I just had to say that my life has never been better. The relationship I am forging with Andrea is beyond belief. I may have been this happy before, but this is the most sustainable relationship I’ve ever been in. I’m not even going to bother defending her or us… we think enough alike, have been through many of the same issues… she is so strong and has lived through things that would have killed most of us, but has retained her beautiful, open heart. We talk for hours, are vulnerable to each other, and pick each other up when a fear or another problem hits… the thing we are each most afraid of is losing the other, it would be too great a loss to bear. I’m sorry if this hurts or upsets anyone reading this, there was nothing WRONG before but this has everything RIGHT. I don’t remember being so physically attracted to a woman, EVER, and then to have her want to be everything else as well… I’ll shut up now. I hope you are happy for us. And she asked me to marry her last night (giggle, that’s a first). It will be quite a while before that can happen, so I’m not holding my breath, but I have never wanted anything more.<\/p>\n
Hugs,
Me<\/p>\n
=====<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Then said Almitra, “Speak to us of Love.”
And he raised his head and looked upon the people, and there fell a stillness upon them.
And with a great voice he said:
When love beckons to you follow him,
Though his ways are hard and steep.
And when his wings enfold you yield to him,
Though the sword hidden among his pinions may wound you.
And when he speaks to you believe in him,
Though his voice may shatter your dreams as the north wind lays waste the garden.
For even as love crowns you so shall he crucify you. Even as he is for your growth so is he for your pruning.
Even as he ascends to your height and caresses your tenderest branches that quiver in the sun,
So shall he descend to your roots and shake them in their clinging to the earth.
Like sheaves of corn he gathers you unto himself.
He threshes you to make you naked.
He sifts you to free you from your husks.
He grinds you to whiteness.
He kneads you until you are pliant;
And then he assigns you to his sacred fire, that you may become sacred bread for God’s sacred feast.
All these things shall love do unto you that you may know the secrets of your heart, and in that knowledge become a fragment of Life’s heart.
But if in your fear you would seek only love’s peace and love’s pleasure,
Then it is better for you that you cover your nakedness and pass out of love’s threshing-floor,
Into the seasonless world where you shall laugh, but not all of your laughter, and weep, but not all of your tears.
Love gives naught but itself and takes naught but from itself.
Love possesses not nor would it be possessed;
For love is sufficient unto love.
When you love you should not say, “God is in my heart,” but rather, “I am in the heart of God.”
And think not you can direct the course of love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course.
Love has no other desire but to fulfil itself.
But if you love and must needs have desires, let these be your desires:
To melt and be like a running brook that sings its melody to the night.
To know the pain of too much tenderness.
To be wounded by your own understanding of love;
And to bleed willingly and joyfully.
To wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving;
To rest at the noon hour and meditate love’s ecstasy;
To return home at eventide with gratitude;
And then to sleep with a prayer for the beloved in your heart and a song of praise upon your lips.
from The Prophet
kahlil gibran<\/div>\n
Beginning this moment, we can pledge to do one act of greatness each day. An act of greatness is any task, behavior or deed performed in a loving way for a good purpose. We can practice greatness through service, through praise and acknowledgment, in our work, and in building a dream. An act of greatness today, tomorrow, and the next day: soon, we discover that the magnificent life we once believed elusive is the very one we’re leading.<\/p>\n
–Mary Manin Morrissey<\/p>\n
Humans are rare among mammals in that we are always ready for love. Unlike our animal relatives, human females do not have special seasons of estrus. Scientists speculate about why this distinction came about, some believing that the length of time a human baby must be nurtured gave rise to a need to bond us more tightly together. And sexual pleasure is, indeed, a great and compelling bond.<\/p>\n
This human biological trait is both a blessing and a curse. It is a blessing, because we are able to bond with each other beyond the sheer physical need for release. But love can also feel like a curse, as the poet Ibykos reminds us, because it opens up to change. Love can overturn our lives as easily as a child overturns a wagon of toys, which is why we love the Goddess’ child, Eros or Cupid, is pictured as so wanton and careless of our lives. Yet without its beauty, what would our lives be worth?<\/p>\n
. By Patricia Monaghan ~ From “The Goddess Companion”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I just had to say that my life has never been better. The relationship I am forging with Andrea is beyond belief. I may have been this happy before, but this is the most sustainable relationship I’ve ever been in. I’m not even going to bother defending her or us… we think enough alike, have […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-702","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/peacefulhippo.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/702","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/peacefulhippo.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/peacefulhippo.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peacefulhippo.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peacefulhippo.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=702"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/peacefulhippo.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/702\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/peacefulhippo.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=702"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peacefulhippo.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=702"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peacefulhippo.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=702"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}