My greatest fear is being vulnerable with someone.

I don’t trust that they’ll stay.

And I don’t like admitting that I might want them to.

think about it
think about saving your self
your spiritual self
your gut self
your singing magical self and
your beautiful self
save it

don’t join the dead-in-spirit
maintain your self
with humor and grace
and finally
if necessary
wager your life as you struggle,
damn the odds, damn
the price

nobody can save you but yourself

- Bukowski

Love one another but make not a bond of love:
Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.
Fill each other’s cup but drink not from one cup.
Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf.

Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone,
Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music.

Give your hearts, but not into each other’s keeping.
For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts.
And stand together, yet not too near together:
For the pillars of the temple stand apart,
And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other’s shadow.

- Khalil Gibran 
 

♥

Everything.

Life is disappointing, scary, and painful at times. Grief sits heavy on your chest, threatening to immobilize you forever. Depression whispers lies into your ear until the voice is so familiar that you recognize it as your own. People break promises and leave when you want them to stay. But, darling, that’s not a reason to be intimidated by life. That’s not a reason to stop loving.

You have to be stronger than everything that tries to defeat you. Stare that very thing that scares you in the eye, invite it to sit down with you, and learn to love it. Then thank it for the lesson, acknowledging that fear is nothing more than a catalyst for growth and that the only way to truly conquer anything is to love it.

It takes maturity to accept that life will bring pain and courage to still insist on calling it beautiful. It’s like being caught in a downpour and, instead of cursing the rain, raising your hands to Heaven; humbled that God would allow you to swim in His grace. Everyday, we are invited to swim in grace.

To develop a joyful spirit, you must be present and delight in every day. You must love when it’s easier to criticize. You must fill a canvas with beautiful things when the world looks bleak. You must believe that gentle and loving hands are holding you when everyone around you loses faith.

My wish is always that you will give life more than you take from it. That you will stay curious, express your soul, and pursue everything that inspires you. My wish is that you will love without expectation and let love change the melody of your life. And when your song changes, that you will sing it to someone else and provide light to another heart.

Above all, my wish is that you will love whatever life gives you, realizing that even darkness is a gift.

photo by Jaclyn Rae

I don’t promise to agree with you, but I promise to listen and try to feel what you feel.

I don’t promise to attach myself to you, but I promise to never make you feel responsible for my happiness.

I don’t promise to cook you dinner, but I promise to serve in our community.

I don’t promise to be perfect, but I promise to pursue my own spiritual growth and encourage yours.

I don’t promise to meet your expectations, but I promise to always let you be free.

photo via weheartit