... otherwise known as, the message of the Prophet (saw) to Visionaries & Great Men.
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...
Kahlil Gibran
In history we have occasionally seen times of great conflict, which have borne revolutions that have shaped the face of the world to come; according to the will of men who desire, and act upon that. Generations give their lives and blood fighting to establish an ideal, and succeed at long last - if not for themselves, for their children to see. This new generation -- born into the dream of the last but without any of the pain or struggle needed to appreciate it -- are often lost trying to fill the shoes of their parents, or rebelling against the confines of the order they find themselves in, through no choice of their own. This is the situation in modern Iran, in the wake of the Islamic Revolution.
Perhaps a revolution is needed in every generation; the men of each new time striving to establish their own identity, building upon the dreams of their fathers in a direction suited to their own time, setting their own eyes on a goal then struggling to earn their own victory -- & through this, value its worth.
Those who would establish a good & great nation, after the decline of that of the past, are shown the path to tread by the visionary of visionaries & world-changers before them -- the Last Prophet (saw). They must walk in his footsteps in a way more closely than others. He walked out the path they too must take, to build their own promised land, now the glory of the past has faded, crumbled and begun to decay.
How to be the change you wish to see in the world, and through it inspire that change -- define yourself through:
FAITH -- solid, unshakable; gaze firmly fixed on the goal, every second passed with a view to reaching it
LOVE & GENTLENESS -- make this the hallmark of your character, it will be the key to unlocking hearts
NOBILITY -- truth, honesty, good -- reflect the best in humanity towards all in humanity
PERSEVERANCE -- upon these 3, hold firm patience in the long pursuit of the goal, show love & kindness to those who harm you, behave nobly even with those who cheat and betray.
If you can do this -- unfailingly be what you hope to see in others, gentle in approach, unmoving in ideals --
you could awaken minds & hearts, which upon the same love will converge
and build, from trickle to tidal wave, to shape the face of the world.
* * *
31/3/08
with thanks
with thanks
