..glad collin did a little cleaning before i got back :D but it was nice to come home to. and he was nice to come home to! it was not even 3 weeks, but you still always forget just a little bit how the other moves/smells/looks, just little details that throw you off. or maybe we do change in even that space of time, ever so slightly :).

someone put a nice old wooden bench in our little courtyard while i was gone too! nice because the grass is pretty patchy, not the best to sit on. i'll have to go out an read on the bench sometime :).
hm :) i feel good, positive about things & stuff & life in general :).

a good reminder: “Accepting that creativity is not and should not necessarily be on a constant flow has proved helpful.” – Iro Ivy (an Etsy seller)

also, this is lovely -

this tumblr is gorgeous for travel inspiration & general world inspiration :)
http://wander-the-galaxies.tumblr.com/

“Enlightenment is finding that there is nothing to find.
Enlightenment is to come to know that there is nowhere to go. Enlightenment is the understanding that this is all, that this is perfect, that this is it. Enlightenment is not an achievement, it is an understanding that there is nothing to achieve, nowhere to go.
You are already there—you have never been away. You cannot be away from there. God has never been missed. Maybe you have forgotten, that’s all. Maybe you have fallen asleep, that’s all.” —Osho

“Be happy in the moment; that is enough.
Each moment is all we need; not more.” —Mother Theresa

IF I can stop one heart from breaking,
I shall not live in vain;
If I can ease one life the aching,
Or cool one pain,
Or help one fainting robin
Unto his nest again,
I shall not live in vain.
- Emily Dickinson


The Journey
by Mary Oliver

One day you finally knew
what you had to do, and began,
though the voices around you
kept shouting
their bad advice--
though the whole house
began to tremble
and you felt the old tug
at your ankles.
"Mend my life!"
each voice cried.
But you didn't stop.
You knew what you had to do,
though the wind pried
with its stiff fingers
at the very foundations,
though their melancholy
was terrible.
It was already late
enough, and a wild night,
and the road full of fallen
branches and stones.
But little by little,
as you left their voices behind,
the stars began to burn
through the sheets of clouds,
and there was a new voice
which you slowly
recognized as your own,
that kept you company
as you strode deeper and deeper
into the world,
determined to do
the only thing you could do--
determined to save
the only life you could save.


Listen to the mustn'ts

Listen to the MUSTN'TS, child,
Listen to the DON'TS
Listen to the SHOULDN'TS,
the IMPOSSIBLES, the WON'TS
Listen to the NEVER HAVES,
Then listen close to me-
Anything can happen, child,
Anything can be.  
- Shel Silverstein


Forgotten Language

Once I spoke the language of the flowers,
Once I understood each word the caterpillar said,
Once I smiled in secret at the gossip of the starlings,
And shared a conversation with the housefly in my bed.
Once I heard and answered all the questions of the crickets,
And joined the crying of each falling dying flake of snow,
Once I spoke the language of the flowers....
How did it go?
How did it go?
 - Shel Silverstein


Standing by the fence,
You smile your wonderful smile.
Looking at you in silence I am amazed
I just heard you singing.
The words of your song
Belong to eternity.
With all my heart I bow to you in respect.
- Thich Nhat Hanh as related by Quach Thoai, "To A Dahlia"

i just have to say. drinking a bit of brandy while correcting esl writing is pretty great. :D lol...
i think i will look over it when i'm not buzzed before i send it though :P yes that would be a good idea.