I don’t know....

It is in moments like this when I think of him

When plans fall through

The floor shatters beneath me

And I’m falling away from the anticipated excitement of possibility

Disappointment makes me dream of him

It keeps me company when no one else will

The thing is I don’t know him, yet

I don’t know the creases mapped on his palm

I don’t know the story of the scar etched in his shoulder

Or the freckles speckled across the primer of his nose

I don’t know the soft, thick waves of his hair—a hand-me-down from his mother’s father

Or the imprint of his sandals in the dirt

I don’t know that he puts on his socks before his pants

I don’t know that he laughs inappropriately when he should be quiet

I don’t know that he doesn’t know how to let the discomfort pass without a need to escort it loudly away from the moment

I don’t know that I will teach him how to do that—to let go and just be silent

I don’t know that he loves hot sauce on everything except ice cream

I don’t know that he hates the smell of lavender

I don’t know that when he touches me I’ve never felt safer

I don’t know yet that he lives for the joy of his family

I don’t know that he sends his friends hand written letters because he wants them to know he cares

I don’t know that his heart is as fragile and sensitive as mine

I don’t know yet that we’ve both suffered the same sufferings and we’re scared

I don’t know that we are equally terrified of plans falling through so we decide not to make plans at all

I don’t know that he’s sitting somewhere feeling a rise in his throat

It’s scratchy

He’s trying to clear it

He’s drinking water or getting up to stretch to get rid of the nagging

I don’t know that we both tell ourselves the same thing—I’m better off alone

Trying to convince that aching knowing that there is a her to his him, and a him to my her

I don’t know that we both ignore the agonizing wisdom that the days are rushing by and we won’t ever make it to our 50^th anniversary even though we both thought that’s how it was supposed to be

I don’t know that he’s thinking about her right now

I mean, that he’s thinking about me right now

He doesn’t know that I’ve looked for him in hundreds of hims

I don’t know that he’s done the same and is about to give up

We don’t know that we are both right here, together

Separated by a wall of time

We don’t know that we are both wondering—When? 

When will I meet her?

When will I meet him?

I don’t know

I don’t know.

WHY YOU CANNOT GO WRONG

In reality, your world is set up so that nothing happens to you, but everything happens for you - for your awakening, for your growth, for your inspiration, for your exploration, and ultimately for your healing - even if you forget that, or cannot see it, or sometimes fall into distraction, despair and disillusionment.
When there is no fixed destination, you cannot ever lose your destination, so you cannot ever lose your path, so nothing that happens in your life can take you off your path. Your path IS what happens, and what happens IS your path. There is no other.
Everything is a gift on this unbreakable path that you call your life - the laughter, the tears, the times of great sorrow, the experiences of profound loss, the pain, the confusion, the times you believe you'll never make it, even the overwhelming heartbreak of love - even if you forget that sometimes, or cannot see that sometimes, or lose faith absolutely in the entire show sometimes.
But even the loss of faith in the show is part of the show, and even the scene where 'something goes wrong' is not indicative of the movie going wrong, and so you are always exactly where you need to be, believe it or not, even if you are not.
Life can be trusted absolutely, even when trust seems a million light-years away, and life cannot go wrong, for all is life, and life is all.
Understand this, know it in your heart, and spirituality is profoundly simple, as simple as breathing, as natural as gazing up at the stars at night and falling into silent wonder.
The universe is more beautiful than you could ever imagine.

You are willing to give your heart to others and to this world, for you are seeing that this is why you have come here.

You wondered if as you healed, if as you awakened, you would feel less. But you are seeing that love continues to ask you to feel more. There was an idea that as your heart opened, you would be less vulnerable, less naked, and less exposed – but you are more raw and tender now than you’ve ever been. 

You wondered if as you transformed and stepped fully into the here and now, you would be more detached, not care quite so much, and rest as the ‘witness’ of your life from beyond it all. But, alas, you care so much you are burning up inside. 

