The Prophet

Recently, I reread the book titled “The Prophet” by Kahlil Gibran. It was a hugely popular book in the 1960’s, with a resurgence in popularity again in the early 1990’s. In case you are not familiar with it, or forget what it was about, the Bing AI summarizes it as such:

Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet is a remarkable collection of poetic essays that delves deep into the human experience, offering profound insights into various aspects of life, love, and spirituality. Written in the form of a narrative, the book guides us through a series of poetic speeches delivered by Almustafa, a wise prophet who has spent years in exile. As he prepares to depart from the city of Orphalese, the people gather around him, eager to hear his final teachings before he sets sail. The book covers topics such as love, marriage, children, giving, work, joy, sorrow, freedom, reason, passion, pain, self-knowledge, teaching, friendship, and more. Each chapter provides timeless wisdom and reflections on the human condition, making The Prophet a timeless classic that continues to resonate with readers across generations.

Although I didn’t enjoy reading this book as much this time as I did the first time, I found that many of the things discussed within its pages still resonated greatly within me. What I didn’t enjoy so much this time was the poetic wordiness, where I felt the writer could have said the same thing with a lot fewer words that would have made it easier to understand. It’s not that I couldn’t get the gist of each chapter, but that some were much clearer than others. One of the most interesting things I found at the beginning and at the end of the book was that I understood Almustafa’s departure from the people of Orphalese to mean that he was dying, not sailing away from exile, as Bing, and typical reviews of the book suggest. When I discussed the book with Denise after having read it fully, I mentioned what I said about the prophet’s perceived death, which she concurred with, based on the knowing look she gave me. I also mentioned that the book was slightly less appealing because I felt that traveling back in time to read something that moved me greatly in the past, could not be reexperienced in the same manner because I am a different person now and I experience things differently because of that, or I will experience them from a very different perspective, at the very least.

As I read The Prophet, I was reminded again of the gifted spiritual teacher Kahlil Gibran was, and of how many spiritual travellers discover and “teach” the same lessons that they have discovered on their own personal journeys. When I began my own recovery and journey of discovery, and read oodles of books related to the spiritual/psychological journey, I began to notice these common teachings, or lessons, appearing over and over. Those that have followed my journey along with me will know of my book called Threads of the Spirit, where these topics, or threads, as I call them, help to paint a fuller picture of the fabric of life. Below is a bit from the introduction of my Threads of the Spirit book and one thread to illustrate what I am talking about.

Threads of the Spirit is a book that attempts to sum up, in as few words as possible, many of the lessons that are learned by all who travel the spiritual roads toward truth. As suggested in my book ‘Along the Way: A Journey of One’, the spiritual traveller cannot help but learn these lessons. These truths, or threads as I will call them, have been described, expounded upon and analyzed by many spiritual travellers who have felt compelled to put them down on paper for the sake of others. Although they are voiced in many different ways and through often dissimilar perspectives, they all point to similar conclusions.

Through my reading and personal experience then, I am attempting within the pages of this book, to express these many threads in a coherent fashion. Being the limited human being that I am and coming from only one epoch in time, I hope that I can do justice to these threads and that they will be of some assistance to others who choose to travel this most joyous, albeit difficult road.

These threads can never be a substitute for one’s journey. One cannot look to these threads as an abridged journey, thus forfeiting one’s own effort. It is my hope that these threads will bring reassurance to other travellers in much the same way that the writing of others has been of reassurance to me.

As I was preparing to write this book, I was struck by the number of threads that exist within the human fabric of life. In the beginning I imagined that there would exist only a few straightforward threads but, low and behold, their number is great. As the threads are numerous, too numerous for a traveller to experience and learn them all, I have decided to list one hundred of the threads that I have personally discovered and experienced. After each thread I have included a very brief summation….

Here is an example from the book:

Eight

It will be discovered that:

Everyone must discover firsthand his or her own path and purpose.

As it is for wisdom not being found between the pages of books, our paths cannot be encountered by imitating or mimicking another. Only through personal commitment and a willingness to face life head on will our path become apparent. Our purpose will follow. Once discovered, however, this knowledge will not always remain clear. Our continued effort on a daily basis will be required.

Living life teaches life.

Park Path – Photo by Don Cheke

I guess it makes sense that if we set out on a spiritual path, we are bound to learn many similar things, if we consider what it means to be human and acknowledge that we experience life the same, on at least one expansive level, meaning we are all humans eking out a living on this small planet, all driven by human nature, and a pretty limited amount of freedom to choose what that will look like.

It has been my personal experience too, that once a person starts to learn the many lessons that life has to teach, that an urge to share what has been learned with others becomes increasingly stronger. I know that this was the case for me, although I had long since learned in Al-Anon that the best approach to sharing lessons learned is by attraction rather than promotion, meaning it’s best to model the healthier behavior rather than preaching about it. To indicate the desire, or the need to share, below is what I wrote, in part, in the introduction of my first book, “Along the Way: A Journey of One.” (1997)

For the past fourteen years I have been on an intense journey in search of the truth. I have searched for the truth about my life, my existence and our existence as a human race. This journey has been a wonderfully worthwhile experience thus far in that what I have discovered has made all the difference in the world to me. The further and deeper I have travelled the broader that truth has become, and I have discovered that this truth is the hallmark of my existence. Little else has much meaning any more except for my spiritual journey and how it relates to me, my family and to my place in the world at this time.

