Chapter 9: On Houses ~ Gibran’s The Prophet with Journaling Prompts
Then a mason came forth and said,
Speak to us of Houses.
And he answered and said:
Build of your imaginings a bower in the
wilderness ere you build a house within
the city walls.
For even as you have home-comings in
your twilight, so has the wanderer in
you, the ever distant and alone.
Your house is your larger body.
It grows in the sun and sleeps in the
stillness of the night; and it is not
dreamless. Does not your house dream?
and dreaming, leave the city for grove
or hilltop?
Would that I could gather your houses
into my hand, and like a sower scatter
them in forest and meadow.
Would the valleys were your streets, and
the green paths your alleys, that you
might seek one another through
vineyards, and come with the fragrance
of the earth in your garments.
But these things are not yet to be.
In their fear your forefathers gathered
you too near together. And that fear
shall endure a little longer. A little
longer shall your city walls separate
your hearths from your fields.
*****
And tell me, people of Orphalese, what
have you in these houses? And what is it
you guard with fastened doors?
Have you peace, the quiet urge that
reveals your power?
Have you remembrances, the glimmering
arches that span the summits of the
mind?
Have you beauty, that leads the heart
from things fashioned of wood and stone
to the holy mountain?
Tell me, have you these in your houses?
Or have you only comfort, and the lust
for comfort, that stealthy thing that
enters the house a guest, and then
becomes a host, and then a master?
*****
Ay, and it becomes a tamer, and with
hook and scourge makes puppets of your
larger desires.
Though its hands are silken, its heart
is of iron.
It lulls you to sleep only to stand by
your bed and jeer at the dignity of the
flesh.
It makes mock of your sound senses, and
lays them in thistledown like fragile
vessels.
Verily the lust for comfort murders
the passion of the soul, and then walks
grinning in the funeral.
But you, children of space, you restless
in rest, you shall not be trapped nor
tamed.
Your house shall be not an anchor but a
mast.
It shall not be a glistening film that
covers a wound, but an eyelid that
guards the eye.
You shall not fold your wings that you
may pass through doors, nor bend your
heads that they strike not against a
ceiling, nor fear to breathe lest walls
should crack and fall down.
You shall not dwell in tombs made by the
dead for the living.
And though of magnificence and
splendour, your house shall not hold
your secret nor shelter your longing.
For that which is boundless in you
abides in the mansion of the sky, whose
door is the morning mist, and whose
windows are the songs and the silences
of night.
***** *****
~ Chapter 9: “On Houses” from The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran
Spirit Nourished Earth created the image in this post in collaboration with DALL·E 3
Journaling Prompts for Self-Reflection
Home Within
Gibran speaks of the house as your larger body, a space that grows and dreams. In what ways does your home reflect who you are, and how does it nurture or hinder your sense of self?
Comfort vs. Soul
The “lust for comfort” is described as something that “murders the passion of the soul.” How do you seek comfort and ensure that it doesn’t overshadow your deeper desires and ambitions?
The Sacred Space
Gibran asks, “Have you beauty that leads the heart from things fashioned of wood and stone to the holy mountain?” How do you cultivate beauty that elevates the spirit beyond material concerns in your home or life?
Boundless in the Sky
Gibran tells us that what is boundless in us “abides in the mansion of the sky.” How do you connect with the infinite or the divine and ensure your physical space doesn’t confine this connection?
Continue the Conversation
Your reflections are valuable to this community. If you feel inspired, please share your thoughts or insights in the comments below. We’d love to hear from you.
