Per Aspera Ad Astra

"There is a road, steep and thorny, beset with perils of every kind,

but yet a road, and it leads to the very heart of the Universe:

I can tell you how to find those who will show you the secret gateway that opens inward only,

and closes fast behind the neophyte for evermore.

There is no danger that dauntless courage cannot conquer;

there is no trial that spotless purity cannot pass through;

there is no difficulty that strong intellect cannot surmount.

For those who win onwards there is a reward past all telling - the power to bless and save humanity;

for those who fail, there are other lives in which success may come."

Perhaps the most important thing we bring to another person is the silence in us. Not the sort of silence that is filled with unspoken criticism or hard withdrawal. The sort of silence that is a place of refuge, of rest, of acceptance of someone as they are. We are all hungry for this other silence. It is hard to find. In its presence we can remember something beyond the moment, a strength on which to build a life. Silence is a place of great power and healing.

~ Rachel Naomi Remen ~

"Every book, every volume you see here, has a soul. The soul of the person who wrote it and of those who read it and lived and dreamed with it. Every time a book changes hands, every time someone runs his eyes down its pages, its spirit grows and strengthens."

~ Carlos Ruiz Zafón, The Shadow of the Wind ~

Maybe right now your journey isn’t about love. Maybe right now your journey is about you. Maybe this is the season you are being challenged to be your own savior, to be your own safe place. Maybe right now you are being reminded ~ that the people who walked away were only ever leading you back to yourself, were only ever leading you here. And here, you are okay on your own. Here, you are rebuilding. Here, you are adapting and mending, and reclaiming all of the pieces you let them walk away with. Here, you are being kinder to your soul, you are giving yourself the same kind of love you have always given to others. Here, you are not rushing your heart, you are not depending on another human being to fix it. Instead, here, you are doing that on your own. Here, you are healing.

“You know that place between sleep and awake;

that place where you can still remember dreaming?

That’s where I will always love you.

That’s where I will be waiting.”

“Is suffering really necessary? Yes and no. If you had not suffered as you have, there would be no depth to you as a human being, no humility, no compassion. Suffering cracks open the shell of ego and then comes a point when it has served its purpose. Suffering is necessary until you realize it is unnecessary.”

The absolute letting go is letting go of the one who is letting go.

"A daughter is birthed by Álfröðull (the Sun goddess)

after she is swallowed by the wolf Fenrir

She (the New Sun) shall ride

as the gods are dying

on the old paths of her mother.

The sun I saw, and it seemed to me

as if I saw a glorious god:

I bowed before her,

for the last time,

in the world of men..."

“Sorrow prepares you for joy. It violently sweeps everything out of your house, so that new joy can find space to enter. It shakes the yellow leaves from the bough of your heart, so that fresh, green leaves can grow in their place. It pulls up the rotten roots, so that new roots hidden beneath have room to grow. Whatever sorrow shakes from your heart, far better things will take their place.”

“Be a loner. That gives you time to wonder, to search for the truth. Have holy curiosity. Make your life worth living.”

“Sorcerers say that true rebellion, and humanity’s only way out as a species, is to stage a revolution against their own stupidity. As you can understand, this is solitary work.”

~ Carlos Casteneda ~