Love... it surrounds every being and extends slowly to embrace

“Love... it surrounds every being and extends slowly to embrace all that shall be.” — Khalil Gibran

These words, spoken by Khalil Gibran, the poet of the eternal heart, flow like a river from the depths of divine wisdom. In this single sentence, he reveals the secret nature of love — not as a fleeting emotion, nor as a bond between two souls alone, but as the very essence of existence, the silent force that wraps the universe in unity. Love, to Gibran, is not a possession but a presence; it does not belong to one, for it belongs to all. It surrounds every being, whether they know it or not, and extends—slowly but surely—until all creation is gathered into its infinite embrace.

In Gibran’s time, the world was divided by nations, creeds, and pride. Yet he stood as a bridge between East and West, between faith and reason, between longing and peace. Through his words in The Prophet, he taught that love is not a single act but the very breath of life, moving unseen through the hearts of all. His belief came not from comfort, but from exile; for he knew loneliness, displacement, and the ache of distance. And yet, he saw love expanding beyond pain, beyond loss, growing as a cosmic energy that heals all divisions.

The ancient sages, too, understood this mystery. The Stoics spoke of a divine fire that animates all living things, binding the cosmos together in harmony — what they called the Logos. Gibran, speaking in the tongue of the spirit, called that fire Love. It begins as a spark in one heart, but once awakened, it seeks to spread — to family, to strangers, to the world. Just as dawn cannot be contained to one horizon, love cannot be confined to one soul. It is the nature of love to extend, to grow, to transform what it touches until all is encompassed by its light.

In the modern age, we see this truth reflected in lives that shine through selfless compassion. Consider Mother Teresa, who walked the streets of Calcutta, tending to those whom the world had cast aside. Her love began with one dying man, one broken child — but it spread, until it reached across continents, moving hearts and nations. Her compassion was not a sudden blaze, but a steady flame, expanding like Gibran’s vision — slowly embracing all that shall be. This is love in motion: not loud, not boastful, but relentless as the tide, eternal as the sunrise.

Gibran reminds us that love is not bound by time or shape. It grows not by haste, but by patience — it extends slowly, like vines seeking the sun. To love deeply is to align oneself with the rhythm of the universe, which knows no rush, no boundaries. The tree that shades, the river that nourishes, the sky that shelters — all are acts of love. And so it is with the heart: when we love, we join that divine movement, adding our breath to the living harmony of all things.

But let us not mistake love for mere sentiment. To love is to act, to give, to forgive, to endure. It is not weak, but heroic. To love even when one is hurt — that is strength. To love the unworthy, the distant, the different — that is grace. Each act of compassion expands the circle of love outward, until the very stars are touched by its warmth.

And so, O listener of truth, take this teaching into your life: do not limit your love to those who love you. Begin with one heart, but let it grow. Let it reach the stranger, the enemy, the forgotten. For every soul you embrace, every wound you heal, widens the circle of creation’s harmony. Love is not something you find — it is something you become.

When all is said and done, all that shall remain of us — our words, our deeds, our memory — will dissolve into the same vast ocean of love that has always been and shall always be. That is the meaning of Gibran’s vision: love surrounds every being, and through our living, it extends to embrace all that shall be — until nothing is left unloved beneath the heavens.