tomorrow

♥️

Loving you means I will always be trying to get to the root of any issues, 

not so I can judge you, I promise you that.  

But so I can understand you better, 

so I can love you better. 

Loving you means I will remain curious about your past, present, and future ... 

your goals, dreams, and desires; 

I will become a student of your life, not to possess you or suffocate you

but so I can know how to better pray for you. 

It is so I can learn what your needs are

and know what guidance to ask the Universe for, 

so that I can support you in the ways that matter to you.  

Loving you means I will always ask you questions, 

and it is not nosiness or overbearingness in my heart, 

it is because I’m interested in your experiences, feelings, 

your mental, emotional, and spiritual health.  

I might not always tell you that I’m also regularly asking God to bless you 

and asking how I can bless you, each and every day, 

and what I can do,

how I can serve you love,

to help you fulfill your purpose.   

Loving you means I will continually seek our divine connection, 

not to control you or manage you, 

but to make sure you never feel alone, 

lost, 

unimportant, 

undervalued, 

or unloved.   

It means I will not accept a loss of connection 

because you are worth everything 

and there is nothing worth losing you over.  

Loving you means it is my life’s work to love you well, 

and that it is safe to know one another as no one else does, 

so no matter what happens in life, we never have to be 

afraid of our fears, 

lonely in our alone times, 

or forgetful or neglectful of our blessings. 

Loving you is seeing you, 

and praying you will see yourself and love yourself 

as the Spirit and I see you and love you. 

It is believing in you and every ounce of your potential. 

It is knowing that the parts of you which you call flaws

are actually the beauty marks of your soul. 

It is wanting nothing more

than to love you more

tomorrow.  

the place

♥️

everyone deserves a place where they can be their whole and real self:

where they don’t have to put their best foot forward 24/7 in order to be cherished.

where they can be who they are and not who the world tells them to be or just who others want them to be. 

where they are allowed to express their fears as well as their triumphs, without fear of isolation, judgment, rejection, or removal of love. 

where they will be embraced when they’re lonely, reassured when they’re afraid, and helped when they’re struggling. 

where they can speak freely about who they are, 

confess the demons they battle, 

and express disappointment or hurt when they experience it.

everyone deserves a place where they can take comfort in being known fully, 

where insecurities don’t outweigh gifts, 

and mistakes don't overrule blessings.

everyone deserves a place where they trust they will not be given up on, 

walked away from, 

disowned 

or given the silent treatment when they say things that are hard to say ... or hard for others to hear.

everyone deserves a place where they know they can confront their own pain and heal in the safety of belonging, without punishment, ridicule, or penalty.

where they can be fully seen and known, with celebration and applause.

where they can be their best 

and where - when they are less than their best - they are reminded of their goodness and truth

without losing the respect, admiration, value, support, worthiness, friendship, 

or love, 

from another.

p.s. sometimes a place is a person

without consequence

♥️

people are walking around with smiles they’ve put on while wound full and scarred, taking care of life while nervous and unsure. 

fragile. 

scared. 

hurt. 

sometimes selfish. 

and often armed with a multitude of strategies to protect themselves from pain or the perception of it. 

people of all cultures, all faiths, all ages, all races. even those who have it or keep it together and are doing well ...it’s part of our humanness and part of our journey regardless of our outlook and skill set, regardless of our belief systems and spiritual life, regardless of our mental health and our energy. we all have stories that have built us and at times broken us, and we all have the desire to connect, to belong, and to be cared about. 

i know people look at each other and miss who they’re looking at because they aren’t seeing who they’re looking at, they are seeing the outside and all the externals of who they’re looking at. 

i also know that Love looks at people and sees their insides.  Love sees past the curtains, barricades, and facades. Love sees inside and recognizes all the ways a heart beats and says “you are worthy.”

i know Love is healing, certain, constant, and strong. 

i know Love is assurance. 

pure. 

selfless. 

graceful. 

faithful. 

strength through seasons that threaten our joy. 

unshakable through storms that hurl us into unwelcomed chaos. 

i know Love protects us without consequence through shame, fear, or attack. 

and celebrates not as much all that we do, but all that we are. 

Love seeks to love, not to be loved, 

to console, not to be consoled, 

to understand, not to be understood. 

Love is not a seeker of attention or gain. 

Love loves 

without an agenda. 

Love knows

no bounds. 

never and always

♥️

Loving you means I never look down on you no matter how far or in which direction you fall. 

It means I give and learn, all that I can, to lift you. 

It means even though I look up to you I know I am never less than, and because when I have fallen you are holding my hand to bring me back up. 

It means I am never judging you, shaming you, deserting you or betraying you. 

It means I have your back. 

It means our friendship carries our relationship when life gets in the way. 

