The Prophet: Love

Then said Almitra, "Speak to us of Love."

And he raised his head and looked upon the people, and there fell a stillness upon them.

And with a great voice he said:

When love beckons to you follow him,

Though his ways are hard and steep.

And when his wings enfold you yield to him,

Though the sword hidden among his pinions may wound you.

And when he speaks to you believe in him,

Though his voice may shatter your dreams as the north wind lays waste the garden.

For even as love crowns you so shall he crucify you. Even as he is for your growth so is he for your pruning.

Even as he ascends to your height and caresses your tenderest branches that quiver in the sun,

So shall he descend to your roots and shake them in their clinging to the earth.

Like sheaves of corn he gathers you unto himself.

He threshes you to make you naked.

He sifts you to free you from your husks.

He grinds you to whiteness.

He kneads you until you are pliant;

And then he assigns you to his sacred fire, that you may become sacred bread for God's sacred feast.

All these things shall love do unto you that you may know the secrets of your heart, and in that knowledge become a fragment of Life's heart.

But if in your fear you would seek only love's peace and love's pleasure,

Then it is better for you that you cover your nakedness and pass out of love's threshing-floor,

Into the seasonless world where you shall laugh, but not all of your laughter, and weep, but not all of your tears.

Love gives naught but itself and takes naught but from itself.

Love possesses not nor would it be possessed;

For love is sufficient unto love.

When you love you should not say, "God is in my heart," but rather, I am in the heart of God."

And think not you can direct the course of love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course.

Love has no other desire but to fulfil itself.

But if you love and must needs have desires, let these be your desires:

To melt and be like a running brook that sings its melody to the night.

To know the pain of too much tenderness.

To be wounded by your own understanding of love;

And to bleed willingly and joyfully.

To wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving;

To rest at the noon hour and meditate love's ecstasy;

To return home at eventide with gratitude;

And then to sleep with a prayer for the beloved in your heart and a song of praise upon your lips.

-Kahlil Gibran

Sins of Sodom

Ezekiel
" 'Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy.
They were haughty and did detestable things before me. Therefore I did away with them as you have seen.

Sacred Text on the Poor

“You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
Luke 18:21-23 (in Context) Luke 18

But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind,
Luke 14:12-14 (in Context) Luke 14


Proverbs 22

1 A good name is more desirable than great riches;
to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.
2 Rich and poor have this in common:
The LORD is the Maker of them all.
7 The rich rule over the poor,
and the borrower is slave to the lender.
8 Whoever sows injustice reaps calamity,
and the rod they wield in fury will be broken.
9 The generous will themselves be blessed,
for they share their food with the poor.
16 One who oppresses the poor to increase his wealth
and one who gives gifts to the rich—both come to poverty.
Saying 2
22 Do not exploit the poor because they are poor
and do not crush the needy in court,
23 for the LORD will take up their case
and will exact life for life.
Saying 4
26 Do not be one who shakes hands in pledge
or puts up security for debts;
27 if you lack the means to pay,
your very bed will be snatched from under you.

Proverbs 28

3 A ruler[a] who oppresses the poor
is like a driving rain that leaves no crops.
6 Better the poor whose walk is blameless
than the rich whose ways are perverse.
8 Whoever increases wealth by taking interest or profit from the poor
amasses it for another, who will be kind to the poor.
11 The rich are wise in their own eyes;
one who is poor and discerning sees how deluded they are.
15 Like a roaring lion or a charging bear
is a wicked ruler over a helpless people.
16 A tyrannical ruler practices extortion,
but one who hates ill-gotten gain will enjoy a long reign.
19 Those who work their land will have abundant food,
but those who chase fantasies will have their fill of poverty.
20 A faithful person will be richly blessed,
but one eager to get rich will not go unpunished.
21 To show partiality is not good—
yet a person will do wrong for a piece of bread.
22 The stingy are eager to get rich
and are unaware that poverty awaits them.
25 The greedy stir up conflict,
but those who trust in the LORD will prosper.
27 Those who give to the poor will lack nothing,
but those who close their eyes to them receive many curses.


