"Your Children are not Your Children"

“They are the sons and daughters of life’s longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.

You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.

You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.”

© Kahlil Gibran, 1923, 1973.

One of my friends forwarded this poem to me and it really resonated with me because it’s so true. Regardless of how our children come to us they really aren’t ours. Depending on your faith belief system our kids are on loan.

One of my most favorite lines by this author is:

‘Half of what I say is meaningless, but I say it so that the other half may reach you’