Gibran Khalil Gibran (January 6, 1883 – April 10, 1931), usually referred to in English as Kahlil Gibran (pronounced kah-LEEL ji-BRAHN), was a Lebanese-American writer, poet and visual artist, also considered a philosopher although he himself rejected the title. He is best known as the author of The Prophet, which was first published in the United States in 1923 and has since become one of the best-selling books of all time, having been translated into more than 100 languages.Born in a village of the Ottoman-ruled Mount Lebanon Mutasarrifate to a Maronite family, the young Gibran immigrated with his mother and siblings to the United States in 1895. As his mother worked as a seamstress, he was enrolled at a school in Boston, where his creative abilities were quickly noticed by a teacher who presented him to photographer and publisher F. Holland Day. Gibran was sent back to his native land by his family at the age of fifteen to enroll at the Collège de la Sagesse in Beirut. Returning to Boston upon his youngest sister's death in 1902, he lost his older half-brother and his mother the following year, seemingly relying afterwards on his remaining sister's income from her work at a dressmaker's shop for some time.
In 1904, Gibran's drawings were displayed for the first time at Day's studio in Boston, and his first book in Arabic was published in 1905 in New York City. With the financial help of a newly met benefactress, Mary Haskell, Gibran studied art in Paris from 1908 to 1910. While there, he came in contact with Syrian political thinkers promoting rebellion in Ottoman Syria after the Young Turk Revolution; some of Gibran's writings, voicing the same ideas as well as anti-clericalism, would eventually be banned by the Ottoman authorities. In 1911, Gibran settled in New York, where his first book in English, The Madman, would be published by Alfred A. Knopf in 1918, with writing of The Prophet or The Earth Gods also underway. His visual artwork was shown at Montross Gallery in 1914, and at the galleries of M. Knoedler & Co. in 1917. He had also been corresponding remarkably with May Ziadeh since 1912. In 1920, Gibran re-founded the Pen League with fellow Mahjari poets. By the time of his death at the age of 48 from cirrhosis and incipient tuberculosis in one lung, he had achieved literary fame on "both sides of the Atlantic Ocean," and The Prophet had already been translated into German and French. His body was transferred to his birth village of Bsharri (in present-day Lebanon), to which he had bequeathed all future royalties on his books, and where a museum dedicated to his works now stands.
As worded by Suheil Bushrui and Joe Jenkins, Gibran's life has been described as one "often caught between Nietzschean rebellion, Blakean pantheism and Sufi mysticism." Gibran discussed different themes in his writings, and explored diverse literary forms. Salma Khadra Jayyusi has called him "the single most important influence on Arabic poetry and literature during the first half of [the twentieth] century," and he is still celebrated as a literary hero in Lebanon. At the same time, "most of Gibran's paintings expressed his personal vision, incorporating spiritual and mythological symbolism," with art critic Alice Raphael recognizing in the painter a classicist, whose work owed "more to the findings of Da Vinci than it [did] to any modern insurgent." His "prodigious body of work" has been described as "an artistic legacy to people of all nations."
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Some of their strengths
Kahlil Gibran has many admirable traits.
Based on spiritual traditions from around the world, they are someone who can be described as Hardworking, Loyal, Adventurous, Energetic, Honest, Ambitious, and Self-reliant.
Smart and Hardworking
According to Mysticism’s Astrology tradition, Kahlil Gibran is someone who is a smart, hardworking, reliable, and loyal person, who is detail-oriented and orderly, but also generous and optimistic. A person who looks for jobs that tend to reflect their identity.
Constant and Serious
Based on Daoism’s Ba-Zi or ‘Chinese Zodiac’ tradition, people who know Kahlil Gibran well know them as someone who can be determined, unmoving, and firm, like a rock or a high mountain.
Ambitious and Forceful
According to Hinduism’s Jyotisha or ‘Vedic Astrology’ tradition, many would also describe Kahlil Gibran as someone who is ambitious, hard-working, determined, and intelligent.
A person who has a knack for identifying opportunities, has amazing concentration and focus, who can work independently, who likes starting new things, and who is somewhat of an intellectual.
Intelligent and Leadership-oriented
Based on the Mayan Tzolk’in or ‘Mayan Astrology’ tradition, Kahlil Gibran is someone who is able to see things that others don't, and who can be an effective guide or mentor to others.
They are also someone who is confident and creative, and who has a love for starting new projects, inventing new things, and giving back to the community.
Patient and Perseverent
According to Judaism’s Kabbalah tradition, Kahlil Gibran tends to be someone who is patient, faithful, hardworking and persistent, and who wants to achieve a lot in life. Who tends to be rather private when it comes to expressing feelings, enjoys being independent and self-sufficient, and who is not afraid of any obstacle.
Some of Kahlil Gibran's challenges
While Kahlil Gibran has many strengths, nobody is perfect. They also have some challenging traits they need to manage.
For example, Kahlil Gibran can be Stubborn, Suspicious, Impulsive, Careless, Relentless, Inflexible, and Temperamental.
Suspicious and Stubborn
One of Kahlil Gibran's key challenges is that they are someone who can be suspicious and stubborn.
Kahlil Gibran must also exercise caution as they can be short-tempered and aggressive.
Relentless and Inflexible
Kahlil Gibran is someone who can be relentless, obsessive, and inflexible, who can be confrontational with work colleagues, can have difficulty communicating feelings and be somewhat reclusive, and who can be self-destructive, overindulgent, and extravagant.
Callous and Stubborn
Finally, Kahlil Gibran also can come across as cold and unemotional, be too dismissive of others' opinions, and be overly suspicious, selfish and crafty.
