On Children (by 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.

Sus hijos (por Kahlil Gibran)

Sus hijos no son suyos.
Son los hijos del anhelo de la Vida de sí misma.
Vienen por Uds. pero no de Uds.,
Y aunque están con Uds., Uds. no los poseen a ellos.
Pueden darles su amor pero no sus pensamientos.
Porque ellos tienen sus propios pensamientos.
Uds. pueden alojar sus cuerpos pero no sus almas.
Porque sus almas viven en la casa del día que viene, la cual Uds. no pueden visitar, ni siquiera en los sueños.
Uds. pueden esforzarse por ser como ellos, pero no se esfuercen para que ellos sean como Uds.
Porque la vida no va atrás ni se demora con el ayer.
Uds. son los arcos de los cuales sus hijos como flechas vivas son enviados.
El arquero ve el blanco en el paso del infinito, y Él los dobla a Uds. con Su fuerza para que Sus flechas vayan rápidamente y lejos.
Que su torción en la mano del arquero sea por alegría;
Porque mientras Él ama a la flecha que vuela, también ama el arco que es estable.

Os filhos (por Khalil Gibran)

Teus filhos não são teus filhos
São os filhos e as filhas da ânsia da vida por si mesma.
Vêm através de ti, mas não de ti.
E embora vivam contigo, não te pertencem.
Podes dar teu amor, mas não teus pensamentos.
Porque eles têm seus próprios pensamentos.
Podes abrigar seus corpos, mas não suas almas;
Pois suas almas moram na mansão do amanhã, que não podes visitar nem mesmo em sonho
Podes tentar ser como eles, mas não tente fazê-los como és,
Porque a vida não anda para trás e não se demora com os dias passados.

Tu és o arco do qual teus filhos são arremessados como flechas vivas.
O Arqueiro mira o alvo na senda do infinito e estica com toda a sua força
Para que suas flechas se projetem rápido e para longe
Que teu encurvamento na mão do Arqueiro seja tua alegria;
Pois assim como Ele ama a flecha que voa, ama também o arco que permanece estável.

It scared me that I could understand his insanity, his obsession, and that I would forever be drawn to other people like this. I’ll never forget his dream, and the scenes that follow…

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAXW6u7z1pM[/youtube]

I dream of some day being buried in the ocean, in the hopes that in another life I would be born down there and discover some of her secrets.

Tu sais ce qu’il faut faire pour vivre au milieu des sirènes?
Tu descends au fond de la mer très loin
Si loin que le bleu n’existe plus
Là où le ciel n’est plus qu’un souvenir
Une fois que tu es là, dans le silence, tu y restes
Et si tu décides que tu veux mourir pour elles
Rester avec elles pour l’eternité
Alors elles viennent vers toi et jugent l’amour que tu leur porte
S’il est sincère
S’il est pur
Et si tu leur plaît
Alors elles t’emmèneront pour toujours

I could keep writing but instead I’m going to continue thinking about my favourite imperfections. You are perfectly imperfect, and if I knew you, I’d probably remember and love your imperfections the most of all your qualities. I prize imperfections in others and in me. They make you uniquely you.

I could never deny that hanging out with you and the motley crowd of stubborn misfits, hopping night trains, the Playground on Loop St, sleeping at random houses in a big pile that didn’t stop squirming, all our mind-bending discussions with each other while tasty joints were rolled and I always passed them up, the ever changing faces that came in and out of the crowd in pulses, so HUGELY shaped me into who I am today. How I am able to just fit wherever life takes me without anxiety, no matter how temptingly amazing, or strange or uncomfortable, and know how to find those special people who make all the difference. I could write and write about those childhood experiences with you.

I’m just remembering how we dated for one amazing night on your birthday, the night with the fireworks, but then I chickened out afraid everything would change and I’d lose it all if we ever broke up. How you’d walk me home from art school pushing my bike almost every time. I’d pretend it was no big deal, but it was. When you weren’t there it sucked even more because the creepy guy would run up and he’d walk the whole time in total awkward silence, except when he asked a very probing creepy question…

And the time you were still there helping me fix a flat in the garden and my mom came home from work, lost her temper when she saw us and drop-kicked the grocery bag across the kitchen, and the cabbage rolled out the door and plopped in front of us.

Hahaha those WERE the days!!!!! MAN!!!!!

If it wasn’t for you after school to look forward to, and Bron who stuck by me faithfully as I switched from school to school, my life would have been so cruddy. Things were rough back then and I dreaded school so much. God only knows how I stuck the whole thing out. Oh yeah, you guys!

I don’t think I ever told you how much you meant to me. I should have, and so I hope in some way this makes up for it.

“I’ve seen the eye of God and been touched by her hand.
I’ve seen miracles happen and been
disappointed dozens of times.
I’ve been almost everywhere, met almost everyone, seen almost everything,
done almost all of it, and I’m still waiting to be discovered.
The night has a thousand eyes and I’m a gypsy dancer still hungry for more.”
~ Bobby Miller from My Life As I Remember It

Thanks Kit!