Children

1 min

And a woman who held a babe against her bosom said, Speak to us of Children.

And a woman holding a baby against her chest said, “Tell us about Children.”

And he said:

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,

They come through you, but not from you,

And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.

And though they are with you, they do not belong to you.

You may give them your love but not your thoughts,

You may give them your love, but not your thoughts,

For they have their own thoughts.

Because they have their own thoughts.

You may house their bodies but not their souls,

You may provide a home for their bodies, but not their souls,

For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.

For their souls live 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.

You may try to be like them, but do not try to make them like you. For life does not go backward or linger in yesterday.

You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.

You are the bows that send your children out into the world like living arrows.

The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, and He bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far.

The archer sees the target on the path of infinity. He bends you with his strength so his arrows may fly fast and far.

Let your bending in the Archer’s hand be for gladness;

Let yourself bend joyfully in the Archer’s hand.

For even as he loves the arrow that flies, so He loves also the bow that is stable.

For just as he loves the arrow that flies, he also loves the bow that stays steady.