Longing Quote by Kahlil Gibran
““Have you beauty, that leads the heart from things fashioned of wood and stone to the holy mountain? Tell me, have you these in your houses? Or have you only comfort, and the lust for comfort, that stealthy thing that enters the house a guest, and becomes a host, and then a master? Ay, and it becomes a tamer, and with hook and scourge makes puppets of your larger desires. Though its hands are silken, its heart is of iron. It lulls you to sleep only to stand by your bed and jeer at the dignity of the flesh. It makes mock of your sound senses, and lays them in thistledown like fragile vessels. Verily the lust for comfort murders the passion of the soul, and then walks grinning in the funeral. 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 a ceiling, nor fear to breathe lest walls should crack and fall down. You shall not dwell in tombs made by the dead for the living. And though of magnificence and splendour, your house shall not hold your secret nor shelter your longing. For that which is boundless in you abides in the mansion of the sky, whose door is the morning mist, and whose windows are the songs and the silences of night.””
About This Quote
Source Poem: The Prophet, Kahlil Gibran, 1923
The passage warns that seeking only comfort and material ease dulls the soul’s passion and confines the spirit.
In simple terms: Comfort can imprison the soul.
Pursue freedom over comfort.
Themes
Mood
Type
When to use this quote
- daily life
- career choices
- relationships
- creative work
- spiritual practice
Key Concepts
Questions to Reflect On
- What comforts are limiting your aspirations?
- How can you balance safety with vitality?
Comfort may provide safety but can stifle growth and authenticity.