Let there be spaces in your togetherness

Let there be spaces in your togetherness

Most of us have a long tradition which considers marriage to be a most sacred bond that spans beyond all the births that we may have had. I found this beautiful quotation by Khalil Gibran, a Lebanese who migrated to the US and wrote poetry in Arabic and English. Here his vision of marriage and what it should be. I thought you would be interested.

"You were born together, and together you shall be forever more.
You shall be together when the white wings of death scatter your days.
Ay, 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 one 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."
Om Namah Shivay