On Death from "The Prophet", Khalil Gibran
Well, in less than 2 hours it will be exactly 1 month since Mum passed away. In the next few days I will endeavour to write here the story of my final minutes with her... blessed, God-given minutes that I think made subsequent events (the funeral, etc...) easier to deal with.
One thing I wanted to share is the text that my brother Shaun (a druid... yes really!) read just before I read the eulogy during the funeral. I had read this text some years back, but had pretty much forgotten it. I think it is one of the most beautiful and intelligent writings on death I have ever read or heard. My most emotional moment during the funeral came when hearing the last 3 lines, especially the very last one. Such a beautiful image and so, so true (according to what my faith tells me).
On Death (from “The Prophet” by Khalil Gibran)
Then Almitra spoke, saying, "We would ask now of Death."
And he said:
You would know the secret of death.
But how shall you find it unless you seek it in the heart of life?
The owl whose night-bound eyes are blind unto the day cannot unveil the mystery of light.
If you would indeed behold the spirit of death, open your heart wide unto the body of life.
For life and death are one, even as the river and the sea are one.
In the depth of your hopes and desires lies your silent knowledge of the beyond;
And like seeds dreaming beneath the snow your heart dreams of spring.
Trust the dreams, for in them is hidden the gate to eternity.
Your fear of death is but the trembling of the shepherd when he stands before the king whose hand
is to be laid upon him in honour.
Is the shepherd not joyful beneath his trembling, that he shall wear the mark of the king?
Yet is he not more mindful of his trembling?
For what is it to die but to stand naked in the wind and to melt into the sun?
And what is it to cease breathing, but to free the breath from its restless tides, that it may rise and
expand and seek God unencumbered?
Only when you drink form the river of silence shall you indeed sing.
And when you have reached the mountain top, then you shall begin to climb.
And when the earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance.
One thing I wanted to share is the text that my brother Shaun (a druid... yes really!) read just before I read the eulogy during the funeral. I had read this text some years back, but had pretty much forgotten it. I think it is one of the most beautiful and intelligent writings on death I have ever read or heard. My most emotional moment during the funeral came when hearing the last 3 lines, especially the very last one. Such a beautiful image and so, so true (according to what my faith tells me).
On Death (from “The Prophet” by Khalil Gibran)
Then Almitra spoke, saying, "We would ask now of Death."
And he said:
You would know the secret of death.
But how shall you find it unless you seek it in the heart of life?
The owl whose night-bound eyes are blind unto the day cannot unveil the mystery of light.
If you would indeed behold the spirit of death, open your heart wide unto the body of life.
For life and death are one, even as the river and the sea are one.
In the depth of your hopes and desires lies your silent knowledge of the beyond;
And like seeds dreaming beneath the snow your heart dreams of spring.
Trust the dreams, for in them is hidden the gate to eternity.
Your fear of death is but the trembling of the shepherd when he stands before the king whose hand
is to be laid upon him in honour.
Is the shepherd not joyful beneath his trembling, that he shall wear the mark of the king?
Yet is he not more mindful of his trembling?
For what is it to die but to stand naked in the wind and to melt into the sun?
And what is it to cease breathing, but to free the breath from its restless tides, that it may rise and
expand and seek God unencumbered?
Only when you drink form the river of silence shall you indeed sing.
And when you have reached the mountain top, then you shall begin to climb.
And when the earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance.
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