These quotes by Kahlil Gibran were taken from "Patterns of Happiness"....a 1971 Hallmark Edition featuring a collection of Kahlil Gibran quotes selected and collated by Ben W. Whitley, illustrated by George Kauffman.
Patterns of Happiness
By Kahlil Gibran
The earth is like a beautiful bride who needs no man-made jewels to heighten her loveliness but is content with the green verdure of her fields, The golden sands of her seashores and the precious stones of her mountains.
Humanity is a brilliant river singing its way and carrying with it
the mountain's secrets into the heart of the sea.
We may change with the seasons but the seasons will not change us.
The just is close to the people's hearts,
but the merciful is close to the heart of God.
My thought is a tender leaf
that sways in every direction
and find pleasure in its swayings.
A tree grown in a cave does not bear fruit.
Life is an island in an ocean of loneliness,
an island whose rocks are hopes,
whose trees are dreams,
whose flowers are solitude.
Perplexity is the beginning of knowledge.
Does the song of the sea end at the shore
or in the hearts of those who listen to it?
Tomorrow never leaves a secret in the book of eternity.
Now I realize that the trees blossom in Spring
and bear fruit in Summer without seeking praise,
and they drop their leaves in Autumn
and become naked in winter without fearing shame.
Beauty is that which attracts the soul,
and that which loves to give and not to receive.
In one drop of water are found all the secrets of all the oceans.
He who has not looked on Sorrow will never see Joy.
In the depth of my soul there is a wordless song.
Music is the language of the spirit.
It opens the secret of life
bringing peace,
abolishing strife.
Our appearance, our words, our actions are never greater than ourselves.
For the soul is our house, our eyes its windows, and our words its messengers.
Which one of us listens to the hymn of the brook when the tempest speaks?
Glorious intoxication of the soul is the reward of all who seek it in the bosom of nature.
God has given to each of us a spirit with wings,
wings on which to soar into the spacious firmament of Love and Freedom.