i had decided on a yoga-related video post but could not resist showing this adorable interaction between a couple trying to figure out how to use a webcam. i’m not sure which part is my favorite, but it’s safe to say that grandpa flirting with grandma is absolutely precious.

(photo via postsecret)

a few weeks ago my friend, minna, emailed me a link to a documentary we had previously discussed while in talks of love called how will we love. i finally got around to watching the hour and a half heart-warmer last weekend. this film interviews a few couples (including the grandparents of the director) who open their hearts and profess a life-altering love they have experienced. i was moved from beginning to end, observing the divine love these individuals have unearthed with another human being. the couples reveal challenges they have endured and truths they have discovered over time.

you can watch the how will we love? by clicking here.

when traveling with another person, we sometimes come to a junction. it may be in the best interests of one person to go one way, to see certain sights, gain certain experiences, learn particular lessons, and for the other to go in another direction. this is a difficult time of challenges, maybe hard choices.

blending journeys sometimes is not always best, or even possible. we can accompany another on his or her journey, but there may be a price to pay for that. we may forgo our own journey and become passive observers. we can ask or insist that the other go along with us on our journey. but for the most part, he or she may be as bored and restless as we would be if the situation were reversed. sometimes we need to let go. sometimes we need to say good-bye.

feel all your feelings. although you may need to feel angry for a while, clear all resentments from your heart as soon as possible. say good-bye with blessings and love toward the other, thanking that person for all he or she has helped you learn. remember that any curses you place on another will ultimately come back to harm you.

grieve your losses. say your good-byes. then let each travel down the road that he or she needs to go. holding on won’t help. let both be free to plan their own journeys, map their own trips, and embrace and enjoy their destinies.

set others free to achieve and experience the path that leads to their highest good and you, too, will become free to find yours.

melody beattie

is it the face of a child

is it the thrill of danger

is it the kindness we see in the eyes of a stranger?

is it more than faith, is it more than hope

is it waiting for us at the end of our rope?

is it the one you call home

is it the holy land

is it standing right here holding your hand?

is it just like the movies

is it rice and white lace

is it the feeling i get when i wake to your face?

is it the first summer storm

is it the colors of fall

is it having so little, and yet having it all?

is it one in a million

is it a chance to belong

is it standing right here singing this song?

i say it’s love.

this song gives me chills every time.

Freedom and love go together. Love is not a reaction.

If I love you because you love me, that is mere trade, a thing to be bought in the market; it is not love. To love is not to ask anything in return, not even to feel that you are giving something – and it is only such love that can know freedom.

words by krishnamurti

you were loved because god loves, period. god loved you, and everyone, not because you believed in certain things, but because you were a mess, and lonely, and his or her child. god loved you no matter how crazy you felt on the inside, no matter what a fake you were; always, even in your current condition, even before coffee. god loves you crazily, like I love you…like a slightly overweight auntie, who sees only your marvelousness and need.

by anne lamott

i ran across an email a couple of days ago that was sent to me back in 2006 from a dear friend. included in the letter was an interpretation of love that he received from a workshop. the message made perfect sense to me at that time in my life, helping me to better understand love, myself, and others…so i wanted to share it.

one of the sweetest songs i’ve heard lately.

i bought this while in austin last week. the poem painted so many little smiles all over my heart when i read it. brian andreas, the artist, turns words into lovely works of art. you can find more of his inspiring creations at story people.

i leave for texas today, as a chapter in my book ends and a new one begins.

the past four and a half years in san diego have included some of the most unforgettable moments of my life because of the people in it. regardless of where i go, it is the relationships i develop that make my time so precious and, without a doubt, memorable. i have loved and been loved by some of the most amazing, inspiring creatures on earth and i feel forever grateful for those beautiful souls who have made such an impact in my world.

 life is a journey, an unpredictable, wild ride that keeps going no matter what choices we make. i have learned that it is the love we give and continue to share that brings true happiness to the heart. 

 (via bluquote)

You suppose you are the trouble

but you are the cure.

You suppose that you are the lock on the door

but you are the key that opens it.

It’s too bad that you want to be someone else.

