101 Kahlil Gibran Quotes on love, life, and the human experience

Khalil Gibran, the Lebanese-American poet, philosopher, and artist, remains one of the most profound voices of the 20th century. His eloquent and spiritually resonant quotes have captivated readers around the world, offering timeless wisdom on love, life, and the human experience. In this article, we delve into some of most memorable Kahlil Gibran Quotes, exploring their deeper meanings and the universal truths they reveal. Whether you are a long-time admirer or new to his work, these reflections promise to inspire and provoke thoughtful contemplation.

Kahlil Gibran Quotes

1. “We are all like the bright moon; we still have our darker side.” ~ Kahlil Gibran

2. “We choose our joys and sorrows long before we experience them.” ~ Kahlil Gibran

3. “If your heart is a volcano, how shall you expect flowers to bloom?” ~ Kahlil Gibran

4. “Love and doubt have never been on speaking terms.” ~ Kahlil Gibran
5. “Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars.” ~ Kahlil Gibran
6. “Happiness is a vine that takes root and grows within the heart, never outside it.” ~ Kahlil Gibran
7. “Trust in dreams, for in them is hidden the gate to eternity.” ~ Khalil Gibran
8. “Friendship is always a sweet responsibility, never an opportunity.” ~ Khalil Gibran
9. “Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding.” ~ Khalil Gibran
10. “Beauty is eternity gazing at itself in a mirror.” ~ Khalil Gibran
11. “Life without liberty is like a body without spirit.” ~ Khalil Gibran
12. “The smallest act of kindness is worth more than the greatest intention.” ~ Kahlil Gibran
13. “Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair.” ~ Khalil Gibran
14. “March on. Do not tarry. To go forward is to move toward perfection. March on, and fear not the thorns, or the sharp stones on life’s path.” ~ Khalil Gibran
15. “Truth is a deep kindness that teaches us to be content in our everyday life and share with the people the same happiness.” ~ Khalil Gibran
16. “Wisdom ceases to be wisdom when it becomes too proud to weep, too grave to laugh, and too selfish to seek other than itself.” ~ Khalil Gibran
17. “Work is love made visible. And if you cannot work with love but only with distaste, it is better that you should leave your work and sit at the gate of the temple and take alms of those who work with joy.” ~ Khalil Gibran
18. “I prefer to be a dreamer among the humblest, with visions to be realized, than lord among those without dreams and desires.” ~ Khalil Gibran
19. “Art is a step from what is obvious and well-known toward what is arcane and concealed.” ~ Khalil Gibran
20. “Yesterday we obeyed kings and bent our necks before emperors. But today we kneel only to truth, follow only beauty, and obey only love.” ~ Khalil Gibran
21. “Time has been transformed, and we have changed; it has advanced and set us in motion; it has unveiled its face, inspiring us with bewilderment and exhilaration.” ~ Khalil Gibran
22. “For life and death are one, even as the river and the sea are one.” ~ Khalil Gibran
23. “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.” ~ Khalil Gibran
24. “Keep me away from the wisdom which does not cry, the philosophy which does not laugh and the greatness which does not bow before children.” ~ Khalil Gibran
25. “Doubt is a pain too lonely to know that faith is his twin brother.” ~ Khalil Gibran
26. “The lust for comfort, that stealthy thing that enters the house a guest, and then becomes a host, and then a master.” ~ Khalil Gibran
27. “Poetry is a deal of joy and pain and wonder, with a dash of the dictionary.” ~ Khalil Gibran
28. “The teacher who is indeed wise does not bid you to enter the house of his wisdom but rather leads you to the threshold of your mind.” ~ Khalil Gibran
29. “Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself. They came through you but not from you and though they are with you yet they belong not to you.” ~ Khalil Gibran
30. “The eye of a human being is a microscope, which makes the world seem bigger than it really is.” ~ Khalil Gibran
31. “Much of your pain is the bitter potion by which the physician within you heals your sick self.” ~ Khalil Gibran
32. “Love is trembling happiness.” ~ Khalil Gibran
33. “Advance, and never halt, for advancing is perfection. Advance and do not fear the thorns in the path, for they draw only corrupt blood.” ~ Khalil Gibran
34. “Many a doctrine is like a window pane. We see truth through it but it divides us from truth.” ~ Khalil Gibran
35. “No man can reveal to you nothing but that which already lies half-asleep in the dawning of your knowledge.” ~ Khalil Gibran
36. “Death most resembles a prophet who is without honor in his own land or a poet who is a stranger among his people.” ~ Khalil Gibran
37. “When you work you are a flute through whose heart the whispering of the hours turns to music. Which of you would be a reed, dumb and silent, when all else sings together in unison?” ~ Khalil Gibran
38. “You have your ideology and I have mine.” ~ Khalil Gibran
39. “Faith is a knowledge within the heart, beyond the reach of proof.” ~ Kahlil Gibran
40. “Life without love is like a tree without blossoms or fruit.” ~ Kahlil Gibran
41. “Exaggeration is truth that has lost its temper.” ~ Kahlil Gibran
42. “If indeed you must be candid, be candid beautifully.” ~ Kahlil Gibran
43. “Perplexity is the beginning of knowledge.” ~ Kahlil Gibran
44. “Sadness is but a wall between two gardens.” ~ Kahlil Gibran
45. “Say not, ‘I have found the truth,’ but rather, ‘I have found a truth.” ~ Kahlil Gibran
46. “The deeper sorrow carves into your being the more joy you can contain.” ~ Kahlil Gibran
47. “There are those who give with joy, and that joy is their reward.” ~ Kahlil Gibran
48. “To be able to look back upon one’s life in satisfaction is to live twice.” ~ Kahlil Gibran
49. “If you cannot work with love but only with distaste, it is better that you should leave your work.” ~ Kahlil Gibran
50. “If the other person injures you, you may forget the injury; but if you injure him you will always remember.” ~ Kahlil Gibran
