble thickens around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts." -- Washington Irving

20. "A mother is a person who seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie." -- Tenneva Jordan

21. "Mother is the name for God in the lips and hearts of little children." -- William Makepeace Thackeray

22. "Mom you are one of a kind, and I am glad I get to have you as my mom. I have learned much and felt loved by you."

23. "You have been the most supportive and generous person I have ever known. Thanks for having a huge heart and loving me."

24. "On Mother’s Day I have written a poem for you. In the interest of poetic economy and truth, I have succeeded in concentrating my deepest feelings and beliefs into two perfectly crafted lines: You’re my mother, I would have no other!" -- Forest Houtenschil

25. "If the whole world were put into one scale, and my mother in the other, the whole world would kick the beam." -- Lord Langdale (Henry Bickersteth)

26. "Mothers hold their children's hands for a short while, but their hearts forever." -- Author Unknown

27. "A mother’s heart is a patchwork of love." -- Author Unknown

28. "Mother — that was the bank where we deposited all our hurts and worries." -- T. DeWitt Talmage

29. "Mom, thanks for spending so much time helping me when I need help. You do so many things I can't begin to list them."

30. "Motherhood is priced Of God, at price no man may dare To lessen or misunderstand." -- Helen Hunt Jackson

31. "A man loves his sweetheart the most, his wife the best, but his mother the longest." -- Irish Proverb

32. "Mother, the ribbons of your love are woven around my heart." -- Author Unknown

33. "Biology is the least of what makes someone a mother." -- Oprah Winfrey

34. "You don’t really understand human nature unless you know why a child on a merry-go-round will wave at his parents every time around -- and why his parents will always wave back." -- William D. Tammeus

35. "Mom, You have all the qualities that make a great mother, and your hard work makes you an even greater mom."

36. "Before I got married I had six theories about bringing up children; now I have six children, and no theories." -- John Wilmot

37. "A mom's hug lasts long after she lets go." -- Author Unknown

38. "Woman in the home has not yet lost her dignity, in spite of Mother’s Day, with its offensive implication that our love needs an annual nudging, like our enthusiasm for the battle of Bunker Hill." -- John Erskine

39. "Who fed me from her gentle breast And hushed me in her arms to rest, And on my cheek sweet kisses prest? My Mother." -- Ann Taylor

40. "I remember my mother’s prayers and they have always followed me. They have clung to me all my life." -- Abraham Lincoln

41. "A mother's heart is a patchwork of love." -- Author Unknown

42. "The real religion of the world comes from women much more than from men -- from mothers most of all, who carry the key of our souls in their bosoms." -- Oliver Wendell Holmes

43. "You fill so many roles as a mom. Sometimes you are chef, sometimes a maid, sometimes a mentor, sometimes a nurse, sometimes a counselor, and you'll always be my mom."

44. "A mother is a mother still, The holiest thing alive." -- Samuel Taylor Coleridge

45. "This heart, my own dear mother, bends, With love's true instinct, back to thee!" --Thomas Moore

46. "If the whole world were put into one scale, and my mother in the other, the whole world would kick the beam." -- Lord Langdale (Henry Bickersteth)

47. "Most mothers are instinctive philosophers." -- Harriet Beecher Stowe

48. "Being a full-time mother is one of the highest salaried jobs... since the payment is pure love." -- Mildred B. Vermont

49. "I'm wishing you a very happy Mother's Day. You have earned it."

50. "Hundreds of dewdrops to greet the dawn, Hundreds of bees in the purple clover, Hundreds of butterflies on the lawn, But only one mother the wide world over." -- George Cooper

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To My Mother by Robert Louis Stevenson
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You too, my mother, read my rhymes
For love of unforgotten times,
And you may chance to hear once more
The little feet along the floor.
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The Mother by Lucy Maud Montgomery
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Here I lean over you, small son, sleeping
Warm in my arms,
And I con to my heart all your dew-fresh charms,
As you lie close, close in my hungry hold . . .
Your hair like a miser's dream of gold,
And the white rose of your face far fairer,
Finer, and rarer
Than all the flowers in the young year's keeping;
Over lips half parted your low breath creeping
Is sweeter than violets in April grasses;
Though your eyes are fast shut I can see their blue,
Splendid and soft as starshine in heaven,
With all the joyance and wisdom given
From the many souls who have stanchly striven
Through the dead years to be strong and true.

Those fine little feet in my worn hands holden . . .
Where will they tread ?
Valleys of shadow or heights dawn-red?
And those silken fingers, O, wee, white son,
What valorous deeds shall by them be done
In the future that yet so distant is seeming
To my fond dreaming?
What words all so musical and golden
With starry truth and poesy olden

Shall those lips speak in the years on-coming?
O, child of mine, with waxen brow,
Surely your words of that dim to-morrow
Rapture and power and grace must borrow
From the poignant love and holy sorrow
Of the heart that shrines and cradles you now!

Some bitter day you will love another,
To her will bear
Love-gifts and woo her . . . then must I share
You and your tenderness! Now you are mine
From your feet to your hair so golden and fine,
And your crumpled finger-tips . . . mine completely,
Wholly and sweetly;
Mine with kisses deep to smother,
No one so near to you now as your mother!
Others may hear your words of beauty,
But your precious silence is mine alone;
Here in my arms I have enrolled you,
Away from the grasping world I fold you,
Flesh of my flesh and bone of my bone
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Child and mother by Eugene Field
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O mother-my-love, if you'll give me your hand,
And go where I ask you to wander,
I will lead you away to a beautiful land,--
The Dreamland that's waiting out yonder.
We'll walk in a sweet posie-garden out there,
Where moonlight and starlight are streaming,
And the flowers and the birds are filling the air
With the fragrance and music of dreaming.

There'll be no little tired-out boy to undress,
No questions or cares to perplex you,
There'll be no little bruises or bumps to caress,
Nor patching of stockings to vex you;
For I'll rock you away on a silver-dew stream
And sing you asleep when you're weary,
And no one shall know of our beautiful dream
But you and your own little dearie.