As I have journeyed, I have, at times, felt compelled to share my experiences with others; sharing not as someone with the answers for all but, at least, as someone with some of the answers for myself. I never before imagined that I could make a book a reality, although I have thought that such an endeavour would be a fulfilling experience. Alas, that thought was always followed with feelings of doubt that I would have something to say that others would be interested in reading. Well, now I believe that although this is only my journey and these are my findings, I have an obligation to share what I have learned so that others may benefit just as I have benefited from reading about what others have experienced on their journeys.

During my years of spiritual growth, which I will define in Chapter II, I have almost always learned one of life’s particular lessons and then found reassurance in different books that others have felt compelled to write. This has thus, given me a continued desire to probe still deeper into the mysteries of this human existence. The reading I have done has at times broadened my field of vision and time and time again has reassured me that I am on the right road, even when I have felt like the only person on the road.

I remember quite vividly the feelings of joy, peace and fear when I knew that I must write this book and share what I have discovered thus far. I had been reading the book “Zen Buddhism and Psychoanalysis” by D.T. Suzuki, Erich Fromm and Richard De Martino where I read about a particular abbot of a Zen monastery who wanted to have an artist paint a picture of a dragon on the ceiling of their hall. The artist accepted the task but replied that he had never seen a real dragon before, so he was unsure as to how to proceed. The abbot replied, “Don’t mind your not having seen the creature. You become one, you be transformed into a living dragon, and paint it. Don’t try to follow the conventional pattern.”

The artist, feeling confused, asked how he could become the dragon and again the abbot spoke and told him to go away for a time and think deeply about it and the time would come when he would feel the need to paint one. “That is the moment when you have become the dragon, and the dragon urges you to give it form.” I have become this book, and it has urged me to give it form.

That last part might sound a bit airy-fairy to some, but I can assure you that that is exactly how I felt, that burning need to write it all down.

Mile Marker – Created by Don Cheke

It is at this point in one’s journey that one must examine their motivations for sharing and then be ever vigilant to avoid the dangers, which I will address now.

Once “enlightened,” some people move on to become circuit speakers or TV talk-show hosts. Others wield signs out on the street, while others still, make their way door to door. Some just write books, and let the masses choose whether or not they get read.

The following may sound like a mixed message, but I think that even with the risk of becoming full of oneself, I still believe it is important to write about one’s discoveries and share those discoveries with others in non-evasive meaningful ways, such as writing books, or perhaps even writing a blog in these modern times. Afterall, it is by reading the great works of others that I learned so much, not as a means to live or learn vicariously, but to find reassurance that what I had discovered had been found by others as well, thus providing some reassurance that I am on the right track. And like one learns in Al-Anon, one can always take what they like, and leave the rest. In other words, decide for yourself what resonates and is helpful. Thinking back to my recent reading of The Prophet, I agreed with much of what he said, but not all. That did not mean that book was not worth reading, because it was well worth it, in my opinion.

One of the dangers of finding enlightenment and choosing to promote it is developing a type of God complex. That is when things start to go awry, as we have seen time and again in the media when the walls come tumbling down for those who go that route. One fellow I enjoyed, and read for many years, was M. Scott Peck. He shared so many good things in the many books he wrote. In his later books he began to confess about the struggles he had with his success and his choice to become a circuit speaker. He relayed first off, I think in his book about community building, how people would balk at the price he was charging for making an appearance at an event and giving a talk. At that time, he was charging ten thousand dollars, plus expenses, for a single appearance. That seemed excessive even to me when I read that. In a later book, I don’t remember which, he confessed to having many sexual affairs over the years while away at these events. Yes, he was married at the time, in case you were wondering. I remember feeling very let down but knew that I shouldn’t be surprised by such things, because he, like all of us, is human and we can all let our egos get in the way, which I think is what the affairs were all about. Being in the limelight, as he was, and likely having a God complex of sorts, I believe he was in a place ripe with temptation, and perhaps even full of himself. Perhaps that is a bit harsh, but those were my thoughts at the time of his confession.

Note that I didn’t share my books or my discoveries widely so there wasn’t too much risk of me becoming famous for it, but the draw to be that prophet was certainly strong, of that I can assure you. I am reminded of my years in Al-Anon, when newcomers have taken to the program and one can see the growth they are making and the excitement to share what they have learned with family and friends. As I did, they too learn, as mentioned above, that attraction rather than promotion, is the way to go. Modeled behavior, so by one’s actions people see in you, something that may lead to their own spiritual awakening of sorts. Not that that is the primary goal for recovery and learning, because the goal is to be happy and to live well and understanding that others can benefit just by seeing how you react, how you live, how you are, which in itself is good; in that way you are, indeed, a prophet.

I should also mention that not everyone will want to share on the public forum, or have the skills to do so, but for the many that have done so, for which I and many others have benefited, there is no doubt that it was/is a worthwhile effort. As I have mentioned elsewhere, the sharing, in book form at least, is a lot like journaling, and it is an active way to mediate on the intricacies of life.

Just to wrap up, let me ask you how you share your discoveries with others? Let me know in the comments if you like.

As a side note, and something special to end this blog post, I just wanted to say that today (August 12th) is my daughter Emma’s 35th birthday. What a day to celebrate her and the fabric of life. I couldn’t imagine life without her!

P.S. Sally Mander is also celebrating her 15th Birthday, as seen below! It would also have been my father’s 87th birthday, if he had lived.

Sally Mander’s Birthday – Created by Don Cheke

Donald B. Cheke – August 12, 2024

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