51. “Progress lies not in enhancing what is, but in advancing toward what will be.” ~ Kahlil Gibran
52. “One day you will ask me which is more important? My life or yours? I will say mine and you will walk away not knowing that you are my life.” ~ Kahlil Gibran
53. “Keep your heart in wonder at the daily miracles of your life.” ~ Kahlil Gibran
54. “If I accept the sunshine and warmth, then I must also accept the thunder and lightning.” ~ Kahlil Gibran
55. “Our anxiety does not come from thinking about the future, but from wanting to control it.” ~ Kahlil Gibran
56. “If you love somebody, let them go, for if they return, they were always yours. And if they don’t, they never were.” ~ Kahlil Gibran
57. “Ever has it been that love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation.” ~ Kahlil Gibran
58. “Every man loves two women; the one is the creation of his imagination and the other is not yet born.” ~ Kahlil Gibran
59. “The optimist sees the rose and not its thorns; the pessimist stares at the thorns, oblivious of the rose.” ~ Kahlil Gibran
60. “And ever has it been known that love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation.” ~ Kahlil Gibran
61. “We are limited, not by our abilities, but by our vision.” ~ Kahlil Gibran
62. “How beautiful to find a heart that loves you, without asking you for anything, but to be okay.” ~ Kahlil Gibran
63. “If you reveal your secrets to the wind you should not blame the wind for revealing them to the trees.” ~ Kahlil Gibran
64. “Generosity is giving more than you can, and pride is taking less than you need.” ~ Kahlil Gibran
65. “Yesterday is but today’s memory, tomorrow is today’s dream.” ~ Kahlil Gibran
66. “It is well to give when asked but it is better to give unasked, through understanding.” ~ Kahlil Gibran
67. “Your friend is your needs answered.” ~ Kahlil Gibran
68. “The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain.” ~ Kahlil Gibran
69. “Your living is determined not so much by what life brings to you as by the attitude you bring to life; not so much by what happens to you as by the way your mind looks at what happens.” ~ Kahlil Gibran
70. “To understand the heart and mind of a person, look not at what he has already achieved, but at what he aspires to.” ~ Kahlil Gibran
71. “A friend who is far away is sometimes much nearer than one who is at hand. Is not the mountain far more awe-inspiring and more clearly visible to one passing through the valley than to those who inhabit the mountain?”
72. “Are you a politician asking what your country can do for you or a zealous one asking what you can do for your country? If you are the first, then you are a parasite; if the second, then you are an oasis in the desert.” ~ Khalil Gibran
73. “Only when you drink from the river of silence shall you indeed sing. And when you have reached the mountain top, then you shall begin to climb. And when the earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance.” ~ Khalil Gibran
74. “Where is the justice of political power if it executes the murderer and jails the plunderer, and then itself marches upon neighboring lands, killing thousands and pillaging the very hills?” ~ Khalil Gibran
75. “Safeguarding the rights of others is the most noble and beautiful end of a human being.” ~ Khalil Gibran
76. “Love that does not renew itself every day becomes a habit and in turn a slavery.” ~ Kahlil Gibran
77. “Lovers embrace that which is between them rather than each other.” ~ Kahlil Gibran
78. “You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.” ~ Kahlil Gibran
79. “Beauty is that which attracts your soul, and that which loves to give and not to receive.” ~ Kahlil Gibran
80. “The true wealth of a nation lies not in its gold or silver but in its learning, wisdom and in the uprightness of its sons.” ~ Kahlil Gibran
81. “Only love and death will change all things.” ~ Kahlil Gibran
82. “I discovered the secret of the sea in meditation upon a dewdrop.” ~ Kahlil Gibran
83. “Music is the language of the spirit. It opens the secret of life bringing peace, abolishing strife.” ~ Kahlil Gibran
84. “The nearest to my heart are a king without a kingdom and a poor man who does not know how to beg.” ~ Kahlil Gibran
85. “Men who do not forgive women their little faults will never enjoy their great virtues.” ~ Kahlil Gibran
86. “All things in this vast universe exist in you, with you, and for you.” ~ Kahlil Gibran
87. “You may forget with whom you laughed, but you will never forget with whom you wept.” ~ Kahlil Gibran
88. “When you are sorrowful, look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight.” ~ Kahlil Gibran
89. “When you reach the heart of life you shall find beauty in all things, even in the eyes that are blind to beauty.” ~ Kahlil Gibran
90. “Passionate love is a quenchless thirst.” ~ Kahlil Gibran
91. “I wash my hands of those who imagine chattering to be knowledge, silence to be ignorance, and affection to be art.” ~ Kahlil Gibran
92. “Let there be no purpose in friendship save the deepening of the spirit.” ~ Kahlil Gibran
93. “Desire is half of life, indifference is half of death.” ~ Kahlil Gibran
94. “Wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving.” ~ Kahlil Gibran
95. “In the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter, and sharing of pleasures. For in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed.” ~ Kahlil Gibran
96. “Love one another, but make not a bond of love: Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.” ~ Kahlil Gibran
97. “I have learned silence from the talkative, toleration from the intolerant, and kindness from the unkind; yet, strange, I am ungrateful to those teachers.” ~ Kahlil Gibran
98. “Faith is an oasis in the heart which will never be reached by the caravan of thinking.” ~ Kahlil Gibran
99. “Zeal is a volcano, the peak of which the grass of indecisiveness does not grow.” ~ Kahlil Gibran
100. “A little knowledge that acts is worth infinitely more than much knowledge that is idle.” ~ Kahlil Gibran
101. “You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.” ~ Kahlil Gibran