And when I am tired I'll nestle my head
In the bosom that's soothed me so often,
And the wide-awake stars shall sing, in my stead,
A song which our dreaming shall soften.
So, Mother-my-Love, let me take your dear hand,
And away through the starlight we'll wander,--
Away through the mist to the beautiful land,--
The Dreamland that's waiting out yonder.
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If Nature smiles -- the Mother must by Emily Dickinson
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If Nature smiles -- the Mother must
I'm sure, at many a whim
Of Her eccentric Family --
Is She so much to blame?
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My mother was fortune, my father generosity and bounty by Mewlana Jalaluddin Rumi

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My mother was fortune, my father generosity and bounty; I 

am joy, son of joy, son of joy, son of joy. 

Behold, the Marquis of Glee has attainted felicity; this city and 

plain are filled with soldiers and drums and flags. 

If I encounter a wolf, he becomes moonfaced Joseph; if I go 

down into a well, it converts into a Garden of Eram. 

He whose heart is as iron and stone out of miserliness is now 

changed before me into a Hatem of the age in generosity and 

bounty. 

Dust becomes gold and pure silver in my hand; how then 

should the temptation of gold and silver waylay me? 

I have an idol such that, were his sweet scent scattered 

abroad, even an idol of stone would receive life through joy. 

Sorrow has died for joy in him of “may God bind your consolation”; 

how should not such a sword strike the neck of sorrow? 

By tyranny he seizes the soul of whom he desires; justices are 

all slaves of such injustice and tyranny. 

What is that mole on that face? Should it manifest itself, out 

of desire for it forthwith maternal aunt would be estranged from 

paternal [uncle]. 

I said, “If I am done and send my story, will you finish it and 

expound it?” He answered, “Yes.”

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Thank You Mom For All You Do

Mother's Day, which celebrates mothers around the world as the name suggest, was first celebrated in 1908 by Anna Jarvis, who held a memorial for her mother. She began campaigning to make the day a recognized holiday in the United States and it wasn't until six years later in 1914 that her wish came true. Unfortunately, the holiday became commercialized by the 1920s, but it also became an international holiday.  Make your Mother's Day extra special,  write a meaninful card or note to ur mother:she will cherish them long after you have left the nest to fly to build ur own...each mother's day will make her remind her of ur little notes...u made her when u were her little one...n trust moi u will always feel like her little baby even when u have nurtured birdies of ur own....with her u will be nurtured like her little one fr lifetime....go make her feel like a super momma...

1. "Mom, you have been the most influential person in my life. I appreciate all the sacrifices you made to raise me. Happy Mother's Day."

2. "Thanks for everything that you have done for me, and all that you are still doing."

3. "Mother love is the fuel that enables a normal human being to do the impossible. ~Marion C. Garretty, quoted in A Little Spoonful of Chicken Soup for the Mother’s Soul Hundreds of dewdrops to greet the dawn, Hundreds of bees in the purple clover, Hundreds of butterflies on the lawn, But only one mother the wide world over." -- George Cooper

4. "Happy Mother's Day! I couldn't have had a better mother than you."

5. "Without mothers, our society would be doomed. You are a great example of what it takes to keep the chaos organized."

6. "Being a full-time mother is one of the highest salaried jobs… since the payment is pure love." -- Mildred B. Vermont

7. "I love you mom, and am glad that God blessed me with such a caring mother. You went above and beyond the call of duty many times."

8. "Mother is the name for God in the lips and hearts of little children." -- William Makepeace Thackeray

9. "Mom, you must have been hand-picked to be the right mom for me. I wouldn't be the person I am today if it wasn't for you."

10. "A man loves his sweetheart the most, his wife the best, but his mother the longest." -- Irish Proverb

11. "I love you and I love you being my mom."

12. "You have provided the guidance I needed throughout my life. Things just seem to get a little more complicated the older I get. Thanks for all your support. Happy Mother's Day!"

13. "A mother is a person who seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie." -- Tenneva Jordan

14. "Mom you are one of a kind, and I am glad I get to have you as my mom. I have learned much and felt loved by you."

15. "You have been the most supportive and generous person I have ever known. Thanks for having a huge heart and loving me."

16. "If the whole world were put into one scale, and my mother in the other, the whole world would kick the beam." -- Lord Langdale (Henry Bickersteth)

17. "Mothers hold their children's hands for a short while, but their hearts forever." -- Author Unknown

18. "Mother — that was the bank where we deposited all our hurts and worries." -- T. DeWitt Talmage

19. "Mom, thanks for spending so much time helping me when I need help. You do so many things I can't begin to list them."

20. "A man loves his sweetheart the most, his wife the best, but his mother the longest." -- Irish Proverb

21. "Mother, the ribbons of your love are woven around my heart." -- Author Unknown

22. "Biology is the least of what makes someone a mother." -- Oprah Winfrey

23. "Mom, You have all the qualities that make a great mother, and your hard work makes you an even greater mom."

24. "A mom's hug lasts long after she lets go." -- Author Unknown

25. "Who fed me from her gentle breast And hushed me in her arms to rest, And on my cheek sweet kisses prest? My Mother." -- Ann Taylor

26. "A mother's heart is a patchwork of love." -- Author Unknown

27. "You fill so many roles as a mom. Sometimes you are chef, sometimes a maid, sometimes a mentor, sometimes a nurse, sometimes a counselor, and you'll always be my mom."

28. "This heart, my own dear mother, bends, With love's true instinct, back to thee!" --Thomas Moore

29. "Most mothers are instinctive philosophers." -- Harriet Beecher Stowe

30. "I'm wishing you a very happy Mother's Day. You have earned it."

Poetry of ≈≈ £au Tzu Part -2

Favour and Disgrace
Favour and disgrace would seem equally to be feared; honour and
great calamity, to be regarded as personal conditions (of the same
kind).

What is meant by speaking thus of favour and disgrace? Disgrace is
being in a low position (after the enjoyment of favour). The getting
that (favour) leads to the apprehension (of losing it), and the losing
it leads to the fear of (still greater calamity):–this is what is
meant by saying that favour and disgrace would seem equally to be
feared.

And what is meant by saying that honour and great calamity are to be
(similarly) regarded as personal conditions? What makes me liable to
great calamity is my having the body (which I call myself); if I had
not the body, what great calamity could come to me?

