Kahlil Gibran
Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you, yet they belong not to you.
You may give them your love but not your thoughts.
For
they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.
You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite,
and He bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far.
Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness;
For even as he loves the arrow that flies, so He loves also the bow that is stable.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.
You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite,
and He bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far.
Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness;
For even as he loves the arrow that flies, so He loves also the bow that is stable.
《论孩子》 / 纪伯伦
你们的孩子，都不是你们的孩子
乃是生命为自己所渴望的儿女。
他们是借你们而来，却不是从你们而来
他们虽和你们同在，却不属于你们。
你们可以给他们爱，却不可以给他们思想。
因为他们有自己的思想。
你们可以荫庇他们的身体，却不能荫蔽他们的灵魂。
因为他们的灵魂，是住在明日的宅中，那是你们在梦中也不能想见的。
你们可以努力去模仿他们，却不能使他们来象你们。
因为生命是不倒行的，也不与昨日一同停留。
你们是弓，你们的孩子是从弦上发出的生命的箭矢。
那射者在无穷之间看定了目标，也用神力将你们引满，使他的箭矢迅速而遥远的射了出来。
让你们在射者手中的弯曲成为喜乐吧。
因为他爱那飞出的箭，也爱了那静止的弓。
很喜欢纪伯伦的作品中的这一段，原本是一首对上帝的赞美诗，出自他的经典作品“先知”。 文中弓与箭的比喻深含智慧。箭是孩子，带着使命，飞向远方；弓是父母，虽然努足力气弯曲自己去成全孩子，却也无法决定方向。唯有射者看定了目标，那射者不是弓，不是箭，是神是上帝。他把箭放在弓上，把孩子托付给他们各自的父母一程，这是父母唯一需要恪守的职责。
短短数行，道出了多少生命的真谛。对于不相信上帝的人来说，一样可以从中收获，学会放下自以为是的真理智慧。即使我们为人父母，依然身为凡人，何以能清清楚楚地看到人生的方向和目标？懂得了这样的道理，为人父母会少很多焦虑，多很多睿智，放下很多执念，增添很多冷静。
