The PROPHET On Giving

Kahlil Gibran is a poet, philosopher, and artist. He was born in Lebanon, a land that has produced many prophets. The millions of Arabic-speaking people familiar with his writings in that language consider him the genius of his age. But he was a man whose fame and influence spread far beyond the Near East. His poetry has been translated into more than twenty languages. His drawings and paintings have been exhibited in the great capitals of the world and compared by Auguste Rodin to the work of William Blake. In the United States, which he made his home during the last twenty years of his life, he began to write in English. The Prophet and his other books of poetry, illustrated with his mystical drawings, are known and loved by innumerable Americans who find in them an expression of the deepest impulses of man’s heart and mind.

Then said a rich man, “Speak to us of Giving.” And he answered:

You give but little when you give of your possessions.

It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.

For what are your possessions but things you keep and guard for fear you may need them tomorrow?

And tomorrow, what shall tomorrow bring to the overprudent dog burying bones in the trackless sand as he follows the pilgrims to the holy city?

And what is fear of need but need itself?

Is not dread of thirst when your well is full, thirst that is unquenchable?

There are those who give little of the much which they have – and they give it for recognition and their hidden desire makes their gifts unwholesome.

And there are those who have little and give it all.

These are the believers in life and the bounty of life, and their coffer is never empty.

There are those who give with joy, and that joy is their reward.

And there are those who give with pain, and that pain is their baptism.

And there are those who give and know not pain in giving, nor do they seek joy, nor give with mindfulness of virtue;

They give as in yonder valley the myrtle breathes its fragrance into space. Through the hands of such as these God speaks, and from behind their eyes He smiles upon the earth.

It is well to give when asked, but it is better to give unasked, through understanding;

And to the open-handed the search for one who shall receive is joy greater than giving

And is there aught you would withhold?

All you have shall some day be given;

Therefore give now, that the season of giving may be yours and not your inheritors’.

You often say, “I would give, but only to the deserving.”

The trees in your orchard say not so, nor the flocks in your pasture.

They give that they may live, for to withhold is to perish.

Surely he who is worthy to receive his days and his nights is worthy of all else from you.

And he who has deserved to drink from the ocean of life deserves to fill his cup from your little stream.

And what desert greater shall there be than that which lies in the courage and the confidence, nay the charity, of receiving?

And who are you that men should rend their bosom and unveil their pride, that you may see their worth naked and their pride unabashed?

See first that you yourself deserve to be a giver, and an instrument of giving.

For in truth it is life that gives unto life – while you, who deem yourself a giver, are but a witness.

And you receivers – and you are all receivers – assume no weight of gratitude, lest you lay a yoke upon yourself and upon him who gives.

Rather rise together with the giver on his gifts as on wings;

For to be overmindful of your debt, is to doubt his generosity who has the free-hearted earth for mother, and God for father.

Facts About Happy Mother's Day

According to Christian legend, carnations sprang from Mary's tears while she was walking to Calvary. It is the official flower of Mother's Day.

• Chinese family names are often formed (begin) with a sign that means "mother". It's a nice way of honoring their moms long past.
• The ancient Greeks celebrated Mother's Day in spring, like we do. They used to honor Rhea, "mother of the gods" with honey-cakes and fine drinks and flowers at dawn. Sounds like the beginnings of the Mother's Day tradition of breakfast in bed!
• Mother Shipton was a Prophetess in Britain 500 years ago. She could see the future, and predicted that another Queen Elizabeth would sit on the throne of England. (QE II)
• Japan's Imperial family trace their descent from Omikami Amaterasu, the Mother of the World.
• Julia Ward Howe wrote the Battle Hymm of the Republic and was a staunch fighter for women's rights. She staged an unusual protest for peace in Boston, by celebrating a special day for mothers. Julia wanted to call attention to the need for peace by pointing out mothers who were left alone in the world without their sons and husbands after the bloody Franco-Prussian War.
• Hindu scripture credits the Great Mother, Kali Ma, with the invention of writing through alphabets, pictographs and beautiful sacred images.
• Mother Goose is one of the most popular of all children's entertainers. Her books and stories have been loved for many generations.
• Native American Indian women have long been honored with the name, "Life of the Nation" for their gift of motherhood to the tribes.
• Ancient Egyptians believed that "Bast" was the mother of all cats on Earth, and that cats were sacred animals.
• Buddha honored mothers when he said, "As a mother, even at the risk of her own life, loves and protects her child, so let a man cultivate love without measure toward the whole world."
• In the Bible, Eve is credited with being the "Mother of All the Living."
• During the 1600's, England celebrated a day called "Mothering Sunday." Servants would go home to see their families, bringing cakes and sweets to their moms. This custom was called "going a-mothering". Each mother would recieve a simnel-cake (Latin for "fine flour) and mother's would give a blessing to their children.
• Anna Jarvis of Philadelphia began the campaign that brought about the official observance of Mother's Day in the United states. Her mother died, and Anna wanted all mothers to be remembered. She asked that white carnations be the official mother's day symbol. In 1914, President Woodrow Wilson signed the orders that made Mother's Day a national holiday.
• Just nine years later, Anna filed a lawsuit in an effort to stop the over- commercialization of Mother's Day. She lost her fight. Now, cards, letters, candy and dinners out mark Mother's Day for most families. Anna had hoped for a day of reflection and quiet prayer by families, thanking God for all that mothers had done.
• Mother Earth is also known as "Terra Firma". That title is a Latin translation of some lines from one of the Greek poet, Homer's, greatest poems.
• In Yugoslavia on "Materitse," "Materice," or Mother's Day, the children tie up their mother, releasing her only when she has paid them with sweets or other goodies.
• In France children Mother's Day is refered to as Fete des Meres. It provides children and adults to honour their mothers and give her gifts and treats. Mother's Day is celebrated on the last Sunday in May. It is treated more like a family birthday. Everyone in the family gathers for a special meal.
• In Europe, people on Mother's Day honor their mothers as well as the church. They respect the "Mother Church" - the spiritual power that gave them life and protected them from harm. The church festival got blended with the Mothering Sunday celebration.
• In Spain Mother's Day is celebrated on 8th December. It is closely associated with Mother Mary - the mother of Jesus. On this children send special cards, chocolates, flowers and other presents to their mothers. But many children make their own presents for their mothers.
• In Sweden Mother's Day is on the last Sunday in May and is a family holiday. The Swedish Red Cross sells small plastic flowers on the days leading up to Mother's Day. The money raised from the sale of the flowers is used to help needy mothers and their children.