Therefore he who would administer the kingdom, honouring it as he
honours his own person, may be employed to govern it, and he who would
administer it with the love which he bears to his own person may be
entrusted with it.
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Who can Make the Muddy Water Clear?

The skilful masters (of the Tao) in old times, with a subtle
and exquisite penetration, comprehended its mysteries, and were deep
(also) so as to elude men’s knowledge. As they were thus beyond men’s
knowledge, I will make an effort to describe of what sort they
appeared to be.

Shrinking looked they like those who wade through a stream in
winter; irresolute like those who are afraid of all around them; grave
like a guest (in awe of his host); evanescent like ice that is melting
away; unpretentious like wood that has not been fashioned into
anything; vacant like a valley, and dull like muddy water.

Who can (make) the muddy water (clear)? Let it be still, and it
will gradually become clear. Who can secure the condition of rest?
Let movement go on, and the condition of rest will gradually arise.

They who preserve this method of the Tao do not wish to be full (of
themselves). It is through their not being full of themselves that
they can afford to seem worn and not appear new and complete.
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The More He Does for Others
True words aren’t eloquent;
eloquent words aren’t true.
Wise men don’t need to prove their point;
men who need to prove their point aren’t wise.

The Master has no possessions.
The more he does for others,
the happier he is.
The more he gives to others,
the wealthier he is.

The Tao nourishes by not forcing.
By not dominating, the Master leads
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I Alone Seem Dull
When we renounce learning we have no troubles.
The (ready) ‘yes,’ and (flattering) ‘yea;’–
Small is the difference they display.
But mark their issues, good and ill;–
What space the gulf between shall fill?

What all men fear is indeed to be feared; but how wide and without end
is the range of questions (asking to be discussed)!

The multitude of men look satisfied and pleased; as if enjoying a
full banquet, as if mounted on a tower in spring. I alone seem
listless and still, my desires having as yet given no indication of
their presence. I am like an infant which has not yet smiled. I look
dejected and forlorn, as if I had no home to go to. The multitude of
men all have enough and to spare. I alone seem to have lost
everything. My mind is that of a stupid man; I am in a state of
chaos.

Ordinary men look bright and intelligent, while I alone seem to be
benighted. They look full of discrimination, while I alone am dull
and confused. I seem to be carried about as on the sea, drifting as
if I had nowhere to rest. All men have their spheres of action, while
I alone seem dull and incapable, like a rude borderer. (Thus) I alone
am different from other men, but I value the nursing-mother (the Tao)
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Discard our Wisdom
If we could renounce our sageness and discard our wisdom, it
would be better for the people a hundredfold. If we could renounce
our benevolence and discard our righteousness, the people would again
become filial and kindly. If we could renounce our artful
contrivances and discard our (scheming for) gain, there would be no
thieves nor robbers.

Those three methods (of government)
Thought olden ways in elegance did fail
And made these names their want of worth to veil;
But simple views, and courses plain and true
Would selfish ends and many lusts eschew
=========================

Poetry of ≈≈ Lao Tzu Part-1

Lao Tzu

 Lao Tzu (6th Century B.C.) also known as Lao Tse, Laotze, Laosi, Laocius) was a poet and philosopher of ancient China, best known as the author of the Tao Te Ching. This is a body of mystical writings giving an insight into ultimate reality. The Tào Té Chīng forms an important basis of Daoism.

“Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don’t resist them; that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like.”- Lao Tzu

Lao Tzu’s date of birth is unknown. Many say it was between 600 and 300 B.C.E. He was known for his writing of the ‘Tao-Te Ching‘ (tao-meaning the way of all life, te-meaning the fit use of life by men, and ching-meaning text or classic). Lao Tzu was not his real name, but in honor of his name, it meant ‘Old Master’He attracted many followers, but he refused to set his ideas down in writing. He believed that written words might solidify into formal dogma. He wanted his philosophy to remain a natural way to live life with goodness, serenity, and respect. He believed a person’s conduct should be governed by instinct and conscience

“At the center of your being

you have the answer;

you know who you are

and you know what you want.”

- Lao Tzu

He believed that human life is constantly influenced by outside forces. He believed ‘simplicity’ to be the key to truth and freedom. He encouraged his followers to observe, and seek to understand the laws of nature; to develop intuition and build up personal power; to use that power to lead life with love, and without force.“

"When you are content to be simply yourself and don’t compare or compete, everyone will respect you.”

- Lao Tzu

People say that he was a contemporary of Confucius and served as curator of the dynastic archives until retiring to the mythical K’un-lun Mountains. He transmitted his teachings to a border guard who compiled the Lao-Tzu, also titled Tao-te Ching. His work was dated back to 4th to 2nd century B.C. It’s parables and verse advocate passive and intuitive behavior in natural harmony with the Tao. This is a cosmic unity underlying all phenomena. It emphasizes the value of wu-wei by which one returns to a primitive state closer to the Tao. This is a stage of creative possibility symbolized by the child or an uncarved block. It also promotes a laissez-faire approach to government.Lao Tzu set off into the desert on a water buffalo leaving civilization behind. When he arrived at the final gate at the great wall protecting the kingdom, the gatekeeper persuaded him to record the principles of his philosophy for posterity. The ancient Chinese text is the world’s most translated classic next to the Bible

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The Emptiness of a Vessel
The Tao is (like) the emptiness of a vessel;

and in our employment of it we must be on our guard against all fulness.

How deep and unfathomable it is, as if it were the Honoured Ancestor of
all things!

We should blunt our sharp points, and unravel the complications of things;

we should attemper our brightness, and bring ourselves into agreement with the obscurity of others.

How pure and still the Tao is, as if it would ever so continue!

I do not know whose son it is. It might appear to have been before God
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The Tao That can be Trodden
The Tao that can be trodden is not the enduring and unchanging Tao.
The name that can be named is not the enduring and unchanging name.
(Conceived of as) having no name,
it is the Originator of heaven and earth; (conceived of as) having a name,
it is the Mother of all things.

Always without desire we must be found,
If its deep mystery we would sound;
But if desire always within us be,
Its outer fringe is all that we shall see.

Under these two aspects, it is really the same;
but as development takes place, it receives the different names.
Together we call them the Mystery.
Where the Mystery is the deepest is the gate of all that
is subtle and wonderful
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The Beauty of the Beautiful
All in the world know the beauty of the beautiful,
and in doing this they have (the idea of) what ugliness is;
they all know the skill of the skilful,
and in doing this they have (the idea of) what the want of skill is.

