photo by Paulo Coelho, 21Fev2010
On Children (by Kahlil Gibran)
Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though 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 in the 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 backward 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.
Sus hijos ( por Kahlil Gibran)
Sus hijos no son suyos.
Son los hijos del anhelo de la Vida de sí misma.
Vienen por Uds. pero no de Uds.,
Y aunque están con Uds., Uds. no los poseen a ellos.
Pueden darles su amor pero no sus pensamientos.
Porque ellos tienen sus propios pensamientos.
Uds. pueden alojar sus cuerpos pero no sus almas.
Porque sus almas viven en la casa del día que viene, la cual Uds. no pueden visitar, ni siquiera en los sueños.
Uds. pueden esforzarse por ser como ellos, pero no se esfuercen para que ellos sean como Uds.
Porque la vida no va atrás ni se demora con el ayer.
Uds. son los arcos de los cuales sus hijos como flechas vivas son enviados.
El arquero ve el blanco en el paso del infinito, y Él los dobla a Uds. con Su fuerza para que Sus flechas vayan rápidamente y lejos.
Que su torción en la mano del arquero sea por alegría;
Porque mientras Él ama a la flecha que vuela, también ama el arco que es estable.
Os filhos (por Khalil Gibran)
Teus filhos não são teus filhos
São os filhos e as filhas da ânsia da vida por si mesma.
Vêm através de ti, mas não de ti.
E embora vivam contigo, não te pertencem.
Podes dar teu amor, mas não teus pensamentos.
Porque eles têm seus próprios pensamentos.
Podes abrigar seus corpos, mas não suas almas;
Pois suas almas moram na mansão do amanhã, que não podes visitar nem mesmo em sonho
Podes tentar ser como eles, mas não tente fazê-los como és,
Porque a vida não anda para trás e não se demora com os dias passados.
Tu és o arco do qual teus filhos são arremessados como flechas vivas.
O Arqueiro mira o alvo na senda do infinito e estica com toda a sua força
Para que suas flechas se projetem rápido e para longe
Que teu encurvamento na mão do Arqueiro seja tua alegria;
Pois assim como Ele ama a flecha que voa, ama também o arco que permanece estável.
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This is my favorite poem, beautiful.
I have translated this story by Kahlil Gibran to Ukrainian!
Have a look:
http://pwr.org.ua/blog/page/on-children-ukrainian
This is a beautiful piece of poetry. It helps you to truly appreciate your children.
I love it becayse it is so true.
TERIBLE PERO CIERTO.. ESE ES EL PROBLEMA DE QUERER POSEER A NUESTROS HIJOS…ABRAZOS ELY M D S.
una vez,escuche hablar en un noticiario,a una mama q hacia poco tiempo habia perdido a un hijo en un accidente,tal fue mi sorpresa al verla con tanta fortaleza q preste mucha atencion a sus palabras q fueron: los hijos son de la vida. no son de nuestra posesion.en ese momento me parecio algo extraño pero pense luego q tenia mucha razon.yo pienso q nuestros hijos son seres q vienen a enseñarnos a nosotros y no viceversa, pero creemos con soberbia q no es asi.gracias a todos los hijos del mundo por demostrarnos q estamos equivocados
indiscutiblemente bello y muy cierto!! wow!! you never cease to amaze me in the stories you share w/us…your fans!! ;-) God bless you for eternity, for your soul brings so much comfort to others!! ;-)
This is a beautiful piece of poetry. It helps you to truly appreciate your children. I have a beautiful and talented son. he is a musician and left education to persue his dream. It was hard for me as getting an education had been my dream. But when i look at him, his confidence and his faith in his life and his dreams I just admire the man he has become. I’m honoured to have been ‘the bow’and i thank God every day to have had him in my life.
i was so touched by this poem. i’ve been a lover of Kahlil Gibran since i discovered
him in my 20s. thank you for sharing and i hope you don’t mind (i’ve reposted on my own blog). my pop turns 83 next week and his children will be with him to celebrate his life and once again thank him for theirs. – peace – s.
Hello,Mate!
Dont worry,You will not lose the motivation about life….You are the Bow…”He bends you with His might
that His arrows may go swift and far”.
As a job proposal,try to collect the spent car converters from car repair shops or services also you can find them at car junkyards.I do this and live from this….You can do this even that you are woman…You can sell them later to the refineries…I will forward you my know how…If you agree, of course…
All the best for you and your kids!
a big help ..kind of like a boomerang effect. Thank you!
Condivido totalmente le parole bellissime di Gibran.
Paulo, sarei curiosa di sapere dove hai scattato questa fotografia. La trovo emblematica e, nella mia interpretazione, sottolinea benissimo le parole che tu hai scelto.
I due bambini ai piedi dell’arco visibile nella foto, ma che credo faccia parte di un cerchio intero con i “piedi” conficcati nel terreno, fanno pensare alla volta celeste sotto la quale ogni essere umano nasce, vive, muore.
Mi immagino sempre che i bambini siano un dono del cielo, e quell’arco assomiglia ad uno scivolo celeste dal quale vengono accompagnati sulla terra. Ma quell’arco, ha una superficie liscia, quindi scivolosa e perciò, sempre nel mio immaginario, rappresenta anche la difficile quanto entusiasmante salita che accompagna ogni essere umano nella propria vita, fino al compimento dei propri giorni, quindi anche al ritorno alla terra del nostro corpo
mortale. Ma quei due bambini che tu hai scelto di fotografare sono ignari, fiduciosi nel futuro, pieni di speranza e tranquillità. seduti davanti ad un edificio moderno a chiacchierare di giochi,innocentemente inconsapevoli di essere il nostro futuro. Di noi adulti non c’è traccia, forse perchè abbiamo perduto l’innocenza, talvolta l’entusiasmo, quindi siamo collocati in prossimità dell’altro piede dell’arco, più prossimi alla fine della corsa terrena. E dall’altro lato, (quello che non si vede nella foto), osserviamo i bambini e ci consoliamo con le parole profetiche e toccanti di Gibran.