Traditions for Mother's Day

Mother's Day is celebrated in many different countries, and not all of them celebrate it on the same date nor in the same manner. Norway observes Mother's Day on the second Sunday in February, and in Argentina, it's the second Sunday in October. Lebanon celebrates Mother's Day on the first day of spring, and in South Africa, it's the first Sunday in May.

In parts of Yugoslavia where the Serbian people live, Mother's Day is called "Materice", and it is observed two weeks before Christmas. On "Materice" boys and girls tiptoe into their mother's bedroom very early in the morning and tie her up. When she awakens, she is surprised to find herself all tied up, and she begs the children to untie her, promising to give them little gifts which she has hidden under her pillow.

In India, the Hindu people celebrate a ten-day festival called Durga Puja early in October. It is to honor Durga, the Divine Mother. Durga is the most important of all Hindu goddesses in India. She is supposed to be very tall and to have ten arms. In each arm she carries a weapon to destroy evil.

In both Spain and Portugal, Mother's Day is closely linked to the church. The eighth of December is the day that tribute is paid to the Virgin Mary, Mother of Jesus. It is also the day when children honor their mothers.

Mother's Day in France is celebrated much like a family birthday, and it occurs on the last Sunday in May. The entire extended family gathers around the family dining table for dinner, and at the end of the meal a beautiful cake is presented to the mother.

Sweden also has a family holiday on the last Sunday in May. Shortly before Mother's Day the Swedish Red Cross sells tiny plastic flowers. The money from these "Mother's Flowers" is used to give vacations to mothers with many children.

In Japan, Mother's Day is celebrated on the second Sunday in May as it is in North America. An exhibit of pictures drawn by children between the ages of six and fourteen, called "My Mother" are entered into a "traveling exhibit." This exhibit is held every four years, and it travels to many different countries. By looking at the pictures, boys and girls learn how children live in other parts of the world.

From the largest countries to the smallest, people almost everywhere celebrate Mother's Day. The days and the ways may be different, yet the idea is still the same - to honor mother in some special way.

Emotional Expression - Nonverbal Communication

Beginning with therapists' observations that clients indicated effect and resistance with body language, psycholoigsts in recent years have studied various forms of nonverbal communication. 

In addition to facial affect, research has focused on patterns in tone of voice, eye contact, gesture, body position and posture. These channels of nonverbal commuciation indicate such factors ar immediacy(the tendency or wish to be physically close to others) and status(social rank).

Open body positions - with arms uncrossed and upper body relaxed - are associated with positive affect and acceptance, while closed body positions - crossed arms and legs, upright posture - are associated with negative affect and rejection. 

