vulnerable

We've all been there. US. UK. Israel. All points in between. I want to speak to you. It is the hardest thing to do to be totally vulnerable to someone. It really is. To let all your guard down and let them in. Wanting to let them in and hoping they will come in, but never sure. It is okay. It is hard. It is okay. We all hate it. Those people that can crack the shell, they can come in. Saying I miss you is hard. It's very difficult. Saying it to someone you've lost, even harder. Saying it to someone who is still on this planet, the hardest.

Say I miss you to the person you love. Say miss you the person you have lost. Say I miss you to time passed by. I miss all of them. The person I miss knows it. The person lost, knows it. I want to go back to the days where play was innocent and love was pure. Do you? Do you remember those days?

I have drink in hand. I hope you do as well. I wish I could wrap you in the warmth of a hug and let you know that everything will be alright.

You are special. You matter. You are loved. Love yourself. Dying love. Dying by the light. The light will never go out. You are special...by the dying of the light.

bm

dockside

Always wanting to relate to nature and the sea, you let the boats come close to the dock. Some pull in real quietly and nice. Some pull in hard and make a lot of noise. Small boats and larges ones. Young ones and old ones. Everyone has a right to pull into a safe port. Everyone should have the opportunity to leave the dangerous seas they have traveled for stability and security. We see such sadness and troubled times in every part of the world and here on American soil. It's sad. If you get the chance and someone wants to talk, or just say something, or give you some well wishes, allow them the opportunity to do so. It may be their wisdom they want to give to you. Maybe they have gone through some tough times and just want to best to you. We're all in this together. I think the best thing I've done this month was to give a homeless lady all the money I had in my pocket. It felt a lot better than buying something I wanted for myself. She said God Bless You. And whatever religion you may be...or whatever...some stranger giving you well wishes and good fortune goes a long way. Never know how long you may be on this great planet and it's good to know someone, anyone, cares about you. We all need to dock somewhere......

"Every time a man unburdens his heart to a stranger he reaffirms the love that unites humanity." = Germaine Greer

free

Air, love and smiles are free. Seems like the things that cost us money aren't always the things that will fulfill us in life. The richest man in the world cannot buy time or change the past, but anyone can change their future.

undertow

You can feel it. You're clawing and scratching your way to the surface, seeing the light shine through as you get closer to the last few feet of the depths. Gasping for air and holding on to what you have in your reserve. The anticipation, the excitement, the rush, coming to the surface and coming through your skin. The end may be near or the beginning is upon you. You have no choice but to ascend....above the darkness of what's behind you and toward the bright sunlight that is your future....there used to be a comfort in the darkness....but light shines through the thinnest of cracks to give life back unto you. That light for which you once saw regularly became muddled over time as you dove deeper and further into the darkness....blindly wandering through time...and tides...and drift. The tide could only carry you so far until you had to paddle...for survival...for life...for love. Inside of you grew a light that could not be silenced and like the light that broke through the ocean's surface; the same light broke through every ounce of your body and into the life ahead of you. Hold onto it and take it with you on your journey. Take it out when the darkness creeps in, flash it to those who try and silence your light, let the light grow into others so that they too can ascend to the surface and away from the past, away from the darkness....and into the light. Even the darkest shadows recede at some point and when they do, you'll be there to break free for good and carry the strength of your confirmation of life.

I'm not afraid of storms, for I'm learning to sail my ship. - Louisa May Alcott

allone

Sometimes it comes down to the time you get by yourself. Sometimes it takes that to come to the conclusion as to what you really want out of life or in life. It's not a bad thing. It happens to all of us. We are alone when we are young, we grow, meet people, sometimes alone in our 20's, some times into our 30's, sometimes married, sometimes divorced and alone. Grow old, widow, become alone. It is finding that point where you are happy with who you are and not who you are with someone else or when the lights are shining. Our best moments usually occur when no one is looking. Helping a stranger, handing out a dollar to a homeless person, holding the door for an elderly person. That's all it takes. Be careful to not be into yourself too much and materialistic things; they will disappear. Support and love and passion can hold on for decades. Centuries. Care for one another. It will come back to you. Sometimes we go through things where it is hard to support someone, but try hard to climb over that obstacle and provide support. Even if it is just quietly wishing the person well in private. I do that. My outside self can't always do it, but my inside self does. If you think you're alone in a big city, on this big planet, any country, you are not. We are all in this together. We are all one. We are not alone. And when you don't think you have a friend....write me...I will be your friend. I will write you. We all need help....in one way or another. We all miss someone. We all want to feel safe. We all want to feel support and love and care. And there is enough of it to go around....

