i carry your heart with me (i carry it in

my heart) i am never without it (anywhere

i go you go, my dear; and whatever is done

by only me is your doing, my darling)

i fear

no fate (for you are my fate, my sweet) i want

no world (for beautiful you are my world, my true)

and it’s you are whatever a moon has always meant

and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows

(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud

and the sky of the sky of a tree called life; which grows

higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)

and this is the wonder that’s keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart (i carry it in my heart)

poem by e.e. cummings

(images by coulson macleod)

(words by kahlil gibran/photo via visualize)

take bread away from me, if you wish,
take air away, but
do not take from me your laughter.

do not take away the rose,
the lance flower that you pluck,
the water that suddenly
bursts forth in joy,
the sudden wave
of silver born in you.

my struggle is harsh and i come back
with eyes tired
at times from having seen
the unchanging earth,
but when your laughter enters
it rises to the sky seeking me
and it opens for me all
the doors of life.

my love, in the darkest
hour your laughter
opens, and if suddenly
you see my blood staining
the stones of the street,
laugh, because your laughter
will be for my hands
like a fresh sword.

next to the sea in the autumn,
your laughter must raise
its foamy cascade,
and in the spring, love,
i want your laughter like
the flower i was waiting for,
the blue flower, the rose
of my echoing country.

laugh at the night,
at the day, at the moon,
laugh at the twisted
streets of the island,
laugh at this clumsy
boy who loves you,
but when i open
my eyes and close them,
when my steps go,
when my steps return,
deny me bread, air,
light, spring,
but never your laughter
for i would die.

(poem by pablo neruda / photo via weheartit)

(images via post secret)

(images unknown)

1. other people’s love letters (the book)

2. getting lost in a bookstore

3. chocolat. my favorite movie EVER!

4. everything about ray lamontagne

5. a sweet p.s. at the end of a letter

• nourishing conversation that lasts for hours
• an angel of guidance when you lose your way
• a lifetime of wild adventure
• tears of sweet release
• a hot cup of tea on a rainy day
• unwavering friendships that nurture the soul
• soft kisses
• belly-aching laughter
• a hand to hold
• a heaping pile of heartfelt love letters
• a big bowl of fresh cherries on a summer day

(quote by hafiz)

anyone who has spent much time with me can attest to the fact that i have preferences which can undoubtedly be transformed into pure passion, should the right mood strike. LOVE and FAVORITE are two words i use often to describe how i am feeling about a particular person, place, or thing, and my emotions, once provoked, are not easily hidden.

i have an appetite. an appetite for life. when i meet a flavor that agrees with my taste buds, my senses become stimulated with an outpouring of delight that permeates every cell of my being until i am overflowing with more pleasure than a human body can possibly contain. so to put it lightly, when i like something, i really like it. the moment magically delivers a certain quality of truth when i am deeply moved by it through an honest word, a signifying song, a pleasing scent, a tender touch or a divulging silence.

when i hear a song that resonates in my bones and speaks, word for word, directly to my heart, i naturally add it to my list of all-time favorite songs. when i read a quote that expresses a personal feeling i am unable to put into words myself, it becomes one of my favorite quotes that must be written down, shared with the world, hung up on my wall, and etched into my heart. a yoga posture that i have previously executed hundreds of times, suddenly is my favorite pose because it is now symbolic to where i am in my life. my current lover is, without a doubt, on every level, the BEST i’ve ever had. i will enjoy the same meal every day for a month (or 5) because it is, hands down, the BEST thing i have ever put into my mouth. the book i am reading, with so many insights into the story of my own experience, is now one of the BEST books ever written. this moment, this very moment, is my favorite because it is happening right now. it is the one from which i can soak up every last drop of ecstasy.

i have decided to incorporate a weekly blog post that includes five of my FAVORITE things every wednesday, starting tomorrow. my collection of favorites is eclectic, ever-changing, and continually growing, just as i am.

(photo via weheartit)

(quote by anais nin / photo unknown)

love has been extremely generous through the years, showering me with her gorgeous gifts and one-of-a-kind treasures. my heart is continuously refilled with gratitude for the people who unexpectedly show up in my life with wise words, priceless moments, effective lessons, constant friendship and delicious adventure. rumi says it best in the guest house (one of my favorite poems), “be grateful for whomever comes, because each one has been sent as a guide from beyond.“ every guest enters our lives to deliver a unique token, for incomprehensible reasons that only time can conclude. we must trust that everyone we choose to let in has something of value to offer and is also in dire need of something from us, which becomes a beautiful dance between two people that lasts a song, two songs, or maybe even a lifetime, until the gifts have been exchanged. it makes no difference how long we dance with the individual who has been serendipitously placed in our world, only how we dance with the living soul: vivaciously, gracefully, honestly, openly, lovingly, attentively.

here are a few words from a song by cheryl wheeler that has always touched my heart, reminding me of a few angelic beings who have generously offered their rare gifts and touched me in ways that no small act can compare.

i must have been gandhi or buddha, or someone like that,

i must have saved lives by the hundreds everywhere i went,

i must have brought rest to the restless, fed the hungry too,

i must have done something great, to get to have you.

i suppose stranger things have come to pass,

many’s the forest i can’t see.

i was so down and lost and fading fast.

how did you find your way to me?

it’s the heart afraid of breaking

that never learns to dance

it’s the dream afraid of waking

that never takes the chance

it’s the one who won’t be taken

that can not seem to give

and the soul afraid of dying

that never learns to live

(photo via weheartit / words via the rose)