So it is that existence and non-existence give birth the one to (the idea of) the other;
that difficulty and ease produce the one (the idea of) the other;
that length and shortness fashion out the one the figure of the other;
that (the ideas of) height and lowness arise from the contrast of the one with the other;
that the musical notes and tones become harmonious through the relation of one with another;
and that being before and behind give the idea of one following another.

Therefore the sage manages affairs without doing anything, and conveys his instructions without the use of speech.
All things spring up, and there is not one which declines to show itself;
they grow, and there is no claim made for their ownership;
they go through their processes, and there is no expectation (of a reward for the results).
The work is accomplished, and there is no resting in it (as an achievement).

The work is done, but how no one can see;
‘Tis this that makes the power not cease to be
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Keep the People from Rivalry
Not to value and employ men of superior ability is the way to
keep the people from rivalry among themselves;
not to prize articles which are difficult to procure is the way to keep them from becoming thieves;
not to show them what is likely to excite their desires is the way to keep their minds from disorder.

Therefore the sage, in the exercise of his government,
empties their minds, fills their bellies, weakens their wills,
and strengthens their bones.

He constantly (tries to) keep them without knowledge
and without desire, and where there are those who have knowledge,
to keep them from presuming to act (on it).
When there is this abstinence from action, good order is universal.
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Heaven and Earth

Heaven and earth do not act from (the impulse of) any wish to be
benevolent; they deal with all things as the dogs of grass are dealt
with. The sages do not act from (any wish to be) benevolent; they
deal with the people as the dogs of grass are dealt with.

May not the space between heaven and earth be compared to a
bellows?

‘Tis emptied, yet it loses not its power;
‘Tis moved again, and sends forth air the more.
Much speech to swift exhaustion lead we see;
Your inner being guard, and keep it free
==========≈≈=============
The Valley Spirit
The valley spirit dies not, aye the same;
The female mystery thus do we name.
Its gate, from which at first they issued forth,
Is called the root from which grew heaven and earth.
Long and unbroken does its power remain,
Used gently, and without the touch of pain.
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Heaven is Long-Enduring
Heaven is long-enduring and earth continues long. The reason
why heaven and earth are able to endure and continue thus long is
because they do not live of, or for, themselves. This is how they are
able to continue and endure.

Therefore the sage puts his own person last, and yet it is found in
the foremost place; he treats his person as if it were foreign to him,
and yet that person is preserved. Is it not because he has no
personal and private ends, that therefore such ends are realised?

keep the people from rivalry
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The Highest Excellence
The highest excellence is like (that of) water. The excellence
of water appears in its benefiting all things, and in its occupying,
without striving (to the contrary), the low place which all men
dislike. Hence (its way) is near to (that of) the Tao.

The excellence of a residence is in (the suitability of) the place;
that of the mind is in abysmal stillness; that of associations is in
their being with the virtuous; that of government is in its securing
good order; that of (the conduct of) affairs is in its ability; and
that of (the initiation of) any movement is in its timeliness.

And when (one with the highest excellence) does not wrangle (about
his low position), no one finds fault with him.
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A Vessel Unfilled
It is better to leave a vessel unfilled, than to attempt to
carry it when it is full. If you keep feeling a point that has been
sharpened, the point cannot long preserve its sharpness.

When gold and jade fill the hall, their possessor cannot keep them
safe. When wealth and honours lead to arrogancy, this brings its evil
on itself. When the work is done, and one’s name is becoming
distinguished, to withdraw into obscurity is the way of Heaven
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The Thirty Spokes
The thirty spokes unite in the one nave; but it is on the empty
space (for the axle), that the use of the wheel depends. Clay is
fashioned into vessels; but it is on their empty hollowness, that
their use depends. The door and windows are cut out (from the walls)
to form an apartment; but it is on the empty space (within), that its
use depends. Therefore, what has a (positive) existence serves for
profitable adaptation, and what has not that for (actual) usefulness.
==========≈≈=============
In Loving the People
When the intelligent and animal souls are held together in one
embrace, they can be kept from separating. When one gives undivided
attention to the (vital) breath, and brings it to the utmost degree of
pliancy, he can become as a (tender) babe. When he has cleansed away
the most mysterious sights (of his imagination), he can become without
a flaw.

In loving the people and ruling the state, cannot he proceed
without any (purpose of) action? In the opening and shutting of his
gates of heaven, cannot he do so as a female bird? While his
intelligence reaches in every direction, cannot he (appear to) be
without knowledge?

(The Tao) produces (all things) and nourishes them; it produces
them and does not claim them as its own; it does all, and yet does not
boast of it; it presides over all, and yet does not control them.
This is what is called ‘The mysterious Quality’ (of the Tao).
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Colour’s Five Hues
Colour’s five hues from th’ eyes their sight will take;
Music’s five notes the ears as deaf can make;
The flavours five deprive the mouth of taste;
The chariot course, and the wild hunting waste
Make mad the mind; and objects rare and strange,
Sought for, men’s conduct will to evil change.

Therefore the sage seeks to satisfy (the craving of) the belly, and
not the (insatiable longing of the) eyes. He puts from him the
latter, and prefers to seek the former
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We Look and We do not See
We look at it, and we do not see it, and we name it ‘the
Equable.’ We listen to it, and we do not hear it, and we name it ‘the
Inaudible.’ We try to grasp it, and do not get hold of it, and we
name it ‘the Subtle.’ With these three qualities, it cannot be made
the subject of description; and hence we blend them together and
obtain The One.

Its upper part is not bright, and its lower part is not obscure.
Ceaseless in its action, it yet cannot be named, and then it again
returns and becomes nothing. This is called the Form of the Formless,
and the Semblance of the Invisible; this is called the Fleeting and
Indeterminable.