You know that things will never be the same, but you still don’t know what is coming next or even where you are, or what is truly being asked of you. This unknowing groundless ground is your home now, and the intelligence and creativity here can feel unbearable. You are being guided by the unseen, the unheard, and the unknown, but this guidance is occurring outside the dense environment of the mind. You are unable any longer to find any sort of reference point from which to orient. 

Look carefully. Stay very close. For this is a sacred disorientation.
The colors, the fragrances, and the sounds of the phenomenal world – it is almost too much. The purples, the blues, the rose, and the birdsong – they have arrived from the other world. It feels like if you allowed the beloved fully inside you that you would fall to the ground in pure astonishment. Yet you long for him or her to fill you. 

As you look up into the morning sky – or into the vastness of dusk – you can’t help but notice that things are colored by a certain tinge of sadness. But this is not the sadness of the mind where something is missing. It is a sadness which is pouring out of your overflowing heart. This sadness is your only yoga now. You are willing to give your heart to others and to this world, for you are seeing that this is why you have come here.
Somehow, by some outrageous grace… the dream of postponement has come to an end. You are here. Now.

A lovely read! May everyone feel this love and connection and so it is!

Dear Soulmate, I have always loved you.

Many may find this strange.
But those who have experienced it will understand completely.
You see, I’ve always loved you.
Always.
Way before I knew you, before you even thought of me and before I even thought of you, I already knew you.
And when I saw you for the very first time, I recognized you instantly.
I puzzled for a while, questioning where I’d saw your face and slowly it came to me.
You were with me all along.
Every small footstep, each long and winding road, every mountain I struggled to climb, was synchronized with each path you were taking.
Though at the time my mind was not alert and I did not pay attention, as I was concentrating on surviving each day—I can see now that nothing was ever in vain.
I will never forget the first words you spoke to me and how your voice resonated deeply inside my chest.
I thought my heart would break through to get to you, but we’d only just met—have patience, sweet organ, I know you’ve been waiting a life time, but, please, beat slowly and keep me calm.
I knew in an instant that I loved you.
I didn’t know whether you drank tea with no sugar, whether you liked honey on your toast or whether you talked sometimes in your sleep.
Neither did I know if this connection would last a moment nor a lifetime, but I did not care, I submerged in how it felt to be in your company, familiar, yet with so much to learn and unravel.
My imagination is wild, but I never dared to believe in someone such as you.
Our electricity connected and you turned me on.
I saw myself for the first time when I looked into your eyes. And you saw us.
You had strengths where I had weaknesses and your weaknesses built up my assets.
You knew me better than I knew myself. You never faltered, you had faith allowed me beyond your surface.
You cracked your heart wide open and you allowed me to freely step in.
We are one and the same, although, so entirely different.
When our fingers met we made our first love right there, without a care for the world, that continued around us.
You touched me in places I never knew existed, I surrendered to your love and I allowed myself to fall.
I gave you everything and you gave me myself in return.
You held out a mirror and I was no longer afraid to look, I could not see me without knowing you first.
Our fragmented pieces smoothly slid firm into place.
You fearlessly drove and you never once doubted our love.
You ran through each bone in my body and then printed your name on my heart.
My veins pulsed wildly when you tenderly showed me your love.
You gave me it all.
And I loved you more.
I had no choice.
There is no reason nor no explanation for love.
You were always the one and I have always loved you.
I waited and you waited and we finally arrived together.

original article here

Sufism

The perfect mystic is not an ecstatic devotee lost in contemplation of Oneness, nor a saintly recluse shunning all commerce with mankind, but “the true saint” goes in and out amongst the people and eats and sleeps with them and buys and sells in the market and marries and takes part in social intercourse, and never forgets God for a single moment. 




 Everything in the world of existence has an end and a goal. The end is maturity and the goal is freedom. For example, fruit grows on the tree until it is ripe and then falls. The ripened fruit represents maturity, and the fallen fruit, freedom. The final goal is returning to one’s origin. Everything which reaches its origin has reached its goal. A farmer sows grain in the ground and tends it. It begins to grow, eventually seeds, and again becomes grain. It has returned to its original form. The circle is complete. Completing the circle of existence is freedom.