It means I support you. 

It means I respect you. 

It means I enjoy you. 

It means I believe in you, I stand by you, I protect you, I value you. 

It means I am always moving towards you, never away from you. 

It means I am grateful for your life and for your willingness to share it with me. 

It means our sacred connection is more important than any difference, challenge, or conflict. 

It means I know we are all human, we all have victories and we all make mistakes, and there is no heart I’d rather be beside through all of them

than yours.

Never above you. 

Never below you. 

Always beside you. 

anywhere

i've seen you together
i see you in pieces 
i know your whole self 
i know when you're broken
i know when you're you
i know when you're not you
i know you at peace
i know when you're troubled
struggling
and fighting against yourself
i know when you're scared
when you're courageous
when you're trying to love the best that you can
against the odds
against the uncertainty
against your self imposed or conditioned belief of unworthiness
(inaccurate i know)
(but real for you i also know)
so rest your wet salty face in my hands
and let your fears escape
hot on my fingers and deep in my skin
and let me look into you
because the thing is,
in pieces you are still whole to me
i love you anyway
either way
all the ways
every way
and i'm not going anywhere
other than anywhere
you go
with me ...

i am

when something is killing your spirit

and you don't know how your legs will move you

because you feel so weak and it's as if you are standing by

watching it happen

and your attempts to stop it feel like when you're in a dream

the kind where you try to yell but your voice won't come out

and you need someone to wake you up

show you the truth

the reality

that it isn't dying underneath your smile

and behind your skin and bones

that you are safer than you think

that you aren't losing your soul

i am

where you are

i am

holding you from the inside out

i am

breathing

for you

#moments

♥

when time stands still

and your eyes blink in slow motion

and your breath floats by my face

and our world is totally quiet

and you can hear my heart

and that it beats for you

on this date

most of us have days in our life that we never forget;
dates on our timeline when our life changed undeniably ...
when something happened that made a difference in our life either positively or negatively.
most of us also have or have had at least one person we can name whose life changed our life in some way ... undeniably.  
sometimes both of these are connected;
maybe the date someone came into this world,
or maybe the date someone left. 
maybe the date of a union
or the date of a divide. 
i am blessed to be able to say that this date, december 9, is one of those dates on my timeline,
a date that i will never forget,
all because one person literally walked into my world
and although i didn't know it yet as it was happening,
my life would be completely changed for the better.  
i hope you will join me in celebrating
by honoring with gratitude
someone who made,
or still makes,
an undeniable difference
in your life.

love really can heal

when your light is dim
and your pieces are scattered all over the floor
when it hurts to move
and your bones cry out
and your tired fingers search for who you were
but you cannot see
and you can't put yourself back together
when your eyes ache
when your heart lies like dead weight in your chest
putting pressure on your ribs
and testing the strength of their cage

when you have lost your life

i will hold you until you come up for air
and then hold you longer
and longer still

i will kiss your lips
your forehead
your face
and i will nourish your soul

i will fill you
with faith

i will reseed your spirit
with hope

i will love you
back
to health
one breath
at a time.

love has a way

whether you believe in one transcendent God,
infinite manifestations of God,
a personal God,
or no God,
i celebrate your belief. 
and it is my belief that it is all the same,
with different names,
and that we are all connected through the source of love and spirit.
whether you are religious or not,
or spiritual or not,
i believe that kindness is the root of all faiths and of all people.
love is our common denominator.
love is the aim.
love is the goal. 

life has a way of teaching us things.
LOVE has a way of teaching us who we are.

life has a way of showing us what we're made of.
LOVE has a way of showing us what God made us to be.

life has a way of revealing the truth.
LOVE has a way of revealing our soul.

life has a way of taking us places.
LOVE has a way
of bringing us home.

#everyday

everyone who is born is here for a reason. and when someone's life begins we don't know what that reason is or who and how far that life will reach. but i do know that there is no motivational speech, no sermon, no image, accomplishment, or award to be won, that can affect one human soul like the true connecting with another. 

when someone changes your life just by being,
just by letting their soul out in your care and in your presence,
and not by the words they speak,
a job or skill they perform,
or the lessons they teach,
but by sharing life with you,
allowing you to see and love their spirit naked and raw before you,
there is nothing truer.
nothing so pure.
nothing more intimate,
peaceful
or loving. 

when it isn't about what they can do for you
because it's about who they are. 
when it isn't about what you want from them
but what you want for them. 
when there's no agenda,
when you know you are safe,
you know
you are home. 

it is where faith lives.

join me today in honoring someone you love, and celebrating the very gift of their birth,
their journey,
their life.

because once a year is not enough to celebrate someone's birth.
once a year is not enough to tell people what they are worth.

