Your Joy Is Your Sorrow Unmasked - Gibran

Yet another dose of Kahlil Gibran.

Then a woman said, Speak to us of Joy and Sorrow.
And he answered:
Your joy is your sorrow unmasked.
And the selfsame well from which your laughter rises was oftentimes filled with your tears.
And how else can it be?
The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain.
Is not the cup that holds your wine the very cup that was burned in the potters oven?
And is not the lute that soothes your spirit the very wood that was hollowed with knives?
When you are joyous, look deep into your heart and you shall find it is only that which has given you sorrow that is giving you joy.
When you are sorrowful, look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight.
Some of you say, "Joy is greater than sorrow," and others say, "Nay, sorrow is greater."
But I say unto you, they are inseparable.
Together they come, and when one sits alone with you at your board, remember that the other is asleep upon your bed.

Verily you are suspended like scales between your sorrow and joy.
Only when you are empty are you standstill and balanced.
When the treasure-keeper lifts you to weigh his gold and his silver, needs must your joy or your sorrow rise or fall.


Varalotti

 

It's Not So Simple, Sudha!

Dear Sudha,
Of all the profound passages in The Prophet this is the profoundest. Like you I am also trying to understand the meaning. The difference is that I have been trying for the last 15 years. Please don't be in a hurry to understand the meaning. Just allow the words to soak in and your real life experiences hereafter will teach the meaning slowly.
One of the several meanings I understood is this: If you can see through your sorrow and understand it, it becomes joy. On the other hand you are joyful and you can't understand it, it is sorrow.
Words like these are not to be read and forgotten but chewed again and again till we live.
sridhar