The Lamest One Yet

I am exhausted so this entry is this one comic that made me laugh...thank you C&H for brightening up my night.

On Love.

"When Love Beckons to You...follow him,
Though his ways are hard and steep.
And when his wings enfold you yield to him,
Though the sword hidden among his pinions may wound you.
And when he speaks to you believe in him,
Though his voice may shatter your dreams
as the north wind lays waste the garden.

For even as love crowns you so shall he crucify you. Even as he is for your growth so is he for your pruning.
Even as he ascends to your height and caresses your tenderest branches that quiver in the sun,
So shall he descend to your roots and shake them in their clinging to the earth.

Like sheaves of corn he gathers you unto himself.
He threshes you to make you naked.
He sifts you to free you from your husks.
He grinds you to whiteness.
He kneads you until you are pliant;
And then he assigns you to his sacred fire, that you may become sacred bread for God's sacred feast.

All these things shall love do unto you that you may know the secrets of your heart, and in that knowledge become a fragment of Life's heart.

But if in your fear you would seek only love's peace and love's pleasure,
Then it is better for you that you cover your nakedness and pass out of love's threshing-floor,
Into the seasonless world where you shall laugh, but not all of your laughter, and weep, but not all of your tears.
Love gives naught but itself and takes naught but from itself.
Love possesses not nor would it be possessed;
For love is sufficient unto love.

When you love you should not say, "God is in my heart," but rather, "I am in the heart of God."
And think not you can direct the course of love, for love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course.

Love has no other desire but to fulfill itself.
But if you love and must needs have desires, let these be your desires:
To melt and be like a running brook that sings its melody to the night.
To know the pain of too much tenderness.
To be wounded by your own understanding of love;
And to bleed willingly and joyfully.
To wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving;
To rest at the noon hour and meditate love's ecstasy;
To return home at eventide with gratitude;
And then to sleep with a prayer for the beloved in your heart and a song of praise upon your lips."

-Kahlil Gibran.

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Be Thankful, Dream Big, and Never Give Up.

Music has this fantastic way of setting a mood, or reflecting a mood. This James Morrison Playlist is reflecting where I'm at, and it might set you up for the rest of this post. Enjoy!

-James Morrison Playlist-

 This picture is beautiful, from the lighting to the setting, and all the imperfections in between. Everything about this girl makes me want to know her, and who the photographer is who just thought this moment needed to be captured. 

 

Sun Showers...need I say more? They make me want to put on some sort of a sundress and shiny wellies to squeak around the grass in. 

 

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I adore this picture taken of my grandmother when she was in her early twenties. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful.

Great reminder. "It's a lie to think that you're not worth anything." Breathtaking. Ever notice that it's the handicapped people who do the stuff the healthy people don't always do? Kids with one leg go snowboarding to beat the odds, and kids with two legs watch T.V. Something to think about eh? I take too much for granted.

Infactuation Station

I adore bright lines of converse sneakers...when I get rich I'll own at least one pair of these beauties! My favorite though is when they start to get that rugged, raggedy look to them...it always makes me want to slide them on and then hitchhike somewhere with my guitar and a notepad.

Speaking of bright colours, check out this slick art form! I feel inspired to try this out now...would be a cool paint design for a coffee table.

I adore candle light. I've decided that when I have my own place, and am married, every dinner will be candle lit. If it's hot dogs eaten over a messy table, that's alright...there will be candles and music just because I can.

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There is so much life in this song that it needs to be shared.

This is one of many adorable homes that belong in fairytales that can be found here.

I'd love to have a little vacation home like this out in the country...with those candle-lit dinners, of course.

“When you love somebody....

...your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you.” 
 -Karen (age 7) 

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It is Valentines Day, and with that is an extra long post complied of everything that made me go 'awwww' just a little bit. No matter your relationship status, this day is about more than just romantic love...it is about loving and being loved. I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure it is something we can all use a little more of. 

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"And think not you can Direct the course of love, For love, If it finds you worthy, Directs your course."-Kahlil Gibran

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"It's not that I can't live without you...it's just that I don't even want to try."

