The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran (May 2018)
The power of a good book is how it finds words for the sensations, convictions, and intuitions that we’ve yet to articulate into our own sentences. I suspect many readers have shared my reaction to certain phrases and expressions that emerge from a good book – that’s what I’m saying! In a sense, a good book organizes the mess in our brains and cultivates the potential hidden in the clutter.
So, that’s a good book. But what’s a great book? I think a great book guides us to the hidden corners. It shines a light where we would otherwise never bother to look. In a sense, a great book guides us through the soul and leaves us in awe – how have I never thought about this before? Or to put it another way, a great book molds the sensations, convictions, and intuitions that float within us into the humble but limited expression of language.
Much of what I highlight on TOA fulfills my idea of a good book. In these works, I find what is true and consider the best way to make use of it. The Prophet is a rare find, a great book, and in such works I simply see the truth, worry about how little I know, and go back to look a little more.
