Wednesday, January 9, 2008

Khalil Gibran - The Prophet - Chapter 4

Not only am I reading to you, I am reading to myself. This vocal recording is the first time I have read these chapters. What you hear is also new to me. For example, I have not yet read chapter five. I am waiting until the time is right. When I read it to you, I will be reading it for the first time. So consider it fresh.

I do not know much about Khalil Gibran, only that I have for some time been wanting to read _The Prophet_. I first heard of it around September of 2004, when a female blogger from Prague, going by the name of "Esme-chan", mentioned it in a post. I have not read her blog since 2005, and tonight I went on a search for it. I've found it, though I see she has not posted for quite some time. October of 2005 was the date of her last posting. I wish I could tell her that I've begun to read it. When I first learned about it, I skimmed through some lines of it and became quite drawn to it. I promised myself I'd return to it at a more convenient time. Now is that time.

If you have not noticed, it is quite spellbinding. I have a feeling that Gibran was inspired. I do not yet know the moral of the story, or what its climax is, or how it ends. I simply know that he speaks to me, and I hear him from deep within my soul. From where do these beautiful passages come? I silently wonder to myself why they didn't teach this book in school. I had to read Ayn Rand, who, if you must know, put me to sleep. I couldn't even force myself to finish _The Fountainhead_. I finished only half of it, and then faked my way through the test. I was a senior in high school. I made an A, but only because I listened in class when they discussed it. Why Ayn Rand, who is stiff, when we could have had the experience of Gibran?

I am thankful for this experience, because textually and spiritually it has reached me at a time when not much gets through the wall that I have involuntarily built around myself. You might ask how one can "involuntarily" build a wall around themselves. I am unsure how to answer this question. I can only tell you that it seems lately I have been numb to most things. No doubt this is simply one of the consequences of living with depression.

I could babble on about this all night. So, without further ado, here is chapter four of _The Prophet_. For chapters one through three, you must visit my podcast blog.

9 comments:

Jim said...

Hi Sophia, I like the podcast blog a lot, very enjoyable to listen and see gently.

To raise children otherwise than as he says, is vain, and they do have purpose beyond our understandings, all that is so true. Our mistreatment and attempts to make them in our own image even personally, gives them huge confusions. No wonder the world is as it is, huh?

Jim said...

Also Sophia, that others might know, these things load much quicker for me with my cheaper equipment, off your podcast blog, I was amazed at the reduced time.

Thanks. I enjoyed it!

Sophia said...

Thanks, Jim. I'm happy that you found a way to listen to them with your dial-up connection.

I do not have children, but I think that everything the Prophet speaks of is important to life, and indeed children are a part of life. I will never have my own but I sometimes enjoy other people's children.

Anonymous said...

I like him too.
I love his line, "Measure not your wisdom with a plumbline".
He is implying that real wisdom lies beyond comparisons.

Sophia said...

Hi Rob,

It's true; Wisdom is not something that can be gauged like one's I.Q. or smartness. They have pieces of paper for book-smarts, but there's no way to compare wisdom. Wisdom comes more from the heart.

Anuradha malik Jagdhari said...

HI Sophia,
I couldn't listen to you as my speakers are acting up. I love this book though. Nice blog.

Sophia said...

Anuradha malik Jagdhari, thank you for your compliment. _The Prophet_ is proving to be every bit as lovely as I had hoped it would be. I look forward to reading more of it.

I quickly visited your blog tonight, but will pay you a longer visit when things settle down on my end. Your blog looks like something I'd really enjoy.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for sharing this story. It is a beautiful story and your voice is a pleasure to listen to.

Sophia said...

Hi Mossy,

I'm so happy that you had a chance to download it. I know you normally have Internet connection problems. It's nice to share this story with you. Thanks for listening.