Chapter 24: On Pleasure ~ Gibran’s The Prophet with Journaling Prompts
Then a hermit, who visited the city
once a year, came forth and said, Speak
to us of Pleasure.
And he answered, saying:
Pleasure is a freedom-song,
But it is not freedom.
It is the blossoming of your desires,
But it is not their fruit.
It is a depth calling unto a height,
But it is not the deep nor the high.
It is the caged taking wing,
But it is not space encompassed.
Ay, in very truth, pleasure is a
freedom-song.
And I fain would have you sing it with
fullness of heart; yet I would not have
you lose your hearts in the singing.
Some of your youth seek pleasure as if
it were all, and they are judged and
rebuked.
I would not judge nor
rebuke them. I would have them seek.
For they shall find pleasure, but not
her alone;
Seven are her sisters, and the least of
them is more beautiful than pleasure.
Have you not heard of the man who was
digging in the earth for roots and found
a treasure?
*****
And some of your elders remember
pleasures with regret like wrongs
committed in drunkenness.
But regret is the beclouding of the mind
and not its chastisement.
They should remember their pleasures
with gratitude, as they would the
harvest of a summer.
Yet if it comforts them to regret, let
them be comforted.
And there are among you those who
are neither young to seek nor old to
remember;
And in their fear of seeking and
remembering they shun all pleasures,
lest they neglect the spirit or offend
against it.
But even in their foregoing is their
pleasure.
And thus they too find a treasure though
they dig for roots with quivering hands.
But tell me, who is he that can offend
the spirit?
Shall the nightingale offend the
stillness of the night, or the firefly
the stars?
And shall your flame or your smoke
burden the wind?
Think you the spirit is a still pool
which you can trouble with a staff?
*****
Often times in denying yourself pleasure
you do but store the desire in the
recesses of your being.
Who knows but that which seems omitted
today, waits for tomorrow?
Even your body knows its heritage
and its rightful need and will not be
deceived.
And your body is the harp of your soul,
And it is yours to bring forth sweet
music from it or confused sounds.
*****
And now you ask in your heart, “How
shall we distinguish that which is
good in pleasure from that which is not
good?”
Go to your fields and your gardens, and
you shall learn that it is the pleasure
of the bee to gather honey of the
flower,
But it is also the pleasure of the
flower to yield its honey to the bee.
For to the bee a flower is a fountain of
life,
And to the flower a bee is a messenger
of love,
And to both, bee and flower, the giving
and the receiving of pleasure is a need
and an ecstasy.
People of Orphalese, be in your
pleasures like the flowers and the bees.
***** *****
~ Chapter 24 “On Pleasure” 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
The Nature of Pleasure
Gibran describes pleasure as a freedom-song but not freedom itself. In what ways do you experience pleasure, and how do you distinguish it from true freedom in your life?
The Pursuit of Desires
Gibran speaks of seeking pleasure but not losing oneself. How do you balance pursuing your desires with maintaining a sense of self and purpose?
Pleasure and Regret
The elders in the chapter remember pleasure with regret. How do you view past pleasures, and what role does gratitude play in reflecting upon them?
Pleasure as Giving and Receiving
Like the bee and the flower, Gibran describes pleasure as giving and receiving. How do you experience the balance of giving and receiving pleasure in your relationships and personal experiences?
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