Scment

I never really realized how beautiful a place could sound. 

Scent, oh man, I've had a ton of experiences how beautiful places smell.

But sound, wow. I've never fallen in love with the sound of a place until Sturgis.

These are a few of my favorite things

People think it's all about misery and desperation and death and all that shit which is not to be ignored, but what they forget is the pleasure of it. Otherwise we wouldn't do it. After all, we're not fucking stupid. At least, we're not that fucking stupid.

Unknown

This was sent to me by a dear friend who knows about my past and the struggles I have been through these last three years:

 

This goes out to all of the people who have been broken, but have been strong enough to let go. For the people who have hurt so badly that they felt that they could never love again, but kept their head up. For the people who learn from their mistakes and never stop moving forward, even when they take two steps back. For the people that wish loneliness wasn’t a part of them, but put up with it anyhow. For the people that are okay with taking up all of the room in the bed, even if it sometimes feels a little empty. For the people who wake up in the morning with no missed calls, but smile anyway.

For the people who periodically miss the past, but are so much more excited for the future. For the people that have wounds still healing. For the people that have so much tied to their past relationship, but break those chains to start fresh. For the people that want to look back so badly, but focus on the road ahead. For the people that pick up the phone and are tempted to call, but keep their dignity intact instead. For the people that never wanted to let go, but had to. For the people that still believe in love even after all of the hurt their heart has endured. For all the people that gave up, not because they were weak, but because most times, it’s better just to let go. We’ll all get our happy ending someday. — Unknown

Found

"I think you could fall in love with anyone if you saw the parts of them that no one else gets to see. I don't know, like if you followed them around invisibly for a day and you saw them crying in their bed at night or singing to themselves as they make a sandwich or even just walking along the street and even if they were really weird and had no friends at school, I think after seeing them at their most vulnerable you wouldn't be able to help falling in love with them."

Dream Gardens

In my dream, I lived in a huge garden, it was shaped in an infinity sign (much like the garden at the Hippy Ranch) there were flowers in the middle. 

Apple, lemon, avocado trees and mounds and mounds of vegetables, vines of tomatoes and pumpkins... people came to visit, I sent them home with heaping picnic baskets full of carrots. 

Everything was planted in circles.

I wore a crown woven of pink roses.

There was dirt under my fingernails.

I could almost smell the lilacs.

This is my home now.

This is my home.

 

V-Day

“You have to give to the world the thing that you want the most, in order to fix the broken parts inside you.” -Eve Ensler, author of the Vagina Monologues. 

I want to wish everyone a Happy Weekend of love, love between friends, between family, even between someone special. But we must also be aware of the dark side of unhealthy relationships. 

Domestic violence and abuse can happen to anyone, yet the problem is often overlooked, excused, or denied. This is especially true when the abuse is psychological, rather than physical. It has been three years this Valentine's Day since the man I chose to devote the rest of my life with abused me for the last time. This time of year has been difficult since then. 

Domestic abuse often escalates from threats and verbal abuse to violence.  And while physical injury may be the most obvious danger, the emotional and psychological consequences of domestic abuse are also severe. Emotionally abusive relationships can destroy your self-worth, lead to anxiety and depression, and make you feel helpless and alone. 

Noticing and acknowledging the signs of an abusive relationship is the first step to ending it. Domestic violence and abuse happens among heterosexual couples and in same-sex partnerships. It occurs within all age ranges, ethnic backgrounds, and economic levels. And while women are more commonly victimized, men are also abused—especially verbally and emotionally, although sometimes even physically as well. 

The bottom line is that abusive behavior is never acceptable, whether it’s coming from a man, a woman, a teenager, or an older adult. You deserve to feel valued, respected, and safe. No one should live in fear of the person they love. 

Now I can look back and I can say "he fucked me up pretty bad, but I had the strength to get through it, and it molded me into the woman I am today". I don't want anyone to go through what I went through. 

No one should have to endure this kind of pain—and your first step to breaking free is recognizing that your situation is abusive. Once you acknowledge the reality of the abusive situation, then you can get the help you need. 

http://www.helpguide.org/articles/abuse/help-for-abused-and-battered-women.htm

Obligations

You've come a long long way

and you deserve to be

really happy.

Sitting in a 200 degree room, stretching my body to both ends of the earth, trying desperately to map a man's plan to walk to Eden, two women join me.

They conversed about relationships, one had two, the other had none. I felt sad for the first woman, she obviously was unhappy. I sweated as long as I could, they made small talk with me, while I stretched, and when I left I told them:

You are not obligated to stay with anyone who doesn't treat you like the amazing beautiful woman you are.

I stepped outside, my body was steaming in the cold, I felt as if I was a superhero. I walked back to my pea-pod and I realized, I am going to take my own advice. The sweat which left my body was toxic, cleansing my soul, I am filling it with light and love. 

Practice what you preach to strangers as well as friends.