18/12/2023
"On Pain" by Kahlil Gibran
And a woman spoke, saying, Tell us of Pain.
And he said:
Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding.
Even as the stone of the fruit must break, that its heart may stand in the sun, so must you know pain.
And could you keep your heart in wonder at the daily miracles of your life your pain would not seem less wondrous than your joy;
And you would accept the seasons of your heart, even as you have always accepted the seasons that pass over your fields.
And you would watch with serenity through the winters of your grief.
Much of your pain is self-chosen.
It is the bitter potion by which the physician within you heals your sick self.
Therefore trust the physician, and drink his remedy in silence and tranquility:
For his hand, though heavy and hard, is guided by the tender hand of the Unseen,
And the cup he brings, though it burn your lips, has been fashioned of the clay which the Potter has moistened with His own sacred tears.
Summary:- On Pain by Kahlil Gibran is a poem that explores the meaning and purpose of pain in human life. The poem is part of Gibran’s book The Prophet, which consists of 26 poetic essays on various topics. The poem is written in free verse, with no regular rhyme or meter. The poem uses metaphors, imagery, and personification to convey its message.
The poem begins with a woman asking the speaker to tell them about pain. The speaker responds by saying that pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses one’s understanding. He compares pain to the stone of the fruit that must break so that its heart can stand in the sun. He implies that pain is necessary for growth and enlightenment, and that it reveals one’s true nature.
The speaker then says that if one could keep their heart in wonder at the daily miracles of their life, their pain would not seem less wondrous than their joy. He suggests that pain and joy are both part of the same cycle of life, and that one should accept them both with gratitude and awe. He also says that one should accept the seasons of their heart, just as they accept the seasons that pass over their fields. He advises one to watch with serenity through the winters of their grief, and not to lose hope or faith.
The speaker then states that much of one’s pain is self-chosen, and that it is the bitter potion by which the physician within one heals their sick self. He implies that pain is often a result of one’s own choices and actions, and that it serves as a medicine for one’s soul. He urges one to trust the physician, and to drink his remedy in silence and tranquility. He says that the physician’s hand, though heavy and hard, is guided by the tender hand of the Unseen, and that the cup he brings, though it burns one’s lips, has been fashioned of the clay which the Potter has moistened with His own sacred tears. He uses the metaphors of the physician, the Unseen, and the Potter to refer to God, who is the source and the healer of all pain.
~Khalil Gibran
(Book: The Prophet https://amzn.to/3LqsqAN)