He who gives to the poor will lack nothing, but he who closes his eyes to them receives many curses.
Proverbs 28

The righteous care about justice for the poor, but the wicked have no such concern.
Proverbs 29


He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward him for what he has done.
Proverbs 19

A poor man is shunned by all his relatives— how much more do his friends avoid him! Though he pursues them with pleading, they are nowhere to be found.
Proverbs 19

Wealth brings many friends, but a poor man's friend deserts him.
Proverbs 19

A poor man pleads for mercy, but a rich man answers harshly.
Proverbs 18:22-24 (in Context) Proverbs 18
A poor man's field may produce abundant food, but injustice sweeps it away.
Proverbs 13:22-24 (in Context) Proverbs 13

Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.
Proverbs 31:8-10 (in Context) Proverbs 31 (Whole Chapter)

Isaiah 10

1 Woe to those who make unjust laws,
to those who issue oppressive decrees,
2 to deprive the poor of their rights
and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people,
making widows their prey
and robbing the fatherless.
3 What will you do on the day of reckoning,
when disaster comes from afar?
To whom will you run for help?
Where will you leave your riches?
4 Nothing will remain but to cringe among the captives
or fall among the slain.
"The poor and needy search for water, but there is none; their tongues are parched with thirst. But I the LORD will answer them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.
Isaiah 41:16-18 (in Context) Isaiah 41


Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.
Isaiah 1:16-18 (in Context) Isaiah 1

Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. Do not plot evil against each other.’
Zechariah 7:9-11 (in Context) Zechariah 7

Is love enough?

Love is sufficient unto itself
Love doesn't need to be in a relationship
Whatever one's definition: exclusivity, loyalty, commitment, to act on one's desires, to possess,

Love doesn't need love in return. It is a boundless fountain. The more you give, the more you are given.

Being in love doesn't mean you have to be in a relationship.
love doesn't even need to be friends

Love is enough, love is more than enough.

Love can manifest itself in many different ways. We assume it always has to lead to a relationship and sometimes that's not the best path for love.

We are the ones that put limits on love.

Maybe the question is in error. Because love is.

It's what you do with that love and how you manifest that love.
Love has no conditions. Wants nothing. It's beyond ethics. Does it really care what your heart desires?
Love doesn't care if you're friends or married. If you see each other everyday or have never met in person.

You have to acknowledge it and ask what you want to do with it.
Will that manifestation be accepted? Is it appropriate? Is it mutual. Does it have to be?
All different types of ways to interact with a person and love doesn't care.
How do you want your love to manifest? And love doesn't care.
It's important to be aware of what you want in return because, again, love wants nothing.
know the difference between speaking on love's behalf and speaking for yourself.
I have needs, certain wants, goals, plans. Then to realize that I am fickle and those wants will change.
In the end, maybe, we'll learn to ask what love wants from us.

healing

Just discovered that walls built up to protect actually hinder the healing that needs to take place.
Realize that you're wounded and you need healing more than protection.
If you're already wounded then you need healing, it's too late for protection.
A wall is like a pain killer but the pain always comes back. The only way to stop the pain for good is to heal the wound
To heal a wound you often need to expose it. Let it air out.
This love has exposed something within me
Something I need to stop ignoring
I'm learning so much and it is a bit painful
I realize that i don't even know what the tears are really for
Is my heart aching for more
Is my heart rejoicing in the love that I've found
Is it a release of all the toxins in my heart
Is it confusion or frustration
So much can be going on
Maybe all at once
But to realize that maybe it's all coming from the inside out
I need to let go
Realize that my need to control myself is misguided

Asking myself if I really love myself
Putting all this theory into action
Seeing what I'm really made of
That I speak of non-attachment but
What logic really controls my heart

To know that I'm Worthy of love is different than actually believing it.

Love expectations

A good question is how can you love without expecting something from the one you love?
I can boast about having no expectations but am I being honest with myself?
I can be real and say that I'm going to get what god is going to give me. As long as I'm open to it.
It might not be what I want and it's probably a lot healthier than what I want.
Even though I don't really know what I want.
I want it to never end. I want to know that you'll always be there when I need you.
So I said that I have no expectations and what I really mean is that I have no realistic expectations or that my expectations are unfair.
But what am I left with?
In the back of my mind there this voice asking. And I have to keep telling it no.


I'm not as enlightened as I'd like to think
Affection, attachment, devotion,
Not the same as love.
Distinguishing love from craving is hard. Loving without wanting in return is difficult.
Loving without expectations.
Can you honestly say you are in a relationship without having expectations?
I don't feel I have the right to any expectations. To ask for anything. Moreso I'm afraid to.