Rumi... A couplet

Both our sets of eyes became drunk, Utterly intoxicated by the promise of Union. O my God! What is this union of eye to eye?! ~Rumi

In a language unspoken...

An awakened human can touch the heart of the man/ woman they love without touching them, just by opening their soul and whispering their name. And even then, it’s not the words. The heart can convey expressions of love without anything being said. There is a silent language that two people in love understand, and neither time nor distance is a barrier. When two souls that are meant to be together, meet, their senses are heightened, energy flows, and a deep intimacy is formed, as if the two have known each other from eternity past. That’s the power of the soul and love at work.

I love you and me... Life

When we love with expectations,
we impose ourselves on the other.

Our wants,
our desires,
our pain,
our past,
our thoughts on the way things should be
are imposed on the other.

These things only exist within us,
not in the other,
and they prohibit us from loving freely.

Instead, when we release our expectations
and love freely from our hearts,
we are able to truly enjoy what is.
Who we are.
And who is in front of us.

This kind of love,
free from expectations and desires,
free from ego,
is divine love.

This divine love is naturally within us.
And this is how we experience heaven, indeed.

Fears of being taken advantage of
do not come from a place of love.
If we truly love ourselves,
we will not accept situations that are
not for our highest good.

What we can no longer accept, we can change.

When we come from a place of divine love,
free from expectations and desires,
in a beautiful and fascinating way,
the other responds in a positive way.

The more freely we love, the more life
responds to us in a loving and positive way.

The Sacred Masculine (Shiva) and Feminine (Shakti) : an interesting read

Our fullest potential is found in the weaving and balancing of the Divine Feminine and Divine Masculine energies within ourselves.  Both men and women carry feminine and masculine wisdom and tools.  However, sometimes one or both of these energies is out of balance, silenced, wounded, misunderstood or disrespected.  Men and women throughout time have been both the oppressor and the oppressed. Often it is the self-created oppression of our feelings, wisdom, power, beauty, truth or love that is the ultimate betrayal.  Regardless of your past experiences and choices, you always have the option of embracing each of these energies where they are, and understanding what they need to become more whole and integrated within you for a more balanced Divine version of yourself.

 

The Healthy Divine Feminine offers tenderness, wisdom, patience, nurturing, flexibility and fertility.  Feminine intuition is one of our most powerful tools for guidance, and we all have it.  “She” leads us in the right direction every time.  Who couldn’t benefit from some sound reliable advice in life? When something needs attention or is out of balance, she communicates through the body, the emotions and our thoughts.  When we are not listening or heeding her warnings, the voice gets louder and our discomfort grows.  Out of balance and ignored, she loses self-respect, discernment and the ability to love herself. Could you improve your listening skills to honor this aspect of yourself?

“Her” nature is to love you, guide you, honor you and nurture you.  Can you allow this in?  Where can you be more loving, honoring and nurturing to yourself?  She is creative and playful and loves to be in nature.  Your Divine Feminine is also the midwife to all that you are here to birth-ideas, businesses, children, art, books, products, systems +++.  She supports the whole process of seed planting, germination, incubation, nourishment and harvesting.  Everyone is here to birth something! If you work together, your Divine Feminine will help you connect with your Divine seed and steward you and the seed through the birthing process with ease and grace. In connecting with this wise and caring aspect of yourself, you will feel more peaceful, nourished and supported.

 

The Healthy Divine Masculine is fearless, courageous and loyal.  “He” is our guardian protector.  When in balance, the masculine protector does no harm.  His gentle strength brings harmony and peace to where there was conflict and separation.  He knows his power but does not abuse or misuse it.  Are you using your power (words, actions, dollars and resources) in ways that unite or separate, create or destroy? He is a leader and is not afraid to speak the truth even if others disagree.  He is courageously fierce in standing for what is right. What do you stand for?  Are your choices in life reflecting this?

