• i am a stranger among my people and i have no friends. i am a stranger to myself, and when i hear my tongue speak, my ears wonder over my voice; i see my inner self smiling, crying, braving, and fearing; and my existence wonders over my substance while my soul interrogates my heart; but i remain unknown, engulfed by tremendous silence. my thoughts are strangers to my body, and as i stand before the mirror, i see something in my face which my soul does not see, and i find in my eyes what my inner self does not find.

—kahlil gibran