KAKE

jaguars in manaus, amazonas, brasil, photographed by caio vieira

ツルアジサイ咲く岡寺 // Oka-dera Temple

Natalie Desselle and Halle Berry in B*A*P*S (1997) directed by Robert Townsend, costume design by Ruth E. Carter

Some people love like they pick flowers. They see something beautiful, something rare, and their first instinct is to possess it. To hold it. To keep it for themselves. But a plucked flower may decorate your hands for a moment— while silently dying inside them. That is not love. That is admiration mixed with hunger. Real love behaves differently. It kneels beside the garden even on days when no flowers bloom. It waters with patience, protects with gentleness, and understands that beautiful things survive through care, not control. A soul that truly loves you will not drain your light just to feel warmth. It will help you grow toward the sun, even if it means you bloom beyond their reach someday. Because love is not proven by intensity in one moment— but by consistency across many seasons. Anyone can adore a flower when it is beautiful. But only the wise stay through the storms, water the roots in silence, and understand that devotion is a daily act. And perhaps that is why the universe keeps sending us flowers— to remind us that the purest form of love has never been possession. It has always been nurturing. 🖤

🐈‍⬛🐾 pinky mirabelli. / 2009.

1982

Fortesa Latifi, from The Truth About Grief.