Interpersonal distancing is also employed as a form of nonverbal communication to indicate intimacy and reciprocation in interactions and relationships.
Happy Mother's Day
A man stopped at a flower shop to order some flowers to be wired to his mother who lived two hundred miles away.
As he got out of his car he noticed a young girl sitting on the curb sobbing.
He asked her what was wrong and she replied, "I wanted to buy a red rose for my mother.
But I only have seventy-five cents, and a rose costs two dollars."
The man smiled and said, "Come on in with me. I'll buy you a rose."
He bought the little girl her rose and ordered his own mother's flowers.
As they were leaving he offered the girl a ride home.
She said, "Yes, please! You can take me to my mother."
She directed him to a cemetery, where she placed the rose on a freshly dug grave.
The man returned to the flower shop, cancelled the wire order, picked up a bouquet and drove the two hundred miles to his mother's house.

The Making Of A Mother

By the time the Lord made mothers, He was into the sixth day working overtime. An Angel appeared and said "Why are you spending so much time on this one?"

And the Lord answered and said, "Have you read the spec sheet on her? She has to be completely washable, but not elastic; have 200 movable parts, all replaceable; run on black coffee and leftovers; have a lap that can hold three children at one time and that disappears when she stands up; have a kiss that can cure anything from a scraped knee to a broken heart; and have six pairs of hands."

The Angel was astounded at the requirements for this one. "Six pairs of hands! No way!" said the Angel.

The Lord replied, "Oh, it's not the hands that are the problem. It's the three pairs of eyes that mothers must have!"

"And that's on the standard model?" the Angel asked.

The Lord nodded in agreement, "Yep, one pair of eyes are to see through the closed door as she asks her children what they are doing even though she already knows. Another pair in the back of her head are to see what she needs to know even though no one thinks she can. And the third pair are here in the front of her head. They are for looking at an errant child and saying that she understands and loves him or her without even saying a single word."

The Angel tried to stop the Lord "This is too much work for one day. Wait until tomorrow to finish."

"But I can't!" The Lord protested, "I am so close to finishing this creation that is so close to my own heart. She already heals herself when she is sick AND can feed a family of six on a pound of hamburger and can get a nine year old to stand in the shower."

The Angel moved closer and touched the woman, "But you have made her so soft, Lord."

"She is soft," the Lord agreed, "but I have also made her tough. You have no idea what she can endure or accomplish."

"Will she be able to think?" asked the Angel.

The Lord replied, "Not only will she be able to think, she will be able to reason, and negotiate."

The Angel then noticed something and reached out and touched the woman's cheek. "Oops, it looks like You have a leak with this model. I told You that You were trying to put too much into this one."

"That's not a leak." the Lord objected. "That's a tear!"

"What's the tear for?" the Angel asked.

The Lord said, "The tear is her way of expressing her joy, her sorrow, her disappointment, her pain, her loneliness, her grief, and her pride."

The Angel was impressed. "You are a genius, Lord. You thought of everything for this one. You even created the tear!"

The Lord looked at the Angel and smiled and said, "I'm afraid you are wrong again. I created the woman, but she created the tear!"

Origin of Happy Mother's Day

" The hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world."

- W. S. Ross

The earliest Mother's Day celebrations can be traced back to the spring celebrations of ancient Greece in honor of Rhea, the Mother of the Gods. During the 1600's, England celebrated a day called "Mothering Sunday". Celebrated on the 4th Sunday of Lent (the 40 day period leading up to Easter), "Mothering Sunday" honored the mothers of England.

During this time many of the England's poor worked as servants for the wealthy. As most jobs were located far from their homes, the servants would live at the houses of their employers. On Mothering Sunday the servants would have the day off and were encouraged to return home and spend the day with their mothers. A special cake, called the mothering cake, was often brought along to provide a festive touch.

As Christianity spread throughout Europe the celebration changed to honor the "Mother Church"- the spiritual power that gave them life and protected them from harm. Over time the church festival blended with the Mothering Sunday celebration . People began honoring their mothers as well as the church.

In the United States Mother's Day was first suggested in 1872 by Julia Ward Howe (who wrote the words to the Battle hymn of the Republic) as a day dedicated to peace. Ms. Howe would hold organized Mother's Day meetings in Boston, Mass ever year.

In 1907 Ana Jarvis, from Philadelphia, began a campaign to establish a national Mother's Day. Ms. Jarvis persuaded her mother's church in Grafton, West Virginia to celebrate Mother's Day on the second anniversary of her mother's death, the 2nd Sunday of May. By the next year Mother's Day was also celebrated in Philadelphia.

Ms. Jarvis and her supporters began to write to ministers, businessman, and politicians in their quest to establish a national Mother's Day. It was successful as by 1911 Mother's Day was celebrated in almost every state. President Woodrow Wilson, in 1914, made the official announcement proclaiming Mother's Day as a national holiday thatwas to be held each year on the 2nd Sunday of May.

While many cou ntries of the world celebrate their own Mother's Day at different times throughout the year, there are some countries such as Denmark, Finland, Italy, Turkey, Australia, and Belgium which also celebrate Mother's Day on the second Sunday of May.