The Divine Masculine is not afraid of the unknown.  He enjoys adventure and exploring new territory.  He believes in himself and knows he will succeed if his intentions are clear and actions aligned.  The unhealthy masculine is stagnant, stifled, afraid to fail or an overpowering bully.  When you heal those parts of “him” that are hurt, stifled or misunderstood and you team Him with the love and wisdom of the Divine Feminine, the combination is pure perfection.

 

When working in harmony, the Sacred Union of the Divine Feminine and Masculine can unite, heal and create ANYTHING!!!  The synergy created by this balanced union catalyzes the forces of creation into manifestation.  The love that is possible when birthed from this union is that of the unconditional sacred heart of Divine Source.  By balancing, healing, honoring and integrating our Divine Feminine and Masculine energies, we write a new future for ourselves, humanity and this planet.

 

 

The beautiful Stranger speaks...

Okay, I plead guilty...

I noticed you before you did me. How could I not? Your being just took my breath away... your smile, the way you tucked that unruly strand of hair behind your ear, the way you stood aside to let someone else go before you... yes, your beauty, but it was more than just what you looked like that stirred my heart. I felt your soul, your light... your shine sparkled, even the sunshine seemed to dance around you... I could just not look away. 
 I kept staring at you, willing you to turn around and look at me and you did!
I could see your anger, see that (as you said) you were livid with me. I could see that this one exchange of glances changed your life... because it changed mine as well. If you felt like you were mine, I felt it too. That we belonged together, that we had always been together, maybe on a distant star.

I longed to just walk up to you and hug you, just pull you gently in to my arms and just hold you forever. I wanted to create a beautiful world just for you, a world where your smile would always be safe. I wanted to be the reason behind your joy, your happiness, your pleasure in life. I wanted it all to be because of me. 
I know, dearest heart, that you look at me from the corner of your eyes, simply because I am doing the same. 

Let us just acknowledge this feeling, this love between us and give it up to God. If it is meant to manifest, it will. Know that it already is and always will be.

Till then, know that I walk with you, in all your moments, as I know you do with me, holding each other in loving thoughts and clear intent.
...

Peace Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace,
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy;

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

A Dream Within A Dream - Poem by Edgar Allan Poe

Take this kiss upon the brow!
And, in parting from you now,
Thus much let me avow-
You are not wrong, who deem
That my days have been a dream;
Yet if hope has flown away
In a night, or in a day,
In a vision, or in none,
Is it therefore the less gone?
All that we see or seem
Is but a dream within a dream.

I stand amid the roar
Of a surf-tormented shore,
And I hold within my hand
Grains of the golden sand-
How few! yet how they creep
Through my fingers to the deep,
While I weep- while I weep!
O God! can I not grasp
Them with a tighter clasp?
O God! can I not save
One from the pitiless wave?
Is all that we see or seem
But a dream within a dream?

I choose to love you in silence,
for in silence I find no rejection.

I choose to love you in loneliness,
for in loneliness no one owns you but me.

I choose to adore you from a distance,
for distance will shield me from pain.
I choose to kiss you in the wind,
for the wind is gentler than my lips.

I choose to hold you in my dreams,
for in my dreams, you have no end.
~Rumi

You are an ocean, you are an ore.

If you are me and I am you,
What is this separation between you and me?

We are the light of God, we are God‛s mirror.
So why do we struggle with ourselves and with one another?

Why does one light escape from another?
Come, release yourself from this ego.
Live in harmony with everyone;
Be friendly with everyone.
If you are by yourself,
You are only one drop, one speck;
Whereas when you bond and unite with everyone,
You are an ocean, you are an ore.
~ Rumi

THE JOY OF DESIRE...paradox of divinity and humanity

It's not wrong to want. 

Spiritual awakening, enlightenment, liberation, is often framed as the total annihilation of human wants, desires, needs.
This is a terrible misunderstanding that keeps so many people stuck, numb, bored, disconnected, at war with their bodies.

You'll be free from desire when you are a corpse.

The Buddha tried annihilating his desires, remember. It didn't work. Eventually he gave up and embraced them instead. This is the Middle Way.

Wants do not disappear in awakening. In fact, no thought or feeling does. It's your relationship with them that radically shifts. 

