For all the mommies out there

This is a poem from one of my favorite poets, Khalil Gibran.
Gibran was born in Lebanon in 1883. His family immigrated to Boston, where he began his literary career. Though he was also an artist, he is perhaps best known in the English world for his book "The Prophet."

History lesson is over, here is the poem.


On Children
 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.

Watch out for the rabbit hole

I'm sure we all know the story of Alice in Wonderland. A young, naive girl who is so curious she falls down a rabbit hole, becoming engulfed in a world of fantasy.

Sounds familiar in our day and age. At some point in our life, we all fall down that rabbit hole. We become curious about something we are unfamiliar with, something we have never experienced, and lean in, hoping for just a taste or a brief touch, only to end up falling in head first.

I've seen it many Muslims around me. It all starts with baby steps, a few innocent moves. In a flash, they are partying, drinking, dating. But they don't know they are doing anything wrong, because the old version of them is buried inside so deep, lost, unable to speak out in protest. And so the fantasy begins, where we tell ourselves to have all the fun we can, pretending that we will not be held accountable.

This is why in our religion we are told to stay away from sins. Even seemingly innocuous acts may be forbidden, as they can and WILL (mark my words) lead to something much worse.

The are many lessons to be learned from this story, which is considered to be one of the best examples of the literary nonsense genre. Another character in the book reminds us "Read the directions and directly you will be directed in the right direction." Wise words Doorknob, wise words indeed. Let's all remember to read the Quran.

April 1st

32. Eh.