I would not have thee believe in what I say nor trust in what I do — for my words are naught but thy own thoughts in sound and my deeds thy own hopes in action.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes that one's beliefs and actions are reflections of their own thoughts and hopes, not necessarily influenced by others.
Khalil Gibran suggests that individuals should not take his words or actions at face value, as they merely echo the thoughts and aspirations inherent in the listener themselves. This idea implies that true understanding and belief come from within, and that the essence of communication is about self-reflection and internal interpretation rather than external influence.
In practice
This quote can be shared in a philosophy class to spark discussion on perception and reality.
Some find Lebanese poet Kahlil Gibran’s poetry preachy and moralizing, but I find it plenty enlightening—it’s hard to object to the melodic, cosmic of mysticism of a line like ‘That which sings and contemplates in you is still dwelling within the bounds of that first moment which scattered the stars into space.’
I am the infinite sea, and all worlds are but grains of sand upon my shore.
They say if one understands himself, he understands all people. But I say to you, when one loves people, he learns something about himself.
The seasons shall tire and the years grow old, ere they exhaust these words: “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.
Love possesses not nor would it be possessed; For love is sufficient unto love. And think not you can direct the course of love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course. Love has no other desire but to fulfill itself.
Although I was once sharply critical of the argument to design, I have since come to see that, when correctly formatted, this argument constitutes a persuasive case for the existence of God.
I think that communism was a major force for violence for more than 100 years, because it was built into its ideology - that progress comes through class struggle, often violent.
The chief misery of the decline of the faculties, and a main cause of the irritability that often goes with it, is evidently the isolation, the lack of customary appreciation and influence, which only the rarest tact and thoughtfulness on the part of others can alleviate.
Countless religious innovators over the years have played the game of establishing an identity for themselves by accentuating their otherness.
The notion that a radical is one who hates his country is naïve and usually idiotic. He is, more likely, one who likes his country more than the rest of us, and is thus more disturbed than the rest of us when he sees it debauched. He is not a bad citizen turning to crime; he is a good citizen driven to despair.
Wherever we see the Word of God purely preached and heard, there a church of God exists, even if it swarms with many faults.
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