And a woman who held a babe against her bosom said, Speak to us of Children.
And he said:
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.
Kahlil Gibran
And he said:
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.
Kahlil Gibran
E una donna con in braccio il piccolo chiese: "parlaci dei figli".Ed egli disse:
I vostri figli non sono i vostri figli.
Sono i figli e le figlie della forza stessa della Vita.
Nascono per mezzo di voi ma non da voi,
Dimorano con voi,tuttavia non vi appartengono.
Potete dare loro il vostro amore, ma non le vostre idee,
Poiché loro hanno le loro proprie idee.
Potete dare una casa al loro corpo, ma non alla loro anima,
perchè la loro anima abita la casa dell'avvenire, che voi non potete visitare, neppure nei vostri sogni.
Potete anche sforzarvi di tenere il loro passo, ma non pretendete di renderli come voi.
Perché la vita non torna indietro ne puo fermarsi a ieri.
Voi siete l'arco dal quale come frecce vive, i vostri figli sono lanciati in avanti.
L'Arciere mira al bersaglio sul sentiero dell'infinito, e vi tiene tesi con tutto il suo vigore affinché le Sue frecce possano andare veloci e lontane.
Lasciatevi tendere con gioia nelle mani dell'Arciere, poiché egli ama in egual misura le frecce che volano e l'arco che rimane saldo.
