Kahlil Gibran was a renowned Lebanese poet, painter and philosopher, who earned the title of ‘the prophet of the east’ thanks to his book ‘The Prophet’.
His works are based mostly on the poetry and art of Arabic culture, which he also wanted to transmit and nourish internationally when he lived in the United States.
In this article you will find a list of Khalil Gibran’s best phrases ; samples of his thinking and his way of conceiving the world.
To remember his legacy, in this article we bring a compilation with the best phrases of Khalil Gibran, a thinker who conquered the West with his poetry.
1. Friendship is always a sweet responsibility, never an opportunity.
In friendship, respect and responsibility are essential.
2. In the sweetness of friendship, let there be laughter and sharing pleasures. In the dew of small things the heart finds its morning and rejoices.
Friendship is beautiful, don’t separate it from your life.
3. Because life and death are one, just as the river and the sea are also one.
Life is accompanied by death, that is a duo that cannot be separated.
4. No matter how long the storm is, the sun always shines again through the clouds.
There is no problem that cannot be overcome.
5. Men who do not forgive women for their small defects will never enjoy their great virtues.
Forgiveness is essential in a relationship.
6. If you love someone, set them free because if they come back they were always yours. And if it doesn’t, it never was.
Whoever truly loves you never leaves your side.
7. From suffering the strongest souls have emerged. The strongest characters are forged from scars.
You also learn from difficult situations.
8. Only the seed that breaks its shell is capable of daring the adventure of life.
Never stop taking risks, life is a constant adventure.
9. Men do not desire blessing on their lips nor truth in their hearts, because the first is the product of tears and the second is the daughter of blood.
There are things in life that hurt a lot.
10. Selfishness, my friend, gives rise to blind disputes, and disputes breed wars.
21. Love has never known its own intensity until the hour of separation.
When you lose someone you love, it is the moment when you are certain of the great love you felt.
22. There must be something strangely sacred about salt: it is in our tears and in the sea.
There are things so sacred that it is difficult to understand.
23. From the talkative I have learned to remain silent; of the intolerant, to be indulgent, and of the malicious, to treat others with kindness. And as curious as it may seem, I don’t feel any gratitude toward those teachers.
Each person has something to teach.
24. Protect me from the wisdom that does not cry, from the philosophy that does not laugh and from the greatness that does not bow before children.
We must cry, laugh and love.
25. Where can I find a man governed by reason and not by habits and desires?
It is easier to be dominated by bad habits than by reason.
26. Hell is not in remorse, it is in the empty heart.
Not having feelings is worse than having regrets.
27. When you reach the end of what you should know, you will be at the beginning of what you should feel.
Wisdom and feelings go in the same direction.
28. Your pain is the breaking of the shell that surrounds your understanding.
Pain is a sensation that brings many lessons.
29. You must not forget that the earth delights in feeling your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair.
Go out and enjoy nature.
30. If you cannot work with love but only with reluctance, it would be better for you to abandon work and sit at the door of the temple to receive alms from those who work with joy.
Everything that is done must be done with joy.
31. I knew a second birth, when my soul and my body loved each other and got married.
Try to get your body and mind to go in the same direction.
32. Wisdom ceases to be wisdom when it becomes too proud to cry, too serious to laugh, and too selfish to seek anything other than itself.
Never allow your knowledge to make you see that you are superior to others.
33. We are all prisoners, but some of us are in cells with windows, and others are not.
There are things that bind us, some that motivate us to go out and others that keep us locked up.
34. There is a tremulous spring in every winter of the heart, and a smiling dawn hides behind the veil of each night.
After a sad moment comes happiness. It is important to say what you feel.
35. All the poor are not despised.
The worst poverty is that of the soul.
36. And there are those who have little but give everything. The latter believe in life and the generosity of life, which is why their coffers are never empty.
Those who give little are the happiest people in the world.
37. The same well that gives birth to your laughter has been filled infinite times with your tears.
Tears and laughter are part of you.
38. Tears are fire that purifies love, making them clear and beautiful for an eternity.
Crying for love is something worth it.
39. It is good to give when we are asked; but it is better to give without being asked, as good understanders.
He always gives without them having to come and ask for it.
40. Material things kill man without suffering, love revives him with life-giving pain.
Bad moments are great learning moments.
41. Trust in dreams, since the door to eternity is hidden in them.
Chase your dreams, don’t stop.
42. Sorrow and poverty purify the heart of man, although our weak minds see nothing of value in the universe except comfort and happiness.
Poverty is not something to be ashamed of.
43. He who forgives you a sin that you have not committed, forgives himself his own crime.
He who forgives others, knows how to forgive himself without complexes.
44. A poet is one who makes you feel, after having read his poem, that his best verses have not yet been composed.
A simple poem can convey endless things.
45. He who does not wear his morality except as if it were his best clothing, would be better off naked.
Integrity is sometimes a mirage.
46. Show me your mother’s face and I will tell you who you are.
You are the reflection of what you learned at home.
47. Yesterday is nothing more than the memory of today, and tomorrow is the dream of today.
Yesterday is just a memory, tomorrow is just a dream.
48. And do not think about directing the paths of love; It is love that, if it finds you worthy, will direct your paths.
Love is not controlled, it is felt.
49. He who wishes to become a teacher of man must begin by teaching himself before teaching others; and he must teach first by example before he does so verbally.
Before understanding others, start with yourself.
50. Beauty is eternity looking in a mirror.
Beauty is everywhere.
51. And in my madness I found the freedom and security that comes from not being understood, because those who understand us enslave something of us.
Having friends is a big commitment.
52. Perplexity is the beginning of knowledge.
Curiosity leads us to discover new things.
53. Your life is determined not by what life brings to you, but by the attitude you bring to life. It’s not what happens to you, but the way your mind looks at what happens.