Now, you recognise yourself as the ever-present vastness in which ALL wants, urges, impulses, thoughts, sensations, feelings, sounds, can come and go; the unending sky in which the weather doesn't need to 'disappear', but can flourish. Come rain, come shine, come desire, come sorrow, come joy, come despair, you remain, as the wide open space that holds it all.

No more numbing wants, or denying them in order to appear 'spiritual'; yet no need to rush towards their fulfilment either, always running towards the future, fleeing a sense of lack. There is a deeper fulfilment, rooted in your own presence, that notices wants, bows to them, listens to them, yet is not their slave.

You see, you are the paradox of divinity and humanity, absolute and relative, formless and form:
You want nothing but can deeply honour your wants.
You need nothing but can learn to bow to your needs, see their sacredness.
You desire nothing but can hold desire, play with it, see its beauty, its intelligence; and know that all desire, deep down, is really the desire for Self.

As a little one, it was healthy to want food, to need love, to desire objects, to explore your own boundaries, test your limits, feel thwarted, then vindicated, then frustrated, then relieved, taste your own power, learn to honour your powerlessness, touch your freedom and your physical limitations. 

Desirelessness is a numb state, a state where you are afraid of desire and become its slave; it is not freedom.

And wanting the end of wanting is the biggest want of all.

You deserve love, little one. You deserve all the spiritual riches of life. You are precious, and all the mountains and trees and oceans and stars bow to you as you walk, for they recognise themselves in you, share your power, feel your heart.

Jeff Foster

Remember By Christina Rossetti

,

She Walks in Beauty By Lord Byron

She walks in beauty, like the night

   Of cloudless climes and starry skies;

And all that’s best of dark and bright

   Meet in her aspect and her eyes;

Thus mellowed to that tender light

   Which heaven to gaudy day denies.

One shade the more, one ray the less,

   Had half impaired the nameless grace

Which waves in every raven tress,

   Or softly lightens o’er her face;

Where thoughts serenely sweet express,

   How pure, how dear their dwelling-place.

And on that cheek, and o’er that brow,

   So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,

The smiles that win, the tints that glow,

   But tell of days in goodness spent,

A mind at peace with all below,

   A heart whose love is innocent!

"soul meets soul on lovers’ lips~ PB Shelley" I do think men need to be kissed like this as well ... either way, just enjoy the moment with all your presence

I’m a romantic in it’s richest most organic sense. I have studied it’s imagery in my dreams and lived my life by it’s writings. I haven’t lived long enough to tell tales of seven lover’s past or to whisper the secrets of how to spellbind your beau.
But what I do know is that nothing is more sacred, more powerful to a woman than the perfect kiss. 
Not just any kiss. But to be kissed the way a woman should be, needs to be kissed.
And when that happens, we are yours.
This is not a tutorial, it is not a step by step guide.
This is a poetic code of how to enter into a spiritual space that has been practiced for centuries. To connect with a woman with a kiss, in the way it was always meant to be practiced.
This is romance at it’s best. A love affair with the tongue.
If you can master these ancient codes of ultimate sensual connection, you will have her thinking about your shared moment together for years to come.
1. Hold her like she’s everything.
Your hands are everything, they are your antennas and she can feel your pulse from the touch of
your fingers. Cup her delicate face in your paws, brush her cheek with your fingers, hold her
steady in your grasp. This is your world now, protect that sacred and shared space with your
mighty hands. They hold both of your worlds now.
2. Dance with her aura.
Don’t go straight in just yet. Hold her for a moment and look into the eyes of her soul. She will
take you to heaven and show you where to go from there. Let your body align itself to her
rhythm and play with her unique spirit dance. Caress her with your fingers, nose, cheek and
lips. Let her know you adore her every feature and honor them as much as you will honor her
tongue.
3. Meet her mouth with grace.
Introduce your lips to hers softly. Let her feel the shape and suppleness of your pout against her
own. Let her stay here for a moment, locking onto your skin. See if you can feel her vibrations
pulsating delicately out out her lips and onto yours. Linger here, massaging each other with
softened bites until your tongues are primed to move.
4. Make love to her tongue.
The dance your tongue makes with hers will tell her everything.
Are you listening to her?
Are you dancing to the same dance?
Are you taking her on a journey to heaven with your subtle and delicate twists and turns?
There is no “right” way to move here, as long as you are in tune with her. The feel of your tongue is a miracle to her. You are entering into her and she into you for potentially the first time.
Taste her.
Massage her.
Suck in her nectar and pour into her your strength.
Let her take you in, and feel as she reaches back for more.
5. Don’t stop.
The passion, if true, will only intensify. So keep moving, keep going. Let the fire that moves
your tongue move your hands, your fingers, your hips, your thighs and your mind. Let your
limbs and their finer features hurricane around her until there is nothing else left in this world
except you both. Locked. Energies united and massaging one another in waves. Heaving and delicious. Nothing else will exist, only you.
Your kiss. It is everything.