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"Meeting you was fate, becoming your friend was choice, falling in love with you was beyond my control."

"For you see, each day I love you more. Today more than yesterday and less than tomorrow."

A True Love Story: Couple Reunites after Decades Separated by the War.

"If you live to be a hundred, I want to live to be a hundred minus one day, so I never have to live without you."-Winnie the Pooh

"I, being, poor, have only my dreams; I have spread my dreams under your feet; Tread softly because you tread on my dreams."-William Butler Yeats

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"Love is everything it's cracked up to be. That's why people are so cynical about it...It really is worth fighting for, risking everything for. And the trouble is, if you don't risk everything, you risk even more."-Erica Jong

"When love is not madness, it is not love." -Pedro Calderon de la Barca

"The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return."-Eden Ahbez

"Grow old along with me, the best is yet to be."-Robert Browning

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-Five Fantastic Links-

Take my word for it.

-Waterlife.-

-Philosophy Timeline.-

-World Statistics in Real Time.-

-Playlists for Any Mood and Style.-

-Cynanide and Happiness Comics.-

"So Move Pen, Move."-Shane Koyczan.

This song has to be one of the sweetest concepts for a music video I've seen...very appropriately lovely this close to Valentines Day.

This is an incredible compilation of work done from a variety of artists and put into one book. This picture is just a sample of everything else that can be found here.

I'm not even sure how to describe it, but this picture makes me realize how big the world is and how small I am. It's like when you see a Planet Earth feature on insects and see ants communicating intelligently; there's this strange realization that not only am I only one of many humans, but I'm one of many species. Just when I think I'm grasping the idea that in every house on my block each person is doing something, and to each person they are the most important thing ever (and then in each city/country/continent etc.),I realize that each species has individual beings in each city, country, continent etc.

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This is one picture of many sassy homework assignments that can be found here. I'm suddenly very tempted to do this to my teachers...

This poem makes me cry..."our relationship was an anthem composed of words like 'gotta go.'" Haunting.

'Start Every Day With a Smile and Get it Over With.' -W.C. Fields

Today I'm going to begin by loving something because it doesn't exist in my world... I love that I don't have to conform to these dating guidelines
(funny how what makes me laugh now was a serious reminder to women
not long ago!)

-How a Woman Should Behave on a Date.-

Everything about this picture makes me want to sidle up to a bar and ask for a martini...shaken, of course, not stirred.

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One day I'll own this sneaky suitcase-chair. I love the colours and that brilliant re-use of an old piece of luggage.

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I love sassy observations!

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I love 'Men in Belted Sweaters,' but not for the reasons the advertisers wanted me to I suspect.

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Things Which Implore Me to Adore

Gorgeous reminder.

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I love fresh ways of looking at things...this certainly made me re-think some of my excuses.

“Don’t say you don’t have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Louis Pasteur, Michaelangelo, Da Vinci, and Albert Einstein.”-H. Jackson Brown

Beautiful song, Tenuousness, from artist Andrew Bird.

Marcell is an adorable little shell...I think I'm in love.

Incredible, genius film...bringing a book to life, of course I love it!

Maybe That's What it all Comes Down to. Love.

"Maybe that's what it all comes down to. Love, not as a surge of passion, but as a choice to commit to something, someone, no matter what obstacles or temptations stand in the way. And maybe making that choice, again and again, day in and day out, year after year, says more about love than never having a choice to make at all."

-Emily Giffin

All from this glorious site here.

Something in the Air

This song made me smile...so here it is to kick off the beginning of this post. Today is not a happy day. I'm not feeling any love today. But this blog is about choosing to love, and not about simply pretending that the world is always alright. It feels like my life is crashing around me, but I'm writing this to remind myself that I'm intentionally focusing on the good today.

And, while on the topic of music, here's a perfect playlist that I'm in love with today. (Fantastic site too, by the way!)

Here's another playlist from the same site that has seen me through more than one essay:

Delinquent Barbie made me laugh...just one more reason for parents to not want their daughters to emulate this spunky little role model.

