Then said Almitra, "Speak to us of Love." And he raised his head and looked upon the people, and there fell a stillness upon them. And with a great voice he said: When love beckons to you follow him, Though his ways are hard and steep. And when his wings enfold you yield to him, Though the sword hidden among his pinions may wound you. And when he speaks to you believe in him, Though his voice may shatter your dreams as the north wind lays waste the garden. For even as love crowns you so shall he crucify you. Even as he is for your growth so is he for your pruning. Even as he ascends to your height and caresses your tenderest branches that quiver in the sun, So shall he descend to your roots and shake them in their clinging to the earth. Like sheaves of corn he gathers you unto himself. He threshes you to make you naked. He sifts you to free you from your husks. He grinds you to whiteness. He kneads you until you are pliant; And then he assigns you to his sacred fire, that you may become sacred bread for God’s sacred feast. All these things shall love do unto you that you may know the secrets of your heart, and in that knowledge become a fragment of Life’s heart. But if in your fear you would seek only love’s peace and love’s pleasure, Then it is better for you that you cover your nakedness and pass out of love’s threshing-floor,
Gibran, through the voice of ‘The Prophet’, on love.  So simple, yet so profound.  So ‘unmathematical’, yet believable..  Every single time I read it, I feel I notice new words and meanings.  Time and again, I have believed that I have mastered the mantras of love and relationships and that I have been successful in putting together my own blueprint for love, a chart of where to tread and where not to, to succeed in finding love while avoiding the painful traps along the path, but every single time I have been made to realize the futility of these mantras and formulas.  Love takes us on a rollercoaster ride, a completely unpredictable one at that, unlike any man-made rollercoaster ride.   One cannot truly prepare for what one cannot anticipate, and so it is with love.  One just has to be willing to face all the challenges and the queasiness that comes along, if one gets on the ride.  I dedicate this post to a friend of mine.

You can find the complete works of Gibran which are now in the public domain, over here.