"Remember this: a thief is a man in need, a liar is a man in fear; the hunter who is hunted by the watchman of your night is also hunted by the watchman of his own darkness."
If you did not know, I will simply say, Lebanese-born, visionary artist and writer Kahlil Gibran (1883–1931) is nothing short of amazing! I stumbled upon him my freshman year in college with "The Prophet", and have been in love ever since. I recall grabbing a highlighter, which I often highlight quotes or words in books, and realizing that I would end up with neon yellow pages through out. I quickly learned that Gibran's intention was to make you pause, think and embrace the moment of freedom you'd just read.
"Jesus The Son of Man", one of Gibran's last works, was an idea he pondered over for years but did not write until he was critically ill, take that how you want. I got it this summer (blame my slow reading on graduate school) and was immediately in awe. It's a compilation of passages dedicated to Jesus, but not in a "sing-songy" manner; it's written from the perspective of those that encountered Jesus, whether they loved or hated him. The passionate place from which Gibran wrote displayed grace in every aspect of the word, even in the text intended to convey hatred or disdain.
My favorite passage was from the perspective of A Man Outside of Jerusalem that encountered Judas after he gave up Jesus to the Romans. I know what you're thinking, "How could THAT be one of her favorites?" Well, you might have to pick it up to figure out why. This, just like all of Gibran's writings, should definitely be added to your collection. You want to see how politics, beauty, love, hate, regret, pain, humility, anger, confusion and more NEVER change with the times, then definitely grab this piece. HAPPY READING FOLKS! Peace...
Side notes:
-Not sure if you Illinois grads remember when the Black House had a bookstore in the basement. Man that was the best thing EVER!
-A personal wish I've had for years now is to visit the Telfair Museum in Savannah, GA where they exhibit a collection of his drawings, watercolors, and paintings. This will get done in the next year, I can promise that!
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