The eternal quest of the individual human being is to shatter his loneliness. - Norman Cousins

The Breakers

With life moving at lightning speed these days, it is hard to really enjoy a moment or a memory. It’s captured so quickly in a picture, a message, a video, or some other medium. In days past a moment or a memory was private, held only in your heart or in your mind and you could only reflect on it privately, on your own terms. Nowadays there are millions of acres of a virtual life where moments and memories can be suspended in time and held out there forever. I feel like this is a good thing. You can see something and remember that moment, who you were at that time, who you became, or who(m) you left behind or who(m) left you behind. The tragedy of the past is that that it is gone as quickly as it is made. We move forward. We keep those special memories close to heart. It is truly amazing how they can sit on your subconscious heart and mind and can be randomly accessed at the speed of light just from seeing something familiar, hearing a song, or being in a place the memory was created and still lasts forever. It’s important to always see the good…even if it is a memory of a difficult time or experience. Life itself can’t simply always be easy and positive moments. Life does require some tenacity, strife, and perseverance….it makes life worth living..and it makes the good moments…that much more valuable. Life is like the ocean…it can be so powerful and destructive, but the ocean and it’s power also provide a livelihood, a way to survive, a way to live, and a way to enjoy life amongst the calm sea and wavering tide. Like life, some times the tide will be so high you can hardly tread water, but the tide recedes, you start to paddle again, and soon you can walk back on land and know that you have made it….and you remember what you made it through.

“When anxious, uneasy and bad thoughts come, I go to the sea, and the sea drowns them out with its great wide sounds, cleanses me with its noise, and imposes a rhythm upon everything in me that is bewildered and confused.” Rainer Maria Rilke

life guard

Sometimes it takes a lot of pain to realize how special life is. Sometimes it takes hitting rock bottom to realize how special life is. Sometimes it takes losing those you love to realize how special life is. The older we get we seem to surround ourselves with those people we know truly care about us, but also those people that can reciprocate love back. Those people that won’t judge us and will listen intently or give us the straight dope for advice. It’s hard to let go of special people, but sometimes it’s not really letting go, but rather just going in different directions. Everyone, each one of us, seems to be on our own journey. Free will is a hell of a thing we have inside us. It’s great to be on the same page with those close to you. It’s also to have the drive to be independent and create your own road. If you can’t handle being alone, you most likely won’t be able to be good being with someone. You learn so much about yourself on this journey. Every moment impacts the moments that follow. Difficult choices need to be made and new opportunities come about. It can be a new job, a new friend, a new significant other, a new place, a new road, a new sunset. So much can be appreciated from a new perspective. You don’t lose those that came before and your paths may cross again. If they do, focus on the positive, focus on the good, focus on what was special between the two of you. There’s a lot to be thankful for when two lives intersect and memories are created. Sometimes children don’t even get this opportunity to bond with their parents because of certain reasons. We all change. We all become different. You realize that it is the most important and caring people in your life that have circled around you; in times of joy and times of sadness, to become your lifeline. There’s a lot to be said about weathering the storm and being there for someone. We all have choices….but quitting can never be one that is a satisfying nor easy choice to make. If someone upsets you or even gives you so many reasons to give up, don’t. It’s a lot easier to walk away than it is to work through the storm. That’s not what we’re about. In centuries of our past, there are millions of stories of people sticking together…in the worst of times and some until death. It’s amazing what a bond perseverance can create.

Flatter me, and I may not believe you. Criticize me, and I may not like you. Ignore me, and I may not forgive you. Encourage me, and I may not forget you. – William Arthur