Earlier this month, I discovered the poetry of Kahlil Gibran through his poem 'Fear'.
It is said that before entering the sea
a river trembles with fear.
She looks back at the path she has traveled,
from the peaks of the mountains,
the long winding road crossing forests and villages.
And in front of her,
she sees an ocean so vast,
that to enter
there seems nothing more than to disappear forever.
But there is no other way.
The river can not go back.
Nobody can go back.
To go back is impossible in existence.
The river needs to take the risk
of entering the ocean
because only then will fear disappear,
because that’s where the river will know
it’s not about disappearing into the ocean,
but of becoming the ocean.
I loved this poem immediately. His eloquent words paint a picture that is accurate, inspiring and so powerfully relevant at this time in our world.
In fact, I was so smitten that the Universe saw fit to send more of his brilliant writing my way. Right around my birthday, a beautiful soul gifted me Gibran's beloved classic, The Prophet.
As I browsed the Contents page, 'On Reason and Passion' jumped forward to be read. Having been read, it then begged to be shared. So here is my sharing of this piece which so masterfully conveys the necessity of balancing reason and passion in our lives. Again, a message while perennially pertinent, is especially fitting right now.
Photos are from the California coast, Yosemite, and Colorado. Thank you for watching/listening!