~Giving~

You give
but little
when you give
of your
possessions

It is when
  you give
of yourself
that you
truly give

For what 
are your possessions
but things
you keep and guard
for fear
you may need
them tomorrow?

And tomorrow,
what shall tomorrow
bring to the
over-prudent dog
burying bones
in the trackless sand
as he follows
the pilgrims
to the Holy City?

And what is fear
of need
but need
itself?

Is not dread
of thirst
when your well
is full,
the thirst
that is 
unquenchable?

There are those
who give little
of the much
which they have -
and they give it
 for recognition
and their hidden desire
makes their gifts
unwholesome.

And there are those
who have little
and give it all.

These are the believers
in life
and the bounty of life,
and their coffer
is never empty.

There are those
who give with joy
and that joy
is their reward.

And there are those
who give with pain,
and that pain
is their baptism.

And there are those
who give and
know not pain
in giving;
nor do they seek joy,
nor give
with mindfulness
of virtue;

They give as
in yonder valley
the myrtle
breathes
its fragrance
into space.

Through the hands
of such as these
God speaks,
and from behind
their eyes
He smiles
upon the earth.

It is well to give
when asked,
but it is better
to give unasked,
through understanding;

And to the open-handed
the search for one
who shall receive
is joy
greater than giving.

And is there aught
you would
withhold?

All you have
shall some day
be given;

Therefore give now,
that the season
of giving
may be yours
and not
your inheritors`.

You often say 
~I would give,
but only
to the deserving.~

The trees in your orchard
say not so,
nor the flocks
in your pasture.

They give that
they may live,
for to withhold
is to perish.

Surely he
who is worthy
to receive
his days
and his nights
is worthy
of all else
from you.

And he
who has deserved
to drink from
the ocean of life
deserves to fill
his cup from
your little stream.

And what desert
greater shall there be,
than that which
lies in the courage
and the confident,
nay the charity,
of receiving?

And who are you
that men
should rend
their bosom
and unveil
their pride,
that you may see
their worth
naked
and their pride 
unabashed?

See first
that you yourself
deserve to be
a giver,
and an instrument
of giving.

For in truth
it is life
that gives unto life
while you,
who deem yourself
a giver,
are but a witness.

And you receivers 
and you are all
receivers
assume no weight
of gratitude,
lest you lay
a yoke upon yourself
and upon him
who gives.

Rather rise
together
with the giver
on his gifts
as on wings;

For to be 
overmindful 
of your debt
is to doubt
his generosity
who has the
free-hearted earth
for mother,
and God
for father.

Kahlil Gibran - The Prophet

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~We shall be known by the tracks we leave behind ~