We meet it and do not see its Front; we follow it, and do not see
its Back. When we can lay hold of the Tao of old to direct the things
of the present day, and are able to know it as it was of old in the
beginning, this is called (unwinding) the clue of Tao
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€arnest Hemingway Quotes

================================The best people possess a feeling for beauty, the courage to take risks, the discipline to tell the truth, the capacity for sacrifice. Ironically, their virtues make them vulnerable: they are often wounded, sometimes destroyed -
Ernest Hemingway.
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If people bring so much courage to this world the world has to kill them to break them, so of course it kills them. The world breaks every one and afterward many are strong at the broken places. But those that will not break it kills. It kills the very good and the very gentle and the very brave impartially. If you are none of these you can be sure it will kill you too but there will be no special hurry.

Ernest Hemingway

===============================

The world breaks everyone ... those that will not break it kills. It kills the very good and the very gentle and the very brave impartially. If you are none of these you can be sure it will kill you too but there will be no special hurry.

ERNEST HEMINGWAY, A Farewell to Arms

==============================

Today is only one day in all the days that will ever be. But what will happen in all the other days that ever come can depend on what you do today.

ERNEST HEMINGWAY, For Whom the Bell Tolls

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All things truly wicked start from an innocence.

ERNEST HEMINGWAY, A Moveable Feast

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Certainly there is no hunting like the hunting of man and those who have hunted armed men long enough and liked it, never really care for anything else thereafter.

ERNEST HEMINGWAY, "On the Blue Water," Esquire, Apr. 1936

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One cat just leads to another.

ERNEST HEMINGWAY, as quoted in Louis G. Morton's E-mail Humor

==============================

For a true writer each book should be a new beginning where he tries again for something that is beyond attainment. He should always try for something that has never been done or that others have tried and failed. Then sometimes, with great luck, he will succeed.

ERNEST HEMINGWAY, Nobel Prize acceptance speech, 1954

============================

The first panacea for a mismanaged nation is inflation of the currency; the second is war. Both bring a temporary prosperity; both bring a permanent ruin. But both are the refuge of political and economic opportunists.

ERNEST HEMINGWAY, "Notes on the Next War," Esquire, Sep. 1935

======================

You know what makes a good loser? Practice.

ERNEST HEMINGWAY, as quoted by his son in Papa, a Personal Memoir

======================

To me heaven would be a big bull ring with me holding two barrera seats and a trout stream outside that no one else was allowed to fish in and two lovely houses in the town; one where I would have my wife and children and be monogamous and love them truly and well and the other where I would have my nine beautiful mistresses on nine different floors.

ERNEST HEMINGWAY, letter to F. Scott Fitzgerald, July 1, 1925

A man can be destroyed but not defeated.

ERNEST HEMINGWAY, The Old Man and The Sea

===============================

In Europe then we thought of wine as something as healthy and normal as food and also as a great giver of happiness and well-being and delight. Drinking wine was not a snobbism nor a sign of sophistication nor a cult; it was as natural as eating and to me as necessary.

ERNEST HEMINGWAY, A Moveable Feast

=====≈=========================

Wine is the most civilized thing in the world.

ERNEST HEMINGWAY, attributed, The Grape Escapes

==============================

Death is like an old whore in a bar--I'll buy her a drink but I won't go upstairs with her.

ERNEST HEMINGWAY, To Have and Have Not

The world is a fine place and worth the fighting for and I hate very much to leave it.

ERNEST HEMINGWAY, For Whom the Bell Tolls

The great artist when he comes, uses everything that has been discovered or known about his art up to that point, being able to accept or reject in a time so short it seems that the knowledge was born with him, rather than that he takes instantly what it takes the ordinary man a lifetime to know, and then the great artist goes beyond what has been done or known and makes something of his own.

ERNEST HEMINGWAY, Death in the Afternoon

God knows, people who are paid to have attitudes toward things, professional critics, make me sick; camp-following eunuchs of literature.

ERNEST HEMINGWAY, letter to Sherwood Anderson, May 23, 1925

=============================

Once writing has become your major vice and greatest pleasure only death can stop it.

ERNEST HEMINGWAY, The Paris Review, spring 1958

Every day above earth is a good day.

ERNEST HEMINGWAY, The Old Man and the Sea

==============================

Life isn't hard to manage when you've nothing to lose.

ERNEST HEMINGWAY, A Farewell to Arms

They wrote in the old days that it is sweet and fitting to die for ones country. But in modern war there is nothing sweet nor fitting in your dying. You will die like a dog for no good reason.

ERNEST HEMINGWAY, "Notes on the Next War," Esquire, Sep. 1935

=============================

Things may not be immediately discernible in what a man writes, and in this sometimes he is fortunate; but eventually they are quite clear and by these and the degree of alchemy that he possesses he will endure or be forgotten.

ERNEST HEMINGWAY, Nobel Prize speech, Dec. 10, 1954

=============================

It is awfully easy to be hard-boiled about everything in the daytime, but at night it is another thing.

ERNEST HEMINGWAY, The Sun Also Rises

In going where you have to go, and doing what you have to do, and seeing what you have to see, you dull and blunt the instrument you write with. But I would rather have it bent and dulled and know I had to put it on the grindstone again and hammer it into shape and put a whetstone to it, and know that I had something to write about, than to have it bright and shining and nothing to say, or smooth and well oiled in the closet, but unused.

ERNEST HEMINGWAY, preface, The First Forty-Nine Stories

===========================

Being against evil doesn't make you good.

ERNEST HEMINGWAY, Islands in the Stream

All our words from loose using have lost their edge.

ERNEST HEMINGWAY, Death in the Afternoon

We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master.

ERNEST HEMINGWAY, New York Journal-American, Jul. 11, 1961

When you stop doing things for fun you might as well be dead.

ERNEST HEMINGWAY, True at First Light

The things of the night cannot be explained in the day, because they do not then exist.

ERNEST HEMINGWAY, A Farewell to Arms

======================

My attitude toward punctuation is that it ought to be as conventional as possible. The game of golf would lose a good deal if croquet mallets and billiard cues were allowed on the putting green. You ought to be able to show that you can do it a good deal better than anyone else with the regular tools before you have a license to bring in your own improvements.

ERNEST HEMINGWAY, letter, May 15, 1925

All the critics who could not make their reputations by discovering you are hoping to make them by predicting hopefully your approaching impotence, failure and general drying up of natural juices.

ERNEST HEMINGWAY, "A Letter from Cuba," Esquire, Dec. 1934

======================

I rewrote the ending to Farewell to Arms, the last page of it, thirty-nine times before I was satisfied.

