apprehension

“Life will break you. Nobody can protect you from that, and living alone won't either, for solitude will also break you with its yearning. You have to love. You have to feel. It is the reason you are here on earth. You are here to risk your heart. You are here to be swallowed up. And when it happens that you are broken, or betrayed, or left, or hurt, or death brushes near, let yourself sit by an apple tree and listen to the apples falling all around you in heaps, wasting their sweetness. Tell yourself you tasted as many as you could.” ~ Louise Erdrich

"As it turns out, taking that same violent fall enough times taught me a thing or two. Maybe I haven’t found exactly what makes me happy, but I’ve learned what happens when I try to pursue that which I wish made me happy, but doesn’t. And maybe I haven’t figured out exactly who I am, but I’ve learned exactly who I’m not—and who I should stop trying to be. I’ve also learned—rather, remembered—that I am not the only person who feels this way. I am not the only person who struggles along a path that doesn’t seem to exist most of the time. I am not the only person who’s ever hated herself for being so blatantly lost and sad." Sara Rodriguez

Grace and elegance is about connecting with people and considering them as your equal.  ~Garance Dore

"I looked into your twisted face and I knew, it wasn’t just that you didn’t love me, you hated me. Why did it take so long to see it? I didn’t walk out right away. I was afraid of you. I asked other people for help and they helped me. I finally understood that they had been there all along, but I had let my pride keep me isolated, silenced and trapped." ~Elephant Journal.

and when my relationship ended. . ." a sense of relief washed over me. It felt like I had taken a big test and now there was nothing I could do — fate was no longer in my hands. At that point, the only thing I could do was find my own bliss. So I did." ~ Christina Scalera

Dignity—the word itself—has come to mean different things to different people, as many words do. It doesn't just mean always being stiff and composed. It means a belief in oneself, that one is worthy of the best. Dignity means that what I have to say is important, and I will say it when it's important for me to say it. Dignity really means that I deserve the best treatment I can receive. And that I have the responsibility to give the best treatment I can to other people. —Maya Angelou

"The heart goes where the head takes it, and neither cares much about the whereabouts of the feet." ~JOHN TIERNEY

“The risk is failure, the risk is limiting yourself to one relationship,” he whispered. “But you’re also deepening yourself. . . It's an ordeal. In ancient times, an ordeal was what you went through to develop your own authentic self.”

"For a complicated girl, she ain't that hard to figure out." ~Nichols.

"It's daring to be curious about the unknown, to dream big dreams, to live outside prescribed boxes, to take risks, and above all, daring to investigate the way we live until we discover the deepest treasured purpose of why we are here."

We are the sum total of everyone who has had a part in our life journey, all the people who have touched us along the way~ Rev. Liz Walker

Some keys unlock doors. Some looks unlock you. ~Ted Skala.

The irony of commitment is that its deeply liberating. - in work, in play, in love. The act frees you from the tyranny of your internal critic, from the fear that likes to dress itself up and parade around as rational hesitation. To commit is to remove your head as the barrier to your life. - anne morriss (as found on the back of a starbucks cup)

Love is life. And if you miss love, you miss life. —Leo Buscaglia wonder where that leaves me. . .

Yesterday I had the most unusual feeling; in the evening I realized that I'd failed to hydrate properly. After drinking at least five consecutive glasses of water my system went into shock. I was frozen despite being warm to the touch. A very interesting analogy; have you ever felt frozen and empty inside when on the outside everything appears to be business as usual?

" There are saltwater people, and freshwater people. . .then there are some people who don't even know enough to fall in love with the water. . .but they're not us.' ~Hollis Woods

"I’ll never be able to forget each person I’ve been with, they’re all different with specific qualities; you can never replace anyone – what is lost is lost. Each relationship, when it ends, I never truly recover. Love and reality are almost contradictory terms for me. Why am I always the one to teach a man to love but never become his wife? I would have said no, but at least he could have asked. Why are men disappointed with me? I’m a strong, independent woman in my professional life. I don’t need a man to feed me but I still need a man to love and that I can love.” ~After Sunrise How true those words resonate. . .

For peace of mind, resign as general manager of the universe.

The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall. — Nelson Mandela