Love totally wins.

I am the farthest thing from a competitive person.  I usually don't even pay attention to who wins, much less who is competing. 

However, I do pay tribute to the belief that love totally wins.  For one, what enemy does love have?  And if there was such a thing, does it ever win? 

Regarding relationships..which face it, are at the core of all things in life...all other attempts outside of love will eventually fail.  

For example...

If you're living up a time of great success in your life, you may get initial celebrations, but most people will end up resenting you because you're actually doing something that they have only wished they had done.  The people who stand by you and believe that even this great success is just the beginning of what you will accomplish, really love you.

If you're going through a time of darkness in your life, you may initially be comforted and encouraged by your friends, but people will end up not calling you to hang out because who likes to be around a bump on a log?  The people who show up at your doorstep to cry with you, or go the extra mile to help you remember that this difficult time is real and it hurts, but it's not going to last forever.....the ones who will gently remind you that this time will most definitely build character, but it won't ever define you, really love you. 

If you're feeling unusually good about yourself, finding that you're fitting into clothes from the skinny days and happen to land upon a great hairdo, just like with the time of success, people will only tolerate it so much before they start not wanting to be around you because it only makes them feel worse about themselves.  The people who unselfishly don't compare, or make you drop and give 'em 20 after you've indulged the double chocolate molten souffle, really love you. 

And finally, if you've given up hope of ever fitting back into those skinny clothes which are now shoved deep into the depths of your closet, you don't know the last time you actually had a haircut, and something is making your skin break out, you're probably not feeling good about yourself and once again, no one wants to be around the downer.  The people who remind you that one's true beauty is on the inside, and for that you'll always be drop dead gorgeous, really love you. 

So, what.  You can't win.  Being good looking and successful won't bring relationship victory, and depression and dark times won't buy you company.  Yet, who wants to settle for mediocre?  Who wants to stay within the lines of success and failure, self worth and insecurity.  The truth is that we all go through bouts of success and valleys.  Sometimes we gain friends at the peaks, and lose friends at the bottom...or vice versa...but the relationships that will stand the test of time are the ones who operate from pure radiant love....well, most of the time, because hey, we are not all perfect and sometimes just feel like riding out a funk.

Love isn't easy, and it's not pain free. 

It's something that we all have inside of us.

It stands for what's right, not who's right.

The more pain that is felt, the deeper the capacity to love.

Love doesn't bash or blame.

Love gives even when it's hurt.

Love sees no boundaries- not race, nor region, nor age, nor religion.

Love craves love.

Love has no enemies.

Love can't be destroyed, because it will grow again.

Love gives even when it doesn't know the recipient.

Love is immeasurable, unending and absolute.

Love is in large groups and love is in a group of two.

Love can be goofy and love can be tough.

Love is uninhibited and free. 

Love is nothing short of fierce.  

Love doesn't strive to be perfect, it just strives to be.
Love is in the moment, but it lasts a lifetime.
Love doesn't need an invitation.
Love apmlifies in adversity, and grows stagnant in contentment. 

Love is the easiest thing you can ever let happen, 
but the hardest #%@^ thing you'll ever do. 

And the cool thing about love is that when you give love, it's easier to recognize love.  Because love is as love does, lovers attract lovers.  Look at the people closest to you in life.  Are they lovers?  

Love stands for falling.  It allows itself to let go, fall head over heals and hold nothing back, all the while expecting nothing in return.  Take a stand and show someone you love them today.  

"The course of true love never did run smooth."

 -William Shakespeare

Tell me what love means to you.  

xo.

 

falling

as an equinox baby, i'm well aware that fall doesn't officially begin until the 22st of this month, but i am already falling.  

at least in my mind.

i'm pretending it's already fall.  pretending the air is already crisp, the windows are open and the curtains are blowing in the breeze.  ok, so i don't have curtains...i'm pretending that part, too.  (but i totally have plans...and fabric...to make them...so that counts a little.)

when you pretend that it's already fall and that there's a chill in the air, the slightest cloud cover is enough inspiration to cook all day in the kitchen in order to make the most glorious batch of butternut crab soup you've ever made.    


i'm falling.

falling deeper in love with familiar people and things in my life and falling in brand spankin' new love with recently made friends and otherwise unfavorable things. 

developing within me is a deeper appreciation for home cooked simple meals...and the process it takes to achieve that.  i'm falling into the habit of grabbing any nearby writing utensil....be it a pen, a marker, a crayon or a keyboard.  my hands are on it and words are being written....words that are falling from my mind, practically.  

i'm falling deeper in love with the most loveliest people and family in my life...my husband, my children, my friends both five minutes away and five hours on a plane away.  if you are talking to me, texting me, or sending smoke signals my way....i'm listening like i've never listened before.  i'm falling in love with your words. 

speaking of words...i'm falling in love with the new music i'm finding on pandora....and even purchasing enough of it to make a darn good mixed cd for friends.  

and what's not to love about new love?  two nieces were born this week, and a nephew is on his way next month...my first nephew, that is.

that's some brand spankin' new love.  

next month, a sister joins the family when she marries my husband's brother.  new love.  and born through multiple layers of technology is a soul mate of mine in Australia....er, i mean 'Straya.  i've always known part of my heart was there.  always.  and now that  i've found it,  i'm falling into new depths of my heart.

as far as those unfavorable things?  yes.  i'm falling captive to the look of freshly folded towels....even if they're on the back of my sofa.  my kids have begun to excitedly offer their assistance in folding the laundry, and so a mundane chore falls into a fun morning activity by turning up the music, and turning off the cares.   

i'm falling in love with new things tucked in the grocery isles because my kids now express their opinions as to what goes in our shopping cart.  their opinions are like sweet music to my ears.  i'm falling in love with their minds. 

i'm also falling back in step with jogs around my neighborhood.  as one who doesn't like to exercise...much less sweat...each step made is a complete surrender to the fact that life after thirty...ahem...five...comes with a rapidly falling metabolism.  

i'm falling.  

i'm falling away from the person i used to be.  as layers of life build upon my skin, my seasoning is changing.  like a cast iron skillet, i've become weathered and some things don't stick as easily.  i don't get as hung up on the little things that used to irritate me, and at the same time,  my heart is spilling out more clairvoyantly than ever before.  i enjoy each moment, and don't worry about the next.... i'll find a way to enjoy that one, too.  

i'm falling more towards being the person i want to be rather that the person the world wants me to be....even if that involves some mix-matched outfits and cowboy boots.  


i'm falling. 

into a new chapter of life.....and loving the new freedom of this fall.  freedom to enjoy my daughter one on one for the first time in her three and a half years of life.  freedom to have a place for my words to fall when my mind gets full, and materials for which my hands to fall upon when my inner creativity awakens. 

and yes, of course i'm falling behind on my laundry, my to-do's and my house cleaning.  but when you let go, those things eventually fall in place, too.   

 “Sometimes it takes a good fall 

                                    to really know where you stand."           

                       - Hayley Williams