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Last night I went on a fabulous double date, meaning I spent the night with two men. What's even more bad ass is that those two men were Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Kahlil Gibran. Dinner was the first few chapters of Emerson's Nature, followed by twenty-some pages of Gibran's The Prophet for dessert. Here are some of the most romantic things they said.
"In the woods, we return to reason and faith. There I feel that nothing can befal me in life,- no disgrace, no calamity, (leaving me my eyes,) which nature cannot repair. Standing on the bare ground,- my head bathed by the blithe air, and uplifted into infinite space,- all mean egotism vanishes. I become a transparent eye-ball. I am nothing. I see all. The currents of the Universal Being circulate through me; I am part or particle of God... I am the lover of uncontained and immortal beauty." [Emerson]
"The presence of a higher, namely, of the spiritual element is essential to its perfection." [Emerson, on beauty]
"The production of a work of art throws a light upon the mystery of humanity. A work of art is an abstract or epitome of the world." [Emerson]
"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 the ceiling, nor fear to breathe lest walls should crack and fall down." [Gibran]
"But you who are strong and swift, see that you do not limp before the lame, deeming it kindness." [Gibran]
Okay, let's just be honest. Everything Kahlil Gibran says is terribly romantic, and I could spend all afternoon quoting the whole book. Instead, you'd do well to read it yourself- The Prophet, by Kahlil Gibran.
If I were to honor honesty, that eve I did prefer time spent with the Lebanese gent over those moments with the transcendentalist leader. Yet, I don't suppose the two are often pitted against each other, so I'm sure Ralph will be able to take a hit just this once. And if we're all part of one All anyway, knowledge and credit are shared, and the insights of the two balance out. Therefore date night was win-win-win. Everyone gets some. All parties satisfied. Round two = inevitable.
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