ERNEST HEMINGWAY, The Paris Review, spring 1958

No, that is the great fallacy: the wisdom of old men. They do not grow wise. They grow careful.

ERNEST HEMINGWAY, A Farewell to Arms

No catalogue of horrors ever kept men from war. Before the war you always think that it's not you that dies. But you will die, brother, if you go to it long enough.

ERNEST HEMINGWAY, "Notes on the Next War," Esquire, Sep. 1935

All stories, if continued far enough, end in death, and he is no true-story teller who would keep that from you.

ERNEST HEMINGWAY, Death in the Afternoon

Grace under pressure.

ERNEST HEMINGWAY, letter to F. Scott Fitzgerald, Apr. 20, 1926

Wearing down seven number-two pencils is a good day’s work.

ERNEST HEMINGWAY, The Paris Review, spring 1958

Butterfly...

The Butterfly and Life; The Beauty of Physical and Spiritual Metamorphosis...
Butterflies are a representation of the cycle of life. An example of the true beauty of the physical and spiritual Journey we all experience and venture through. Starting out helpless and new to the world, eventually embracing change, blossoming into a magnificent colorful, one of kind creation with a world of possibilities and freedom to explore all that life endures.  Spread your wings and fly...

Quotes....

"Unite the world as one!" "We can conquer anything when we put our heart's and soul's into it together!"

'Transcending emotions rushing through my veins.
Pure love and energy released and untamed.
Freedom from a captive state,
Like a bird who has escaped from it's cage.
A feeling moving faster than the speed of sound.
My heart beat flutters beyond the highest cloud.
Surrounded by shooting stars filled of loving beams of light,
Illuminating the sky's most darkest night."
~♥~

"In the end all that will matter is if I made my life matter."

"The Sun's generous and endless supply of love and light can warm and heal any hurting heart."
(((SUN)))

"My love for you is perpetual, infinite, and everlasting. You move my heart beyond the place where my soul dwells."

"Journey deep within your subconscious mind...beyond the boundaries of your imagination, that is where you will find your truth."

"Choices, chances, trust and trances. love is the lucid recipe to life." ♥

"There is nothing greater than the power of love. It can heal pain from your past, bring light to your future and leave you in a state of bliss at any given moment." (((♥)))

"Limitless dreams, a vivacious attitude for life and an innovative imagination will inspire you to discover the infinite possibilities that you are capable of creating with the positive and conscious insight you carry within your powerful and vibrant soul. Explore, Discover and Release." (((♥)))

"So very grateful knowing all that I have is all that I need!" ♥

"You Possess the Power...Take complete confidence in yourself knowing you are in total control of your own thoughts. No one but you decides your fate. A strong positive attitude and a heart full of gratefulness with an appreciation for life's simple abundances will bring you true happiness.
Live in a state of love and peace with yourself and you will with the world."  (((♥)))

"Change must first begin in your thoughts which then communicates with your soul, it is then you find the answers within your heart." (((♥)))

"Open your heart and let your loving vibes levitate. Set your spirit in motion and let your soul fly freely, defying gravity."

Set limitless boundaries when it comes to bringing your dreams to life.
Fuel your passion with zest and enthusiasm.
Exceed your personal expectations by surrendering your destiny to the divine universe knowing the power and energy being generated is beyond our humanly control." 

"We are what we choose to see, be, and believe."

"Dance and sing to the poetic song that lives within the harmony of your heart just waiting to be sung."

"Traveling without directions, leading with no path exposed.
Taking each step as if my eyes have been covered by a blindfold.
Following only the vibrations from within heart, guiding me which way to go.
I know I'll find my way, I'll never doubt my soul.
Each step I take is aimlessly composed without a care, as if I am walking on air.
Waking to the journey of life, a mysterious manifest orchestrated only by destiny."

"Fly off into the sunset my beautiful Seagull, you are free to spread your wings and paint the sky every color of your beautiful soul." ((♥)))

Faith, Hope, and Love are three very important essentials in life that can not be seen with the eye, but believed in your heart and felt deep within your soul." (((♥)))

"In order to connect to the spiritual rhythmic harmony of your soul, you must first disconnect yourself from all the negative influences in your life.
Detach yourself from unhealthy relationships including friends, family and lovers.
Let go of all doubts, fears, regrets and worries.
Rebuild your personal spiritual beliefs and set on to the journey of your inner discovery.
Begin to reconnect to your true authentic self.
Focus and meditate only on emotions and feelings of your own heart without any outside interferences.
Listen deeply and intuitively to your own subconscious desires.
Awaken to the truth that will be found from the light within your transcending heart and the spiritual bliss that has been waiting for you all along." (((♥)))

"You would never clip an Eagle's wings or hold a butterfly captive in a jar so it couldn't be free to fly, so why would you hold your spirit back from soaring beyond the clouds. Every single one of us has the wings to fly...it just takes believing in ourselves and knowing we have what it takes to get our feet off the ground. Believe you are free and your soul will soar." ~Ƹ̴Ӂ̴Ʒ

"We are all placed here on this earth with our own visions and our own views. Each of us created uniquely to share, compare, and learn from one another. In essence we are all "ONE" joined at the heart. No one is better than the other regardless of status or differences because we are all created equal. We all come into this world the same way and we all leave the same way. What we do in between should be to seek out, find, and follow the spiritual journey that lies within each of us and once we do, use the answers to pass on and teach others the wisdom we have learned from our experiences to strengthen the unity in the world. Life is about connections first with oneself and then with one another. Everything comes full circle, that is why is important to beware of envy and beware of greed because what you project is what you receive and it echo's on into eternity." «☆ love & light ☆» (((♥))
"Live your life authentically. Wholeheartedly. Based on Love, not fear. Knowing there are no limits or boundaries to what you can do when listening to the guidance of your inner-voice.  Embracing every experience as a blessing whether good or bad. Stay grateful for the simple things in life and do your best to stay positive every day no matter what circumstances you face."

We all possess within us what it takes to be happy and content with ourselves and our lives. To reach these places, we first have to find acceptance for our pasts, own responsibility for our presence, and prepare for the changes of our future. Believe you are not only worthy of being loved by others, but you are most importantly worthy of the love you give to yourself. Practicing every day changing your negative thoughts to positive and in time, you will actually start to believe them. Don't wait, start making positive changes today!

