Realize

Hey Out There,

Someone mentioned to me recently a quote by a philosopher with a name I can't for the life of me pronounce. He said that Hell is "the suffering of being unable to love". For those of you that care, his name is Fyodor Dostoyevsky. For those of you that don't, such as myself, he will heretofore be referred to as That Dead Russian Guy.

I agree with him, for the most part. Love is the great motivator in this world. "Life is Pain. Anyone who says differently is selling something." (I'll be impressed if you know where that one's from). Love is so much a part of Life. It takes different forms; jealousy and greed, passion, adoration, sacrifice, worry, friendship. It creates and it destroys, it rips and grates, it soothes and heals. It is not a comfortable thing, no matter which form it takes.

That Dead Russian Guy hit the nail on the head in that sense. Love is a biological need. It's how we survive despite being Karma's favorite punching bags. Without it...I can't even imagine. Love is the expansion of the soul. Without Love, the soul shrinks to nothingness. Without any love at all, I'm not sure a person would have a soul at all, and therefore I'm not sure there would be any suffering, but maybe he means the part between, where the soul is shrinking.

So I guess the message I'm trying to get through all of this smarmy, cheesy jargon here is just...to love. Love your family. Love your friends. Love your dog, your fish, your kid brother (yes, at this point they belong in the same category). Don't close your heart, don't lose your soul.

Love is a verb. "Just do it."

Quote of the Day:

"I hold it true, whatever befall

I feel it, when I sorrow most

It is better to have loved and lost

Than never to have loved at all."

--Alfred Lord Tennyson, In Memoriam

Poem of the Day:

For Mallory-

Plastic houses.

Green roofs and red doors,

and the most beautiful laugh

in a polka-dot jacket.

I'm Alice in Wonderland

five again- fearless

digging for treasure;

swinging for the moon.

Rolling in the grass,

no shame in falling down,

hitting the earth hard and fast--

she just laughs.

Twin hazel suns are shining

above teeny, tiny Chiclets

she insists are falling out,

'cause she's "a big girl now, Rinny."

Pearly white honor badges,

her hand fits over one fingertip,

pulls to the slide, smiling,

showing off the little holes.

My heart's so full it's bursting.

So I trip. Obviously.

But she just sits on me,

Dora shoes flashing

little finger wagging:

"Be careful, Rinny!"

I think it's a little too late for me.

TAFNF,

Elena Grace