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Remember how I said I love words and would keep bringing them up? Here it is again...20 very brilliant words I would adore back in our regular vocabulary. Some of these words definitely made me kench!

-20 Obsolete English Words that Should Make a Comeback-

I love this video...it makes me want to break into a chorus of this song here. "I love the whole world, and all its craziness!"

More Wonderful Wonders

It's 2:30 am as I start this and, since one of my main loves is sleep, I shall be keeping this to the point. I love this scene from the movie, 'Withnail and I.

'"The carrot has mystery. Flowers are essentially tarts - prostitutes for the bees..."

What I love so much with this picture is the concept behind the set-up; negative spaces in a photograph can be beautiful. The empty bits around the subject, that is, not covered by props or distractions. It made me think about what I fill my own negative spaces in my life with. Am I comfortable just being, or do I always need some sort of activity to fill my time and blur my thoughts?

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I love flowcharts and common sense...this combination is a beautiful thing!

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I mentioned in a previous blog post that I love finding books with underlined words or quotes, even if they were my own. It's incredible looking at what stands out to people...and, half the time, I'm amazed at what meant something to myself at the time I read the book.

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I love big, tall beds. Those super fluffy ones that you have to climb up into, filled with pillows and down blankets and thick sheets. I'm at that strange age where I'm old enough that I'm an adult, but a new enough adult that there are times in my day where I'm still surprised at my own autonomy; I get to own this type of bed now, and no longer have to crawl up into my parent's bed for this level of luxury comfort. Furthermore, I just ate a cookie after brushing my teeth.

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Things that Make me 'Un-Bloody-Hinged' (-Chasing Liberty).

This has to be one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen...ever. Can you imagine waking up to see sunlight, streaking through the water, bouncing off your skin?

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But if you're not careful you might end up re-enacting this little beauty here.

One of my favorite internet clips of all time. It's ok, news reporter, I can't breathe either.

And while I'm on videos that make me laugh, this one is fantastic.

I love black and white photos and train stations. There's something about the combination of the past and the promise of a fresh experience colliding that gets to me.

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And, on that note, I love to get lost. Last year, one of my favorite games was to try and get lost around the city. I would hop onto a bus with a pocketful of change and see where jumping off at random stops would get me to. I always found a way back home, but I guess the real appeal was that - for a short period of time - it was just me and the world in our own secret meeting places.

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A Happy Moment

Journal Entry from January 13, 2009

"Last night I was with two close friends walking around by the beach.It was probably about two in the morning and I left them behind and walked by myself for the equivalent of a block or two. It was dark...incredible. Silent. The houses were sleeping, the stars were yawning. The waves rolled over in their sleep, the foam curled up into the sand on the shore and sank between the rocks with contented sighs. 

The clouds raised their arms over their heads and stretched their toes across the sky before tucking their knees back into their chest...it was breath-taking. I felt like I had walked into nature's bedroom, a trespasser. Tip-toeing in, aware that I wasn't invited. I watched the heavens sleep, the earth dream, nature rest. 

I didn't belong, but I couldn't walk away. I stole sneaky glances at the sweet face of the earth snuggling into itself, away from the destruction and chaos of human interaction."

5 Things Which Restore my Love for Humanity

Thank you, Juno, for coining my more recent feelings toward humankind.

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However, don't lose hope. This is a blog about things I love and therefore I have complied 5 things to drive away the 'People-Suck' blues...absorb and feel the love for the things that others have created or experienced.

I want to take more cabs after hearing this...

If the Michael Jackson cabbie video didn't make you want to take call a taxi, this will. And it might make you cry like a baby like I did.

-THE CAB RIDE I'LL NEVER FORGET.-

Ah...the classic Drunk Octopus. He'd never get past a cop with those drunk eyes!

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There are no words to explain this final lecture of a university professor. Warning: there is a great chance you will not finish this video the same person as when you started it.

And, if you're a huge mess now, just remember the wise words of Dr. Seuss: 'Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened.'

This is one of many incredible pictures of street art that can be found here. That's right...you are looking at a mural.

