Thoughts and Perspectives – Kahlil Gibran – Letting Go

“Your children are not your children.  They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself.  They came through you but not from you and though they are with you yet they belong not to you.” – Kahlil Gibran

I read Kahlil Gibran’s book The Prophet many years ago and was touched by the simplicity of much of what Kahlil Gibran wrote.  Now that my daughter is eighteen, I find that remembering that our children don’t belong to us makes her transition into adulthood easier for me.   My guess is that I am not alone in this and that any parent who has or has had a struggling teen turn eighteen could be helped by this quote.  In fact, as we head for the week of Thanksgiving, I humbly offer this quote to all parents as a reminder that all of our children are a gift and don’t belong to us.