And a poet said, "Speak to us of Beauty." Where shall you seek beauty, and how shall you find her unless she herself be your way and your guide? And how shall you speak of her except she be the weaver of your speech?
The aggrieved and the injured say, "Beauty is kind and gentle. Like a young mother half-shy of her own glory she walks among us." And the passionate say, "Nay, beauty is a thing of might and dread. Like the tempest she shakes the earth beneath us and the sky above us."
The tired and the weary say, "beauty is of soft whisperings. She speaks in our spirit. Her voice yields to our silences like a faint light that quivers in fear of the shadow." But the restless say, "We have heard her shouting among the mountains, And with her cries came the sound of hoofs, and the beating of wings and the roaring of lions."
At night the watchmen of the city say, "Beauty shall rise with the dawn from the east." And at noontide the toilers and the wayfarers say, "we have seen her leaning over the earth from the windows of the sunset." In winter say the snow-bound, "She shall come with the spring leaping upon the hills." And in the summer heat the reapers say, "We have seen her dancing with the autumn leaves, and we saw a drift of snow in her hair." All these things have you said of beauty. Yet in truth you spoke not of her but of needs unsatisfied, And beauty is not a need but an ecstasy. It is not a mouth thirsting nor an empty hand stretched forth, But rather a heart enflamed and a soul enchanted. It is not the image you would see nor the song you would hear, But rather an image you see though you close your eyes and a song you hear though you shut your ears. It is not the sap within the furrowed bark, nor a wing attached to a claw, But rather a garden forever in bloom and a flock of angels for ever in flight.
People of Orphalese, beauty is life when life unveils her holy face. But you are life and you are the veil. Beauty is eternity gazing at itself in a mirror. But you are eternity and you are the mirror.
Kahlil Gibran (1883 - 1931)
Source: The Prophet: 26 poetic essays, Pages: 74-76 (On Beauty)
The trip was about being vulnerable, but not afraid; about opening himself up like a tin can and exposing his guts to the wind and the sky, and somehow finding a way to go beyond his limits. If he could do that, salvation was his. This, he didn't have to remember. Working on salvation - each creature must do that on his own. No preacher could tell you how. No friend could ease the way. No one but you, yourself, could make peace that would last for eternity.
"In your life, you forget your "Always State" or "Always Form". You forget everything. However, you are already always that! There is only eternity, knowledge and bliss. But you're still terrified it might not be true. That is ego at work. Ego keeps one from being free. We want to taste all these experiences. And the ego makes it possible. Don't curse the ego. So many scriptures curse the ego self. Instead, look at your life as about choices, experiences and desires--that you are already liberated. Don't be afraid of desire. That is why you're here, to taste, live."
In the beginning was the Tao. All things issue from it; all things return to it.
To find the origin, trace back the manifestations. When you recognize the children and find the mother, you will be free of sorrow.
If you close your mind in judgements and traffic with desires, your heart will be troubled. If you keep your mind from judging and aren't led by the senses, your heart will find peace.
Seeing into darkness is clarity. Knowing how to yield is strength. Use your own light and return to the source of light. This is called practicing eternity.
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