There’s no “maybe” or “perhaps” in love. I either love you or I don’t.

Like, if you’re dating me, you better burn all old love letters, delete all the pics from your phone and erase your ex’s numbers… for real.

Things you learn on a plane.

You are the cheese to my macaroni

You are the horizon to my sky

You are the bacon to my eggs

You are the laces to my sneakers

You are the jelly to my peanut butter

You are the smile to my face

You are the gravy to my smashed potatoes

You are the bubbles to my bath

You are the milk to my cookie

You are the ink to my pen

You are the ketchup to my french fries

You are the water  to my ocean

You are the icing on my cupcake

It hurts to say goodbye when you know that life won’t be the same. But it’s better to give up than to fight, when you know that you’re the only one fighting.

I’m tired of putting up walls. I want someone with the strength, and the honesty to break them down.

Learn to let go

How does one avoid loss in the first place? Contrary to popular belief, it’s not attachment that causes loss… attachment feels fine. It’s detachment that hurts. Learn to let go.

Some suggest that to avoid loss, one should never be attached to anything. They give the example of a hand in water: when the hand is removed from the water, the hand leaves no impression. These people say the reason the hand leaves no trace in the water is because the water is not attached to the hand.

On the contrary, while the hand is in the water, it is very attached to the hand. It surrounds it, enfolds it, embraces it. Allow yourself to experience life as fully as water experiences the hand, then let go as completely as water.

Yes, the water leaves a little of itself on the departing hand, as we leave a little of ourselves with the people and things we touch, but for the most part, when it comes time to go, let go.

The hand could no more hold the water than the water could hold the hand. As soon as one “wants” to leave, there is no attachment, because there can be no attachment other than the mutual action of being together. Hand and water both accept the inevitability, and part “clean”.

There is a little of a book on raising children we’ve always liked: Hold Them Very Close, and Let Them Go. This we find good advice for all experiences, whatever they may be: Hold them very close, and let them go.

How do you know when it’s time to hold them close? When they’re in front of you (often literally): Whatever is the current experience in your awareness, the next event on your schedule. When is it time to let go? When you’re on your way out or they’re on their way out.

Say good-bye, let go, and embrace the new moment.

The paradox of our age

The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings, but shorter tempers; wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints. We spend more, but have less; we buy more, but enjoy it less.

We have bigger houses and smaller families; more conveniences, but less time. More degrees, but less sense; more knowledge, but less judgment; more experts, but more problems; more medicine, but less wellness.

We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get angry too quickly, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, and watch TV too much.

We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often. We’ve learned how to make a living, but not a life. We’ve added years to life, not life to years.

We’ve been all the way to the moon and back, yet still have trouble crossing the street to meet our new neighbor. We’ve conquered outer space, but not inner space. We’ve done larger things, but not better things. We’ve cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul; we’ve split the atom, but not our prejudice. We write more, but learn less. We plan more, but accomplish less. We’ve learned to rush, but not to wait; have higher incomes, but lower morals; more food, and less appeasement. We build more computers to hold more information to produce more copies than ever, but have less and less communication. We’ve become long on quantity, but short on quality.

These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion; tall men, and short characters; steep profits, and shallow relationships. These are the times of world peace, but domestic warfare; more leisure, but less fun; more food, and less nutrition. These are the days of two incomes, but more divorce; of fancier houses, but broken homes. Of quick trips, disposable diapers, throw away morality, one-night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer to quiet to kill. It is a time when there is much in the show window and nothing in the stockroom; a time when technology has brought this letter to you, and a time when you can choose either to make a difference, or just to hit delete…

I never thought that I'd catch this love-bug again

I’m weird with relationships. I think I know what I want but I end up pushing everyone away. I think I run because i’m scared; I’m scared that I might get hurt or maybe I just haven’t found someone who I know is worth being hurt for.

12