5 Things for 5 Senses

Today is a list of 5 awesome things for all of our five delightful senses: sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste.

First of all, let's kick 'er off with sight. I adore images where a quick moment is captured and frozen mid-point...a raindrop falling, an explosion exploding; you name it, I love it (Thank you Mythbusters for making me love things slowed down)! For today, I present The Epic Bubble Pop.

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There's nothing like the sound of a bongo drum jam session. If you've never been at the beach on a hot summer night, surrounded with cheap wine, off-key singing, and the heartbeat of worn-out bongos...well, You've missed out. Some of my favorite memories involve Mexican blankets, stars, the waves and a drum. But don't take my word for the beauty of it...listen.

When I need some time to think, throwing pottery is one of the best ways to clear my mind. I have an old kick wheel and it makes this great hum when the momentum smooths out. Everything feels quieter around me and I can center on my hands, and how the slightest touch ripples through the clay in a perfect, seamless movement. I love the feeling of wet clay moving through my fingers. It's like socially acceptable mud-pies I suppose.

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The smell of a fresh summer rain on musty pavement always gets me. It's that smell of old buildup washing away, of the air clearing.

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I love the taste of ice cream. It's not only the taste of ice cold chocolate and vanilla, but it's also the taste of road trips and the line for the ice cream truck in the cul-de-sac. It's the taste of sticky fingers and not knowing what calories were, and the taste of success over having finished all the peas at dinner time. Ice cream brings me back to days where the biggest decisions were over sprinkles or nuts.

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Abstractions

"I'm tired of living in a world that says people only come together when faced with catastrophe." -Shane Koyczan

What would the world be like if we loved just because we can? Not because we expect anything back, not because the other deserves it, or out rightly needs it. What if we lived to love, because we loved to love, and because we were in love with loving other's ability to love and receive love just for the sake...of loving love?

Hear me out before you decide to close this blog and take a seizure medication. What if we loved attempts and failures in real life? In a movie, the underdog is the star...we cry for them, laugh with them, yell from our couches "YOU CAN DO IT FORREST!" What do we say to the single mom who hands us our burger at McDonalds? Do we say anything to her? We love the kid who tries to ride a bike, help them up when they fall. What do we say to the drug addict who falls back into his lifestyle? Do we help them up? Even if you can see, and love, the underdogs around you...what about yourself? What do you say to yourself when you gain five pounds, can't get past 'Smoke on the Water' in guitar lessons, or can't seem to pass that one class, or get that promotion you've been in line for? What if we loved ourselves with the patience that comes when we take away expectations? Live to love...out of love flourishes confidence and peace. And with unconditional love usually comes the desire to become better, to be worthy of that love; love ignites passion. If we lived in a world driven by love, intentional love that is based off of specific choices rather than emotion, the emotions that will grow would grow us.

Before you assume I'm a hippie who loves everything, I don't. I'm a pessimist who doesn't trust, doesn't feel worthy of love, and doesn't like to feel vulnerable, open, or forgiving. I'm hard on myself; I judge others quickly. This whole blog was birthed out of a realization that I'm walking through my world with blinders on, filtering beauty through my hardened, critical, logical worldview. I'm tired of that. I woke up a few days ago and it occurred to me that I need to start focusing on intentional love. So here I am, with this blog being one way to focus my thoughts each day on things around me that I adore. What I'm saying is that I know from experience that it's not an easy proposition, but I believe it is a necessary one, at least for my own life. By the way, have you ever noticed how the most difficult things are usually the best for us long term?

Today I'm choosing to love. I will love you without expectations. I will love you even if you have expectations on me (ever noticed how hard that is to do?). I will love myself even when I fail, and I will continue to love the challenge of loving those who are sometimes just not so lovable. Because, I'm starting to realize, a life without love is a failure in itself.

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If the sun, situated specifically to provide life-giving light, was ever absent, darkness and death would take over; growth would stop. What if we are situated specifically to love, and that love is largely absent? I think we would be exactly where we are, with emotional darkness and death taking over...if we want to grow, we need to love.