Grazie Paulo per avercele ricordate. Margherita
ME CAYO COMO AÑILLO AL DEDO EL POEMA, PERO NO DEJA DE DOLER LA INGRATITUD ASI QUE LES REGALO EL RESULTADO DE NO PODER ACEPTAR LA VERDAD.
DOS PATOS SE UNIERON Y DE ESA UNION SALIO UN HUEVITO QUE CUIDARON CON MUCHO ESMERO. NACIO UNA PATICA, PERO ESOS PATOS QUISIERON CONVERTIRLA EN UN HERMOSOS SISNE Y LO LOGRARON ,UN SISNE HERMOSO QUE TODO EL MUNDO ADMIRBA POR SU BELLEZA Y BONDAD , PERO PARA ESE SISNE NO FUE SUFICIENTE TODO LO QUE LE DIERON Y GUARDO TODO SU RESENTIMIENTO. UN DIA SE ENAMORO Y COMO LOS PATOS NO ESTABAN DE ACUERDO CON LA FORMA QUE HIZO LAS COSAS EMPEZO A ENGAÑAR, A MENTIR, PUDO SACAR TODO SU RESENTIMIENTO Y MENOSPRECIO . EL SISNE SE CONVIRTIO EN BUITRE QUE ACABO CON LOS PATOS, PERO ESTOS PATOS SON COMO EL AVE FENIX SURGIERON DE LAS CENIZAS SE LEVANTARON Y EMPEZARON A
VOLAR,A CRECER A vivir para ellos por que en su antigua vida habian vivido para los demas y ahora serian egoistas aprenderan que simplemente QUE LA VIDA ES ASI.
This is always a wonderful experience to read Khalil Gibran. This part has been my favourite as I was introduced to Gibran when my child was born. I have tried many a times to remember this while bringing up my child, though am not successful always. There are falter points when he does something “INCORRECT” or “DIFFERENT” than expected. But I think I will try to change self rather than drag him backward. I will try to be a STABLE BOW, rather than the one who tries to guide the arrow to some destination.
this wonderful poem reminds me of my beautiful mother.
LOS HIJOS SON UN PEDAZO DE UNO. CUANDO ESTAN PEQUEÑOS NO QUISERAMOS QUE CRECIERAN, Y CUANDO LLEGAN LOS NIETOS VUELVEN A NACER NUSTROS HIJOS Y LE DAMOS QUIZAS MAS DE LO QUE NO LE DIMOS A ELLOS..
Lindo poema!Quando nino minha pequenina sempre penso que caminhos e para onde irá esse ser tao amado. Tento sempre lembrar que ela é do mundo e que um dia vai deixar a nossa casa para viver sua aventura, fazer sua vida, como nós fizemos a nossa longe de nossos pais. Que o arqueiro mire em direcao ao amor e a luz para minha pequenina sempre achar o caminho que lhe trará plenitude e realizacoes. = )
Seguro que los niños utilizan el arco de dobogán, ellos son muy listos tienen un mundo diferente al nuestro estan más cerca de la creatividad y hacen un juego de cualquiercosa porque su imaginación se lo permite. Son capaces de ver un mundo maravilloso donde nosotros vemos tan solo asfalto.
Paulo enhorabuena por la forma nueva de blog en donde se unen todos los comentarios sean de la lengua que sean. Así no se crea separatividad todo lo contrario, se crea un sitio de unión que es como vimos este blog.
Un beso y poco a poco va creciendo de nuevo.
Each time I read this, my love for my daughter is even more alive.
Thank you for reminding me of this eternal life the Universe allowed me to bring.
I stepped in and shared parenting with a mother who couldn’t nurture, when her daughter was 3 months old, I took her 4 days a week, but felt I needed to be the mother, to nurture her as if she were my child, because if she didn’t get that, she’d struggle the rest of her life. One day a friend and I were strolling her through a university campus and my friend asked me if she were your real daughter, if you could determine her future what would you want for her? My first instinct was that her life be without pain, that I could place a red carpet for her to walk on through the course of her years. God forbid that she ever would have to deal with any of the anguish and hardship I’ve dealt with, that life be just beautiful. Then I thought how limiting and realized that my journey with it’s anguish, pain and joy has made me grow, has given me depth, a depth I wouldn’t have if I never had to struggle. So I told my friend I would want to give her the tools to handle whatever life has in store for her, the strength to follow her path, a love of reading, music and art! You can always have a place to seek answers, by reading, a love of music, means you’re never alone and art helps you recognize the beauty surrounding you! Throughout the years I’d tell people I’m just giving her feathers to add to her wings so one day she’ll be able to fly where ever it is she’s meant to fly to, each experience is like a feather. She’s 16 now and we still have a relationship, she wants to be an engineer, she wants to make a difference. Thank-you for sharing that poem, because I still want to spread that red carpet down for her to follow.
I truly love this poem becuase it is so true. No matter how you yearn for your child to follow the right path in life, you cannot make him / her do what you want. I want my child not to make the same mistakes I made but whatever I do or say, she is going to do what she sets her mind to.
So where does that leave me – being a parent is challenging but at the same time despite the heartache, very rewarding.
estoy segura de que los hijos no son de uno. y a travesde ellos aprendemos a vivir y a entender el significado de la vida.
My love of words was ignited by Gibran ~ refuelled by you :)
Namaste,
Tina Louise
@tinalouiseUK
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