Extract 3 from Kahlil Gibran's book 'The Prophet'

Then a rich man said, Speak to us of Giving.

And he answered:

You give but little when you give of your possessions.

It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.

For what are your possessions but things you keep and guard for fear you may need them tomorrow??

And tomorrow, what shall tomorrow bring to the over-prudent dog burying bones in the trackless sand as he follows the pilgrims to the holy city?

And what is fear of need but need itself?

Is not dread of thirst when your well is full, the thirst that is unquenchable?

There are those who give little of the much which they have - and give it for the recognition and their hidden desire makes their gifts unwholesome.

And there are those who have little and give it all.

There are the believers in life and the bounty of life, and their coffer is never empty.

There are those who give with joy, and that joy is their reward.

And there are those who give with pain, and that pain is their baptism.

And their are those who give and know not pain in giving, nor do they seek joy, nor give with mindfulness of virtue;

They give as in yonder valley the myrtle breathes its fragrance into space.

Through the hands of such as these God speaks, and from behind their eyes He smiles upon the earth.


It is well to give when asked, but it is better to give unasked, through understanding;

And to the open-handed the search for one who shall receive is joy greater than giving.

And is there ought you would withhold?

All you have shall some day be given;

Therefore give now, that the season of giving may be yours and not your inheritors'.


You often say, 'I would give, but only to the deserving.'

The trees in the orchard say not so, nor the flocks in your pasture.

They give that they may live, for to withhold is to perish.

Surely he who is worthy to receive his days and his nights is worthy of all else from you.

And he who has deserved to drink from the ocean of life deserves to fill his cup from your little stream.


And what desert greater shall there be, than that which lies in the courage and the confidence, nay the charity, of receiving?

And who are you that men should rend their bosom and unveil their pride, that you may see their worth naked and their pride unabashed?

See first that you yourself deserve to be a giver, and an instrument of giving.

For in truth it is life that gives unto life - while you, who deem yourself a giver, are but a witness.


And you receivers - and you are all receivers - assume no weight of gratitude, lest you lay a yoke upon yourself and upon him who gives.

Rather rise together with the giver on his gifts as on wings;

For to be overmindful of your debts is to doubt his generosity who has the free-hearted earth for mother, and God for father.

The height of boredom.....

For the past few weeks, Cape Town has been experiencing very hot weather. The mercury had peaked at 38 degrees the other day, making it quite unbearable in the office.






You'd think that working for a company who sells & installs air conditioning units, there would be units installed in the building we're housed in. WRONG!!






We're situated in an industrial area & the company doesn't own the property at the moment. I suppose it's logic not installing anything yet but dang, it's hot in here!!






So much so that I have to head for the bathroom every so often to try & cool down. It helps a little bit but by the time I reach my desk, I need to make another trip to the bathroom!! I certainly cannot win can I???!!






Today the heat really got to me, that I had no inclination to do any work at all. Instead I removed the camera from my bag & decided to snap away. And this is what I came up with..............

Hmmmm, it certainly lends new meaning to the phrase "twiddling my toes" heh??!! -:)

Mating season????

Ghaalietha always has the ability to catch me way off guard. One such incident happened over the weekend.

I was busy preparing breakfast Sunday morning when she asked me about a movie they watched at their dad’s place. Her enquiring mind prompted her to asking me about mating season.

Ghaalietha: Mum, what’s mating season???

Me:(my head racing to come up with an answer without using the word ‘sex’ LOL!!): Ummm, mating season is the time when animals cohabit with one another to reproduce.

Ghaalietha: Oh, I see. Then after that happens the animals have babies.

Me: (bracing myself for the next question): That is correct

Ghaalietha: (with a eureka expression on her face): So that would mean that humans also have mating season!!

Me (laughing my head off): No, humans don’t have mating season only animals do because that is their circle of life.



I could have gone on to explain that humans are the only species that have sex for pleasure and not only to reproduce but I feel that's giving too much information too soon. Looks like I'm going to have to do the 'birds & the bees' speech very soon with Ghaalietha.



*Sigh* My age seems to be catching up with me!!

As promised.....

I shall be sharing extracts from Kahlil Gibran's book "The Prophet."

I sms'ed Shaheema last night and asked her to bring her copy of the book to work with her. I received an email from her this morning with the extract already typed out!! She knew which one I would request even without me saying anything!! Couz, you know me too well, hehehehehe!!

