The other day while listening to Super Soul Sunday with Dr. Shefali, Oprah read the poem On Children by Kahlil Gibran. This poem really spoke to me! I believe our children are independent souls and do not have to think and behave as we do. We can love and learn from them and nurture them for who they are as unique beings. My children inspire me everyday as I watch them grow. I admire their confidence and strong sense of self as they move thru childhood sometimes breaking from the cultural norms.
On Children
KahlilGibran
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.
