Words From The Prophet - On Joy And Sorrow

Join Estelle and consider the relationship between joy and sorrow as she reads this passage from 'The Prophet' by Kahlil Gibran. Is one dependent on the other? 'The Prophet' is a collection of inspirational, poetic, philosophical, and spiritual essays.

Transcript

On joy and sorrow.

Your joy is your sorrow unmasked,

And the self same well from which your laughter rises was oftentimes filled with your tears.

And how else can it be?

The deeper that sorrow carves into your being,

The more joy you may contain.

Is not the cup that hold your wife the very cup that was burned in the potter's oven?

And is not the lute that soothes your spirit the very wood that was hollowed with knives?

When you are joyous,

You look deep into your heart,

And you shall find it is only that which has given you sorrow that is giving you joy.

When you are sorrowful,

Look again in your heart,

And you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight.

Some of you say,

Joy is greater than sorrow,

And others say,

Nay,

Sorrow is the greater.

But I say unto you,

They are inseparable.

Together they come,

And when one sits alone with you at your board,

Remember that the other is asleep upon your bed.

Verily,

You are suspended like scales between your sorrow and your joy.

Only when you are empty are you at standstill and balanced.

When the treasure keeper lifts you to weigh his gold and his silver,

Needs must your joy or your sorrow rise or fall.

Reviews

My favorite verse is beautifully read , thank you, Estelle. 💕