Life is based on the way you see things.
54. When you are happy, look deep in your hearts and you will find that the same thing that gives you joy today was what filled you with sadness yesterday.
Today’s sadness will be transformed into tomorrow’s joy.
55. Love only gives of itself and receives nothing except from itself. Love does not possess, and does not want to be possessed. Because love is sufficient unto love.
He who has love, gives love and receives the same
56. Exaggeration is the truth that has lost its temper.
Self-aggrandizement is a flaw that many people have.
57. When you are sad, look again and you will discover that you are crying for what was yours yesterday.
Sadness is a feeling that is very present.
58. The tyrant demands sweet wine from sour grapes.
There are people who want to reap good things when they have sown hate.
59. When sadness unites two hearts, neither glory nor happiness will be able to destroy that union.
Sadness also unites two people.
60. Love is always shy before beauty, while beauty is always behind love.
With love, we can see beauty everywhere.
61. If at night you cry for the Sun, the tears will not let you see the stars.
Don’t hold on to the pain because you won’t be able to see the beauty around you.
62. The optimist sees the rose and not its thorns; The pessimist looks at the thorns, oblivious to the rose.
Always see the good in everything.
63. It has always been known that love does not know its own depth until the hour of separation.
Love is an enigma.
64. When love calls you, follow it, even if its paths are difficult and steep. And when his wings envelop you, yield to him, although the sword hidden in his feathers may wound you.
Nobody escapes love.
65. Life without love is like a tree without flowers or fruits
Life is more beautiful when it is lived with love.
66. The deeper sadness sinks its claw into your being, the more joy you will be able to contain.
Sadness is the prelude to joy.
67. My enemy told me: “Love your enemy.” And I obeyed him and loved myself.
Your worst enemy is yourself.
68. The wealth of the world is a crust of bread and a coat.
Just as there are rich people, there are poor people who lack much.
69. It is our inner self that suffers when we disobey and that kills us when we betray it.
We always have someone inside us who pushes us to do things.
70. The timeless that exists in you is aware of the timelessness of life.
We are what the life we have had to live is like.
71. Do not say, ‘I have found the truth,’ but rather, ‘I have found a truth.’
The truth is something incomprehensible.
72. Some hear with their ears, some with their stomach, some with their pocket and some do not hear at all.
You have to know how to listen.
73. Working with love is building a house with love, as if your loved one were going to live in that house.
Do your work with love, the results will be magical.
Related article: “The 8 types of emotions (classification and description)”
74. Your joy is your sadness without a mask.
Joy and sadness are very similar.
75. Sadness is a wall between two gardens.
Sadness also unites two hearts.
76. In the dew of small things, the heart finds its morning and takes its freshness.
In the small moments is where happiness is found.
77. You do not progress by improving what is already done, but by striving to achieve what still remains to be done.
Always focus on doing more than you can do.
78. The deeper the pain digs in your heart, the more joy you will be able to contain.
Sometimes joy is found behind a dark landscape.
79. In the heart of every winter there lives a pulsating spring, and behind each night, comes a smiling dawn.
The storm does not last forever and after it there is a cool day.
80. The tortoise can talk more about the road than the hare.
Enjoy everything you do.
81. Your daily life is your temple and your religion. Every time you enter it, do it with your whole being.
Live each day with intensity.
82. Death is more like a prophet who has no honor in his own land or a poet who is a stranger among his own.
Death is the latent wait that opens its arms to us.
83. If the other person hurts you, you can forget about the injury; but if you hurt him, you will always remember it.
The burden of conscience will weigh heavily every day.
84. There are those who carry the truth within themselves but do not express it in words.
Many people don’t know how to say what they feel.
85. Loving life through work is becoming intimate with the most hidden secret of life.
Loving life means experiencing the good and bad moments of it.
86. Some seek pleasure in pain; and others cannot be cleaned except with dirt.
For many people, pain is considered pleasure.
87. We who err always looking for the loneliest path.
There are people who are lonely and are happy that way.
88. Your children are not your children: they are the sons and daughters of the desire for life that life itself feels.
Our children do not belong to us, they are part of life itself.
89. Many of us spend our entire lives running away from feelings in the mistaken belief that you can’t stand the pain. But you have already endured the pain. What you haven’t done is feel everything you are beyond that pain.
We always try to escape from pain, well, we don’t know that that is something impossible.
90. If you really must be sincere, be sincere.
Sincerity is important.
91. The flowers of the fields are the daughters of the affection of the sun and the love of nature. And the children of men are flowers of love and compassion.
Children are gifts of love.
92. Love gives nothing but itself, it takes nothing but itself. He neither possesses nor is possessed. Because love is enough for love.
Love is the most beautiful feeling that man possesses.
93. Pay attention to the sun that rises in the darkness.
In every difficult situation, there is always a light that shines.
94. Wars bring with them authority and force, which are the cause of confrontations and oppression.
Wars leave only misfortunes in their wake.
95. When you give, you give only the smallest part of your fortune, which would be worthless if you do not make your charity an integral part of yourself.
Helping those in need should be a priority.
96. Many doctrines are like a window pane. We see the truth through them but they separate us from the truth.
It’s okay to have your beliefs, but they shouldn’t restrict your mind.
97. They consider me crazy because I don’t want to sell my days for gold. And I consider them crazy because they believe that my days have a price.
There are things that money can not buy.
98. God made the truth with many doors to welcome all believers who knock on them.
The truth has many faces.
99. Don’t look for a friend to kill hours, but look for him with hours to live.
Friends are important, that’s why you don’t have to have them out of interest.
100. In the sweetness of friendship, let there be laughter and sharing pleasures. In the dew of small things the heart finds its morning and rejoices.