"Are you holding on to unrealistic expectations, stress from life's daily pressures, worries and fear? If you are holding on to any of these, it's time to let go...You have the power to let go right now at this very moment, all you have to do is realize all of these are negative thoughts taking up space in your life and draining your energy. It's time to let go...take a deep breath and set yourself free!
Melanie Moushigian Koulouris

"If we stop and are actually aware of what we are thinking and feelings in the present moment, we become empowered to realize we are in charge and we are able to change our thoughts from negative to positive."

"Make the pain of your past fuel the power of your future."

"Be humble in your confidence yet courageous in your character."

"Emotions are simply reminders that we are alive."

"Nothing else matters but the HERE and NOW! What you do with your NOW can change your whole world. The past is gone and the future is yet to come. Focus on what is and let go what has been! This internal moment is all you have, treasure it before it's gone."

"I'm not perfect, I make mistakes.
I'm not always strong, sometimes I'm weak.
Sometimes I'm stubborn, sometimes I'm a push over.
I don't have all the answers, and sometimes I have a lot of questions.
Sometimes I say too much, and sometimes I don't say enough.
I am who I am...
I stand by what I believe in, and I believe in what I stand by.
I'm not perfect...I'm just me, just like you are you."

Be you! Live in your own unique beautiful outer exterior and pure and special one of a kind colorful inside! What is better than the feeling of hanging out with a family member or a best friend knowing you would not be judge because the love is unconditional...why not tell yourself everyday that you are embraced by a universe that is your best friend and gives you that exact unconditional love. Give it a try, don't be afraid to be who you are...beautiful on the out and inside! (((♥)))

"It doesn't matter how long it takes to fulfill your Dream, all that matters is that you have one."
♥  (((♥))) Never give up on your Dreams!

"Nurture your soul with positive thoughts and internal happiness will blossom before your eyes."
~♥~

"It's doesn't matter what anyone else thinks of you, it's what you think of yourself that matters."
~♥~
[ Melanie Moushigian Koulouris]

Gibran_______ "The Farewell"

