Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and 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 backward 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.
— Kahlil Gibran
More Motivational, Inspiring Quotes
More from Bright Star
It hurts when you go through something that kills you inside but you have to act like it doesn’t affect you.
“Don’t be afraid to start over. This time you’re not starting from scratch, you’re starting from experience.”
ON CHILDREN
Our family is a circle of strength and love, with every birth and every union, the circle will grow, every joy shared adds more love, every crisis faced together, makes the circle stronger.
“We should respect all religions and just believe in peace, kindness and harmony.”
