This is the time we are upon.

“About all you can do in life is be who you are. Some people will love you for you. Most will love you for what you can do for them, and some won’t like you at all.”

“Every scar, every wound, every ache inside of you is a story. And stories are the wildest, most powerful things of all. Because stories can build galaxies or make entire universes break and bleed and fall.”

“The shadows I cast have become my closest of friends.”

“The hardest part about this is that I’m still learning. The body does not understand demands. For years, I have taken parts of myself and shook them in my hands, screaming, “It’s time to feel better about this! This time in my life is over!” It doesn’t work. I heal in my sleep. I heal when I’m not paying attention. I heal the more I accept the hurt. I heal the more I tell myself “It’s okay, it’s okay. I’m worth more than rushing through this.” I heal with every time I understand I deserve patience. It’s cliche to compare myself to Rome and how nothing is mastered in a day. It is better to say I will shine so brightly when I am no longer at the hands of my memories. I will be unstoppable, if I give myself time.”

“You will either step forward into growth, or back into safety.”

“I am homesick for a place I am not sure even exists. One where my heart is full. My body loved. And my soul understood.”

“Never apologize for burning too brightly or collapsing into yourself every night. That is how galaxies are made.”

Kindness by Naomi Shihab Nye

“The only time you truly become an adult is when you finally forgive your parents for being just as flawed as everyone else.”

“You start dying slowly if you do not travel, if you do not read, if you do not listen to the sounds of life, if you do not appreciate yourself. You start dying slowly When you kill your self-esteem; When you do not let others help you. You start dying slowly If you become a slave of your habits, Walking everyday on the same paths… If you do not change your routine, If you do not wear different colours Or you do not speak to those you don’t know. You start dying slowly If you avoid to feel passion And their turbulent emotions; Those which make your eyes glisten And your heart beat fast. You start dying slowly If you do not change your life when you are not satisfied with your job, or with your love, If you do not risk what is safe for the uncertain, If you do not go after a dream, If you do not allow yourself, At least once in your lifetime, To run away from sensible advice…”

“…one never forgets the taste of certain tears…”

“I asked the universe to teach me how to love, and it taught me the hard way. Due to its influence, my mind only thinks of him, my pen only writes for him, and my lips only speak of his name. Everything I feel with any tangibility, is for him. I have loved him with every ounce of love those before him did not show me, and have felt for him in the same way. Yet he does not know I feel this way about him. Everything I feel is felt for him from afar, because he has stolen my capability of speech. He looks at me and I forget who I am; as if my identity is lost. It is only on paper can he truly know of the words I can only write, but not say.”

“You can cut all the flowers but you cannot keep Spring from coming.”