      And now it was evening.
      And Almitra the seeress said, "Blessed be this day and this place and your spirit that has spoken."
      And he answered, Was it I who spoke? Was I not also a listener?
      Then he descended the steps of the Temple and all the people followed him. And he reached his ship and stood upon the deck.
      And facing the people again, he raised his voice and said:
      People of Orphalese, the wind bids me leave you.
      Less hasty am I than the wind, yet I must go.
      We wanderers, ever seeking the lonelier way, begin no day where we have ended another day; and no sunrise finds us where sunset left us.
      Even while the earth sleeps we travel. We are the seeds of the tenacious plant, and it is in our ripeness and our fullness of heart that we are given to the wind and are scattered.
      Brief were my days among you, and briefer still the words I have spoken.
      But should my voice fade in your ears, and my love vanish in your memory, then I will come again,
      And with a richer heart and lips more yielding to the spirit will I speak.
      Yea, I shall return with the tide,
      And though death may hide me, and the greater silence enfold me, yet again will I seek your understanding.
      And not in vain will I seek.
      If aught I have said is truth, that truth shall reveal itself in a clearer voice, and in words more kin to your thoughts.
      I go with the wind, people of Orphalese, but not down into emptiness;
      And if this day is not a fulfillment of your needs and my love, then let it be a promise till another day. Know therefore, that from the greater silence I shall return.
      The mist that drifts away at dawn, leaving but dew in the fields, shall rise and gather into a cloud and then fall down in rain.
      And not unlike the mist have I been.
      In the stillness of the night I have walked in your streets, and my spirit has entered your houses,
      And your heart-beats were in my heart, and your breath was upon my face, and I knew you all.
      Ay, I knew your joy and your pain, and in your sleep your dreams were my dreams.
      And oftentimes I was among you a lake among the mountains.
      I mirrored the summits in you and the bending slopes, and even the passing flocks of your thoughts and your desires.
      And to my silence came the laughter of your children in streams, and the longing of your youths in rivers.
      And when they reached my depth the streams and the rivers ceased not yet to sing.
      But sweeter still than laughter and greater than longing came to me.
      It was boundless in you;
      The vast man in whom you are all but cells and sinews;
      He in whose chant all your singing is but a soundless throbbing.
      It is in the vast man that you are vast,
      And in beholding him that I beheld you and loved you.
      For what distances can love reach that are not in that vast sphere?
      What visions, what expectations and what presumptions can outsoar that flight?
      Like a giant oak tree covered with apple blossoms is the vast man in you.
      His mind binds you to the earth, his fragrance lifts you into space, and in his durability you are deathless.
      You have been told that, even like a chain, you are as weak as your weakest link.
      This is but half the truth. You are also as strong as your strongest link.
      To measure you by your smallest deed is to reckon the power of ocean by the frailty of its foam.
      To judge you by your failures is to cast blame upon the seasons for their inconsistency.
      Ay, you are like an ocean,
      And though heavy-grounded ships await the tide upon your shores, yet, even like an ocean, you cannot hasten your tides.
      And like the seasons you are also,
      And though in your winter you deny your spring,
      Yet spring, reposing within you, smiles in her drowsiness and is not offended.
      Think not I say these things in order that you may say the one to the other, "He praised us well. He saw but the good in us."
      I only speak to you in words of that which you yourselves know in thought.
      And what is word knowledge but a shadow of wordless knowledge?
      Your thoughts and my words are waves from a sealed memory that keeps records of our yesterdays,
      And of the ancient days when the earth knew not us nor herself,
      And of nights when earth was upwrought with confusion,
      Wise men have come to you to give you of their wisdom. I came to take of your wisdom:
      And behold I have found that which is greater than wisdom.
      It is a flame spirit in you ever gathering more of itself,
      While you, heedless of its expansion, bewail the withering of your days.
      It is life in quest of life in bodies that fear the grave.
      There are no graves here.
      These mountains and plains are a cradle and a stepping-stone.
      Whenever you pass by the field where you have laid your ancestors look well thereupon, and you shall see yourselves and your children dancing hand in hand.
      Verily you often make merry without knowing.
      Others have come to you to whom for golden promises made unto your faith you have given but riches and power and glory.
      Less than a promise have I given, and yet more generous have you been to me.
      You have given me deeper thirsting after life.
      Surely there is no greater gift to a man than that which turns all his aims into parching lips and all life into a fountain.
      And in this lies my honour and my reward, -
      That whenever I come to the fountain to drink I find the living water itself thirsty; And it drinks me while I drink it.
      Some of you have deemed me proud and over-shy to receive gifts.
      To proud indeed am I to receive wages, but not gifts.
      And though I have eaten berries among the hill when you would have had me sit at your board,
      And slept in the portico of the temple where you would gladly have sheltered me,
      Yet was it not your loving mindfulness of my days and my nights that made food sweet to my mouth and girdled my sleep with visions?
      For this I bless you most:
      You give much and know not that you give at all.
      Verily the kindness that gazes upon itself in a mirror turns to stone,
      And a good deed that calls itself by tender names becomes the parent to a curse.
      And some of you have called me aloof, and drunk with my own aloneness,
      And you have said, "He holds council with the trees of the forest, but not with men.
      He sits alone on hill-tops and looks down upon our city."
      True it is that I have climbed the hills and walked in remote places.
      How could I have seen you save from a great height or a great distance?
      How can one be indeed near unless he be far?
      And others among you called unto me, not in words, and they said,
      Stranger, stranger, lover of unreachable heights, why dwell you among the summits where eagles build their nests?
      Why seek you the unattainable?
      What storms would you trap in your net,
      And what vaporous birds do you hunt in the sky?
      Come and be one of us.
      Descend and appease your hunger with our bread and quench your thirst with our wine."
      In the solitude of their souls they said these things;
      But were their solitude deeper they would have known that I sought but the secret of your joy and your pain,
      And I hunted only your larger selves that walk the sky.
      But the hunter was also the hunted: For many of my arrows left my bow only to seek my own breast.
      And the flier was also the creeper;
      For when my wings were spread in the sun their shadow upon the earth was a turtle.
      And I the believer was also the doubter;
      For often have I put my finger in my own wound that I might have the greater belief in you and the greater knowledge of you.
      And it is with this belief and this knowledge that I say,
      You are not enclosed within your bodies, nor confined to houses or fields.
      That which is you dwells above the mountain and roves with the wind.
      It is not a thing that crawls into the sun for warmth or digs holes into darkness for safety,
      But a thing free, a spirit that envelops the earth and moves in the ether.
      If this be vague words, then seek not to clear them.
      Vague and nebulous is the beginning of all things, but not their end,
      And I fain would have you remember me as a beginning.
      Life, and all that lives, is conceived in the mist and not in the crystal.
      And who knows but a crystal is mist in decay?
      This would I have you remember in remembering me:
      That which seems most feeble and bewildered in you is the strongest and most determined.
      Is it not your breath that has erected and hardened the structure of your bones?
      And is it not a dream which none of you remember having dreamt that building your city and fashioned all there is in it?
      Could you but see the tides of that breath you would cease to see all else,
      And if you could hear the whispering of the dream you would hear no other sound.
      But you do not see, nor do you hear, and it is well.
      The veil that clouds your eyes shall be lifted by the hands that wove it,
      And the clay that fills your ears shall be pierced by those fingers that kneaded it. And you shall see
      And you shall hear.
      Yet you shall not deplore having known blindness, nor regret having been deaf.
      For in that day you shall know the hidden purposes in all things,
      And you shall bless darkness as you would bless light.
      After saying these things he looked about him, and he saw the pilot of his ship standing by the helm and gazing now at the full sails and now at the distance.
      And he said:
      Patient, over-patient, is the captain of my ship.
      The wind blows, and restless are the sails;
      Even the rudder begs direction; Yet quietly my captain awaits my silence.
      And these my mariners, who have heard the choir of the greater sea, they too have heard me patiently.
      Now they shall wait no longer.
      I am ready.
      The stream has reached the sea, and once more the great mother holds her son against her breast.
      Fare you well, people of Orphalese.
      This day has ended.
      It is closing upon us even as the water-lily upon its own tomorrow.
      What was given us here we shall keep,
      And if it suffices not, then again must we come together and together stretch our hands unto the giver.
      Forget not that I shall come back to you.
      A little while, and my longing shall gather dust and foam for another body.
      A little while, a moment of rest upon the wind, and another woman shall bear me.
      Farewell to you and the youth I have spent with you.
      It was but yesterday we met in a dream.
      You have sung to me in my aloneness, and I of your longings have built a tower in the sky.
      But now our sleep has fled and our dream is over, and it is no longer dawn.
      The noontide is upon us and our half waking has turned to fuller day, and we must part.
      If in the twilight of memory we should meet once more, we shall speak again together and you shall sing to me a deeper song.
      And if our hands should meet in another dream, we shall build another tower in the sky.
      So saying he made a signal to the seamen, and straightaway they weighed anchor and cast the ship loose from its moorings, and they moved eastward.
      And a cry came from the people as from a single heart, and it rose the dusk and was carried out over the sea like a great trumpeting.
      Only Almitra was silent, gazing after the ship until it had vanished into the mist.
      And when all the people were dispersed she still stood alone upon the sea-wall, remembering in her heart his saying,
      A little while, a moment of rest upon the wind, and another woman shall bear me."

 

PAIN ≈ ≈ ≈GiBraN

And a woman spoke, saying, "Tell us of Pain."
      And he said:
      Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding.
      Even as the stone of the fruit must break, that its heart may stand in the sun, so must you know pain.
      And could you keep your heart in wonder at the daily miracles of your life, your pain would not seem less wondrous than your joy;
      And you would accept the seasons of your heart, even as you have always accepted the seasons that pass over your fields.
      And you would watch with serenity through the winters of your grief.
      Much of your pain is self-chosen.
      It is the bitter potion by which the physician within you heals your sick self.
      Therefore trust the physician, and drink his remedy in silence and tranquillity:
      For his hand, though heavy and hard, is guided by the tender hand of the Unseen,
      And the cup he brings, though it burn your lips, has been fashioned of the clay which the Potter has moistened with His own sacred tears.