Tara Minshull (www.elephantjournal.com) 

Osho : On Love

"A mature person has the integrity to be alone. And when a mature person gives love, he gives without any strings attached to it: he simply gives. And when a mature person gives love, he feels grateful that you have accepted his love, not vice versa. He does not expect you to be thankful for it - no, not at all, he does not even need your thanks. He thanks you for accepting his love.
And when two mature persons are in love, one of the greatest paradoxes of life happens, one of the most beautiful phenomena: they are together and yet tremendously alone, they are together so much so that they are almost one. But their oneness does not destroy their individuality; in fact, it enhances it: they become more individual. Two mature persons in love help each other to become more free. There is no politics involved, no diplomacy, no effort to dominate. How can you dominate the person you love? Just think over it.
Domination is a sort of hatred, anger, enmity. How can you even think of dominating a person you love? You would love to see the person totally free, independent; you will give him more individuality. That's why I call it the greatest paradox: they are together so much so that they are almost one, but still in that oneness they are individuals. Their individualities are not effaced; they have become more enhanced. The other has enriched them as far as their freedom is concerned.
Immature people falling in love destroy each other's freedom, create a bondage, make a prison. Mature persons in love help each other to be free; they help each other to destroy all sorts of bondages. And when love flows with freedom there is beauty. When love flows with dependence there is ugliness.
Remember, freedom is a higher value than love. That's why, in India, the ultimate we call "moksha". Moksha means freedom. Freedom is a higher value than love. So if love is destroying freedom, it is not of worth. Love can be dropped, freedom has to be saved; freedom is a higher value. And without freedom you can never be happy, that is not possible. Freedom is the intrinsic desire of each man, each woman - utter freedom, absolute freedom.
So anything that becomes destructive to freedom, one starts hating it. Don't you hate the man you love? Don't you hate the woman you love? You hate; it is a necessary evil, you have to tolerate it. Because you cannot be alone you have to manage to be with somebody, and you have to adjust to the other's demands. You have to tolerate, you have to bear them.
Love, to be really love, has to be being-love, gift-love. Being-love means a state of love. When you have arrived home, when you have known who you are, then a love arises in your being. Then the fragrance spreads and you can give it to others.
How can you give something which you don't have?
To give it, the first basic requirement is to have it."

SING, WORLD, SING!

Break me open, Life
Shatter my remaining defences against You

You placed magnificence at the heart of my despair
You sowed volcanic strength into my vulnerability
Even my doubt vibrated with courage.

"Leave the familiar
With no hope of return"?
Of course!
I am not afraid, I was never afraid!
I once walked a familiar path of self-construction
I now walk a path of grace and destruction
Of weeping at birdsong and telling the truth
I will never turn back!

One day, in my house :)

Gift by Rabindranath Tagore (A favourite poem)

O my love, what gift of mine
Shall I give you this dawn?
A morning song?
But morning does not last long—
The heat of the sun
Wilts like a flower
And songs that tire
Are done.

O friend, when you come to my gate.
At dusk
What is it you ask?
What shall I bring you?
A light?