With today's post, I'll share what the author writes about marriage. On my reading of this particular extract, I developed goosebumps!!! I sometimes wonder if my situation with my failed marriage would have been different had I read this extract earlier in my life. But like Shaheema always says, and so do I, there's a particular reason why I didn't. Lessons come when the pupil is ready to learn!!

Then Almitra spoke again and said...

"And what of Marriage, master?"

And he answered saying:

You were born together,

and together you shall be forevermore.

You shall be together when the white wings

of death scatter your days.

Aye, you shall be together even in the silent

memory of God.

But let there be spaces in your togetherness,

and let the winds of the heavens dance between you.

Love one another, but make not a bond of love.

Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.

Fill each other's cup but drink not from one cup.

Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf.

Sing and dance together and be joyous,
but let each of you be alone.

Even as the strings of a lute are alone

though they quiver with the same music.

Give your hearts, but not into each other's keeping.

For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts.

And stand together, yet not too near together.

For the pillars of the temple stand apart.

And the oak tree and the cypress

grow not in each other's shadow.

From a personal perspective, I think that every couple embarking on marriage should read this extract & learn from it. It holds boundless wisdom, and if we should take cognisance of it there would be less marriages ending. Don't you think??

I'm quite ecstatic to report that Shaheema has asked Moi to read this particular extract at her wedding reception Insha-Allah!! And why wouldn't I?? It's the most appropriate piece of poetry to start on a lifelong journey Insha-Allah Ameen!!

Guilty as charged......

Yes, I haven’t been very punctual about updating my blog lately and believe me, it shows. Writing down my thoughts has always been an outlet for me and since I haven’t been doing just that, my head feels kinda muddled!! Or maybe I should blame it on all the time I have been spending on Facebook?? :)



Or, perhaps it’s the new developments taking place in my life at this moment?? Whatever the reasons, I should get down to it, shouldn't I?? So, here goes……..



On Tuesday evening while attending a school meeting, I was quite surprised by the opening address given by the Principal. Mr. Daniels is quite a blabber mouth and once he gets started there’s no stopping him, hehehe!! Anyhow, after greeting the parents he goes on & mentions some verses he had come across concerning children. What he read made me want to jump up from my seat & shout “I just read that book a couple of months ago!!” And as he read the extract I felt the tears spring from behind my lids & course down my cheeks.



I’d like to share what he read to the parents there that evening because this specific author made such a huge impact on me as a person. I actually read the book over and over again, gleaning a new perspective with each read. The extract comes from a book by Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet. This man’s gift for poetry is immeasurable!! His writing is simple yet touching, his ability to turn mundane everyday experiences into sheer art just boggles the mind!! And most importantly, he exposes our humanity.



Yeah, Yeah, I’ll shut up already & get down to those specific verses, hehehe!!

The Prophet

Your children are not your children.
They are the sons & 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 backwards 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.

Need I say more????

I will endeavor to post other extracts concerning love, marriage, laws & everything else Mr. Gibran touches on, in the hopes that it would inspire you as much as his writing has inspired me.

It has become a bit easier, Alghumdulillah!!

It's the 3rd anniversary of Rahim's death. May Allah grant him Jannatul Firdous, Insha-Allah Ameen!!



You are still very much in my thoughts but as the Diva, Mariah says:


This is for my peoples who just lost somebody,
your best friend, your baby, your man or your lady
put your head way up high,
we will never say bye


No, no, no, no
Mammas, daddies, sisters, brothers, friends & cousins
This is for my peoples who lost their grandmothers
Lift your hand to the sky,
we will never say bye



To all those who have lost loved ones, may Allah ease your pain and may time bring acceptance & peace. For Allah is Ghafoer-rur-Raghiem!!

I have a confession to make......

I probably should have mentioned this earlier, but I suppose now is as good a time as any. I have an addiction. *And it's bad!!*

I need my fix early morning, although when I'm not able to get it I have it later during the day.

But have it I must.

I've tried hard to get my body to function without it but the withdrawal symptoms are just horrendous!!

One day without it and my brain doesn't even function properly too, my thoughts continuously return to it.

The doctor says it's good for me and that I shouldn't even try to give it up. I suppose he's right.

Fruit salad, my addiction!!

What were you thinking???? Haaaiiiibbbbooo, you must neva!!! :)