You don’t see your own face, your own beauty.

Yet, no face is more beautiful than yours.

~rumi

my relationship with words has always been one big on-going love affair. they come into my life and sweep me off my feet, never failing to fascinate me, intrigue me, and touch me in ways i have not been touched before. i am including a list of books that have had the most impact on my journey, all which take a non-dogmatic approach and encourage us to free our minds from tradition and discover for ourselves what our spirits need most. 

this book stays on my bedside table. it reminds me to stay present regardless of what is going on in my life. i reach for this book time and time again as a reminder to let things happen as they naturally need to happen, without force or clever scheme. everything is unfolding as it should and the tao describes this process effortlessly. here is a verse from the book:

Fill your bowl to the brim
and it will spill.
Keep sharpening your knife
and it will blunt.
Chase after money and security
and your heart will never unclench.
Care about people’s approval
and you will be their prisoner.

Do your work, then step back.
The only path to serenity.

this book takes takes on a very refreshing approach to relationships. osho dives right into the heart of the matter, without watering down his words, discussing the importance of solitude, which leads to true love and ultimate freedom. here is an excerpt:

love appears as relationship, but begins in deep solitude. when you are absolutely happy in your aloneness – when you don’t need the other at all, when the other is not a need – then you are capable of love. your aloneness is your truth. your aloneness is your divineness.

if you really want to know love, forget about love and remember meditation. if you want to bring roses into your garden, forget about roses and take care of the rosebush. give nourishment to it, water it, take care that it gets the right amount of sun, water. if everything is taken care of, in the right time the roses are destined to come. you cannot bring them earlier, you cannot force them to open up sooner. and you cannot ask a rose to be more perfect.

love never suspects, love is never jealous. love never interferes in the other’s freedom. love never imposes on the other. love brings freedom, love gives freedom.

i have read a few books on buddhism and this one is my favorite. dzigar kongtrul finds freedom through self-reflection and awareness.

we can realize the beauty of our own inner nature when we stop manipulating everything that crosses our path as a way to fortify a sense of self. without feeling threatened or trying to control them, just let things arise naturally and let them be.

the great sages of the past sought and found independence from the preconditioned habits and traditions of society. they spent their time in solitude, developing wakefulness and engaging in deep self-reflection. practitioners who train in courage become true warriors. the war we wage is not with enemies outside of ourselves but with the powerful forces of our own habitual tendencies and negative emotions. 

a friend gave this to me a few years ago. i find it incredibly simple and meaningful with a genuine look at partnerships. it is not so much relationship advice as it is a reminder that love is always available to us if we open our hearts and minds. here are a few words from the book:

you cannot force each other to be or feel a certain way. if you insist on happiness you create misery. if you insist on achievement you create failure. if you insist on a certain behavior you insure its opposite.

but your complete acceptance creates serenity and comfort, and your straightforwardness creates security and honesty.

this is my favorite book. krishnamurti brilliantly communicates the importance of truly understanding self. rather than explaining his philosophy on life, he encourages us to explore our own lives by stripping ourselves of prejudice and preconceived ideas in order to find freedom. here are a few of his words:

so now we are going to investigate ourselves together – not one person explaining while you read, agreeing or disagreeing with him as you follow the words on the page, but taking a journey together, a journey of discovery into the most secret corners of our minds. and to take such a journey we must travel light; we cannot be burdened with opinions, prejudices, and conclusions – all that old furniture we have collected for the last two thousand years and more. you have to be your own teacher and your own disciple. you have to question everything that man has accepted as valuable, as necessary.

freedom is a state of mind – not freedom from something but a sense of freedom, a freedom to doubt and question everything and therefore so intense, active and vigorous that it throws away every form of dependence, slavery, conformity and acceptance.

this came highly recommended 10 years ago by a very special friend, with whom i have since lost touch. it was the first book i read that really spoke to my spirit.

everything you’ll ever need to know is within you. knowledge alone does not suffice; it has no heart. no amount of knowledge will nourish or sustain your spirit; it can never bring you ultimate happiness or peace. life requires more than knowledge; it requires intense feeling and constant energy. life demands right action if knowledge is to come alive.