A lamp from a secret corner of my silent house?
But will you want to take it with you
Down the crowded street?
Alas,
The wind will blow it out.

Whatever gifts are in my power to give you,
Be they flowers,
Be they gems for your neck
How can they please you
If in time they must surely wither,
Crack,
Lose lustre?
All that my hands can place in yours
Will slip through your fingers
And fall forgotten to the dust
To turn into dust.

Rather,
When you have leisure,
Wander idly through my garden in spring
And let an unknown, hidden flower’s scent startle you
Into sudden wondering—
Let that displaced moment
Be my gift.
Or if, as you peer your way down a shady avenue,
Suddenly, spilled
From the thick gathered tresses of evening
A single shivering fleck of sunset-light stops you,
Turns your daydreams to gold,
Let that light be an innocent
Gift.

Truest treasure is fleeting;
It sparkles for a moment, then goes.
It does not tell its name; its tune
Stops us in our tracks, its dance disappears
At the toss of an anklet
I know no way to it—
No hand, nor word can reach it.
Friend, whatever you take of it,
On your own,
Without asking, without knowing, let that
Be yours.
Anything I can give you is trifling—
Be it a flower, or a song.

Walk Alone : Tagore

If no one answers your call
make a stride and walk alone

When everyone is closed and shut
Open your mind and speak alone.

Walk Alone, Walk Alone, Walk Alone

If they turn away and desert
and the wild path obstacles exerts

trample the thorns no matter the hurt
And Alone along blood-lined track traverse.

Walk Alone, Walk Alone, Walk Alone

If no one holds up the light
and a fierce storm troubles the night,

with the thunder flame of pain ignite
your heart, alone, and let it burn bright

Walk Alone, Walk Alone, Walk Alone...!

~ Rabindranath Tagore

Sometimes in doing nothing everything is undone, and love is revealed to be the only true medicine...

When you sit with a friend in pain, when their world no longer makes sense; when confusion rages and no rest is to be found.

Just for a moment, will you resist the temptation to make things better, to reassure them, to provide answers, even to heal them?

Will you offer your stillness, your listening, your presence, and the warmth of your immediacy?

Will you hold them in your heart, with the same tenderness of a mother holding her little one?
Will you embrace them where they are, without needing them to change or transform according to your own needs and schedule?
Will you stay close, holding your own impatience and discomfort near? Will you look into their eyes and see yourself?
Will you stay in the inferno of healing with them, trusting in disintegration, knowing that you are only witnessing the falling away of an old dream?
Sometimes in doing nothing everything is undone, and love is revealed to be the only true medicine."

Reflections

Buddha was walking into the city market one day and near the city entrance an old bitter man was sitting on a box glaring at Buddha, who carried a bright smile on his face. At the sight of him this old man started cursing Buddha up and down, left right and center, telling him how pretentious he was, how much better he thought he was and how he did nothing worthy of the air he breathed in this world. But Buddha simply smiled and kept on walking to the market to get what he needed.
The Next day Buddha returned to the market and once again that old man was there, this time his cursing intensified, screaming and yelling at Buddha as he walked by, cursing his mother, cursing his father and everyone else in his life.
This went on for the rest of the week and finally as the Buddha was leaving the market the man came up to him, as his curiosity had simply gotten the best of him.
“Buddha, every day you come here smiling and every day I curse your name, I curse your family and everything you believe in” the old man says ” but every day you enter this city with a smile knowing that I await you with my harsh tongue, and everyday you leave through the same entrance with that same smile. I know by speaking to you now that you are not deaf, why do you keep on smiling while I do nothing but scream the worst things I can think of to your face?”
Buddha, with the same smile still on his face looks at the old man and asks “If I were to bring you a gift tomorrow morning all wrapped up in a beautiful box would you accept it?” to which the old man replies “Absolutely not, I would take nothing from the likes of you!”. The Buddha replies “Well if I were to offer you this gift and you were to refuse then who would this gift belong to?”. “It would still belong to you of course” answers the old man. “And so the same goes with your anger, when I choose not to accept your gift of anger , does it not then remain your own?”
As a mirror reflects an object, as a still lake reflects the sky: take care that what you speak or act is for good. For goodness will always cast back goodness and harm will always cast back harm...