#gratefulforyourlife #everysingleday

they took my heart

twelve years ago i met this kid. i didn't yet know his name or how funny he would be, how artistic, smart, sensitive, or how loving. i only knew i already loved him with a love i didn't yet know ...

at 8:15 am ian came out of my body and began his fantastic journey. 

i knew ahead of time that on this date the doctors would take this baby out of me. what i did not know is that they would also take my heart. 

i wasn't sure how my love would be divided equally between children and i just didn't know if i could or how i could love as much, again, as i already loved his brother. 

what i discovered was that the love was not divided. it was simply, and easily, multiplied. 

the heart i thought was intact left my body with his brother and then somehow left my body again with him. 

it's an amazing and indescribable thing when you see and know your heart and your love walking around outside of yourself. even more amazing is when you not only still feel whole, you feel even more complete. so much more so, that when your heart was yours alone, you were empty by comparison. 

it is a beautiful and perfect day to celebrate one of my great loves of my lifetime. 

this song is currently "his jam" lol

it does not fail ...

love is love. 

i believe that there are many differences between love and relationship ... between soul and ego

relationship says 

you are with me i am with you or else we are not together 

love says

no matter where you are or where i am, we are always together 

relationship has image 

conditions 

expectations

boundaries

love has no image and cares not about how it looks

love is unconditional 

love walks with no expectations

and love knows no bounds 

relationships can come and go, be inconsistent, last or not last, succeed or fail

but love doesn't come and go

love is constant 

love lasts 

love

does not fail

the prayer ...

lying on top of you
my chest pressing against yours
i float in your breath and listen to you sleep 

one of your hands lost in 

and tangled up in 

my overflowing hair 

your other hand tangled up with mine

our fingers laced up quietly together

and resting on my tattooed hip 

i lay my head down and feel the rhythm of your heart beating against my throat

and i hear your breathing 

warm and noisy over my ear

i remain still and silent 

inhaling the smell of you

exhaling love for you 

and i cannot sleep

not because of the noise

and not because of our body heat

but because i don't want to miss the moment ...

the prayer ...

the gratitude ...

YOU.

Love never leaves us

Love and relationship are not the same thing. 

relationships often fail. 

Love does not. 

relationships die sometimes quick
sometimes slow
deaths. 

Love does not die. 

people confuse all kinds of things with Love. 

Love is not struggling to make something work when it truly doesn't. 

relationships require conditions and compromise, Love does neither.  

Love is not fear and Love is not pride. 

Love is something entirely different. 

a relationship that lasts is not necessarily a relationship that lives. 

Love lasts. 

Love lives. 

Love runs deeper than any relationship ever could or ever will. 

because Love is not a human thing. 

Love is a spirit thing. 

a life thing. 

an everlasting thing.  

being with reluctance

"because you are worthy

you are worthy

you are worthy

of more

than the truth that broke you ..."

click the link below to read my article on elephant journal:

http://www.elephantjournal.com/2015/06/what-reluctance-feels-like/

it might be you or it might be someone you know ... experiencing it now, having experienced it before, or still yet to experience it in the future.

i ask that you remember the last few lines in case you need to tell them to yourself or share with someone you care about ❤️

your heart

i have heard the cry of your heart
and i have kissed you 
as it wept fearfully and safely
gratefully  
against my skin

i have rejoiced with your heart
and i have danced with you 
as it smiled joyfully and hopefully
in the magic 
and in the footsteps of our breath

i have loved your heart
and i have crawled inside as far as you and your manmade walls would let me
as you come and go
passionately 
and quietly 
carefully
and carelessly
lovingly
and recklessly
with 
my heart 
in tow

i honor your heart
if not simply because
it carries mine

your truth ...

sometimes when your heart takes a hit

the debris doesn't scatter 

and the pieces don't choose where to fall

sometimes the wound just patiently leaks

and those loose fragments stick to your skin

and like a slow release 

they peel off 

and dig in

at the same time

little by little 

layered

triggered 

sometimes 

unexpected  

sometimes 

undetected 

always 

your truth

reminding you

to love you 

be where you are

i believe it is not only important

but also necessary

to offer ourselves the gift of compassion.

i know that for me,

when i am going through something

the only way to get to the other side

is to allow myself to be in it in the first place.

i have to feel it,

every bit of it,

sometimes how ridiculously hard it is

sometimes glimpses of how beautiful it is

other times how simply debilitating it is.

i have to face it 

every single day 

until it isn't there anymore

or until it looks 

completely different.

sugarcoating or masking the truth of where we are

does not lead us out of the dark,

does not bring the light to where we are fallen,

and does not remove the shrapnel 

from our soul.

be where you are. 

love yourself there. 

it's okay.