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I was dead. I was a woman who had divorced her soul. I was living apart from this self which you now see. I belonged to all men, and to none. They called me harlot, and a woman possessed of seven devils. I was cursed, and I was envied. But when His dawn-eyes looked into my eyes all the stars of my night faded away, and I became Miriam, only Miriam, a woman lost to the earth she had known, and finding herself in new places.

Khalil Gibran#18

IdentityTransformationJudgmentHealingRedemptionSelf

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About this quote

What does it mean?
The speaker describes a past state of spiritual emptiness and societal judgment, followed by a transformative encounter. This encounter brought clarity and self-acceptance, redefining their identity away from external labels.
In plain terms
I was lost and judged by others until a moment of clarity helped me find myself.
What can you take from it?
External judgment fades when you find inner clarity and self-acceptance.

Where it applies

  • personal crisis
  • recovery
  • spiritual awakening

Putting it to work

  • forgiving oneself
  • ignoring stigma
  • seeking purpose

Questions to consider

  • Who have you judged unfairly?
  • What does it mean to find yourself?

Another view

It implies salvation comes from an external force rather than internal work.

More from Khalil Gibran

  1. 'My face and your faces shall not be masked; our hand shall hold neither sword nor sceptre, and our subjects shall love us in peace and shall not be in fear of…

    Permalink to quote #17

  2. He stood up and looked at me even as the seasons might look down upon the field, and He smiled. And He said again: 'All men love you for themselves. I love you…

    Permalink to quote #19

  3. Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding. Even as the stone of the fruit must break, that its heart may stand in the sun, so mus…

    Permalink to quote #16

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