You can only give away what you already have inside yourself.

True giving happens when you are overflowing from the inside, and cannot help but share. When there is so much love within you that it has to flow to others or you would burst open. There is no thinking involved, no willpower in such sharing. It just flows out. If you have to force yourself to be kind, to love, to feel compassion, you've missed the first step of filling in your own self with these emotions.

My heart is on fire~ Rumi

My heart is on fire
In my madness I roam the desert

The flames of my passion
devour the wind and the sky

My cries of longing
My wails of sorrow
Are tormenting my soul
You wait patiently
Looking into my intoxicated eyes
You accept my passion
with the serenity of Love
You are the Master of Existence
One day I shall be a Lover like You...
~ Rumi

Plead guilty, beautiful stranger, plead guilty.

It is all your fault.

Completely...

Absolutely...

Let me explain why. 

I had been visiting that place for many years, regularly.

I would always be busy doing my own thing.

Loiter here and there, happy and content...

Then, that day, when there were thousands of people

milling around and I was just one of a crowd,

I felt the weight of a stare, I looked up...

Straight at you, even though you were at a distance.

You were looking at me,  your expression was surprised 

yet you looked as if you knew me, were happy to see me.

I was livid with you for noticing me.

Because what I felt in that instant, was going to be with

me for the rest of my life and even beyond.

In that one look, I was yours. My heart, mind, body and soul

belonged to you, because I recognized that they

always had, from eons, from the

beginning of the beginning... we had always been one.

You had absolute power over me! How terrifying it is to realize that someone

has this kind of power over you. Yet, how heart achingly lovely

to also know that this power would never ever be abused.

If you had not said a word, just walked up to me

and held out your hand, I would have clasped it and let you lead me

wherever you wanted to go. I would have been content to walk with you FOREVER.

And that is also the reason why I have never looked at you again.

Directly. 

I visit that place as before as do you.

I am aware of your presence more than even the reason why I am there.

I know you feel me too. Our expressions are straight faced.

I see you from the corner of my eyes, walking, smiling, talking to people.

Sometimes, I see your hands and they move me. They feel strong, powerful yet so gentle as if they would hold a new born babe like a soft cloud. They feel like as if anything held in them would remain safe and be alive forever. I want to rest my heart in those hands.

And so now you know why it is all your fault? Because you started it, you noticed me before I did. And now I am done for! 

And I don't even know your name!

Plead guilty, beautiful stranger, plead guilty.

And then I surrender to it....

Tonight I ache.

With every beat, every breath, every blink.

But I’m not sad.

Not hurting.

Not broken.

Oh no, on the contrary.

I’m full of love.

The kind of love that overwhelms you, threatens to break your heart with its magnitude. Pushes into your field in waves, gently coming and going like the tide. Though perhaps not so gently.

Surely I am too small for this love. Too fragile. Too brittle.

Surely if I let it all in I must combust.

Break into thousands of tiny pieces never to be recognised again.

Surely it must overwhelm me. Strip me of my identity. Have its way with me; leave me naked, broken and shivering in its wake.

My heart hurts with love. So much love it frightens me.

I can feel my fear pulsing with the beat of my heart.

Screaming out to me that I don’t deserve such love. That if I let it in it will just abandon me. Toy with and then tire of me, leaving me all alone.

I close my eyes and take a breath. Another. Another.

And then I surrender to it. To this Love.

Allow it to wash over and through me. Through my fear.

To take my heart. My body. My soul.

To break me wide open and have all of me.

And in that moment I understand.

Love is the answer no matter the question.

Love is the essence of our universe, the building block of our existence, the true nature of our beings.

It is there always, fiercely gentle, patiently waiting for us to accept its unconditional presence in our lives.

Love is remaining right where it is, holding us in its embrace until we are brave enough to invite it in.

Love has no prerequisites, no expectations, no stipulations.

Love just loves us no matter what.

Love will not abandon us, it is us who abandons it.