More Things

It's technically February 2nd, so I'm going to do list for the day now before I go to bed, as Wednesdays are usually more than a little insane around here. That's really just an excuse though...I've been writing an essay and am wired in a thinking/writing mode. With that, I'm going to kick this off with number 1.

I love perspective. When I saw this picture I realized how drastically I jump around on both ends of the spectrum; it is a rare occurrence in which I toss in the perfect intelligent comment into a conversation. Interestingly enough, the older I get the more I am going from being the teenager without a filter, notorious for saying too much too often, to being an adult who feels too quiet instead. Maybe it's the writer quirk in me, I have yet to really establish what caused the change. At any rate, my words and thoughts feel trapped, stuck. It literally takes a pen or a keyboard to get myself out of my own head. Even describing this fact takes my blog! This quote reminded me that my own silence can be just as devastating, to myself and those around me, as my word-vomit used to be.

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I love cookies, specifically home-ade and then tossed in the freezer for a couple hours. Yeah, I went there. And bunnies are awesome too which is why this picture is now officially one of my favorite things.

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I love testing my limits; challenging my own capabilities. I don't do it often enough though, and this picture of a kayaking trip at English Bay reminded me how much I adore fresh experiences. There's nothing quite like that feeling of fear before going into a new situation. It's nearly paralyzing at times. I remember climbing into the kayak, wondering if it'd be in the evening news how some girl forgot how to Eskimo roll and then drowned tragically in her flipped kayak. But then the ocean was moving beneath me, and suddenly the clouds were racing by overhead. The paddle cut through the waves in this fluid rhythm and I laughed and then was silent in awe of how powerful and vulnerable I was simultaneously. Moments where both of those realizations are working in harmony are beautiful...I'd say a little fear is worth that.

Now, let me explain that there is nothing that I love more than a clean kitchen. I realize the picture below is not necessarily the most sanitary or beautiful kitchen, per se, but what I love here is a moment frozen in time. I love museums and pictures where it looks like a normal family had a normal day, and then just didn't come home. Left all the little details, imperfections and reality, scattered wherever they had left them. I wonder when I leave my house sometimes what would happen if I got murdered, or if I stepped off my bus and a car hit me, or if there was a shooting at the bus loop. What would people think of me, of who I was or wanted to be, if they walked into my bedroom? I wonder if there would be a large disconnect to them between my dreams and how my day to day life is? Would they notice it as much as I do sometimes? They'd see a bit of mess, a few lists and journals that are so honest I consider burning them sometimes. Pictures like these make me smile because it catches those little things that usually get cleaned up before people are invited in...the important things like handprints on the cupboards and little alphabet letters on the fridge.

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I love to hike...mountains, trees, sweat and granola bars are all happy things in my book. The view doesn't hurt either!

Because How Can I Not Love This?

Events tonight made me think of this song, which then made me laugh. And, as we all know, this blog is specifically to document little things like that around me that I love for whatever reason. So, for your listening pleasure, a trip back to a simpler time.

And...also. :)

Things I Find Irresistible

Today my heart is meditating on potential. What drives it, what cuts it short. From what I've seen so far, the answer seems to be that I am the only one who can make or break my future. It makes me think...if I dream really big, and am not scared of the work and failures along the way...who do I really want to be? Am I following my dreams or am I already making practicality a forefront requirement of my career and location and passion?

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I adore used bookstores ( and the quote is fantastic as well). There's just that slight musty drag that always brings me back to my Grandparent's bookshelves full of Tennyson and Jack London. I love the little inscriptions found in the covers, finding quotes underlined by someone who the words meant something profound to.

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I love cozy, warm knit slipper-socks. They are a wrap-your-toes-up-and-keep-you-smiling sort of treat for a cold February day. A mouthful for the feet?

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I love colour...these bright bursts of shiny paint are inspiring me to crack out my own palette for an afternoon of creating.

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Everything about this 'beach cruiser' screams: "RIDE. ME." I love the colour, the curves and that basket begging to be filled with wildflowers, a straw hat, and a notebook.

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