Tag Archive | love

Today’s the day…

Kahlil Gibran on Love

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, for love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course.

Love has no other desire but to fulfill 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.

Wink!

The Most Romantic City in the U.S. – Knoxville, Tennessee

Feb14

Knoxville, TN Is America’s Most Romantic City According To Amazon.com

Amazon.com announced the most romantic cities in the United States today, based on its sales.

According to a press release put out by the company, the information has been extrapolated by

compiling sales data of romance novels and relationship books (Kindle books and print books); romantic comedy movies (digital and DVDs); a collection of romantic music from Dean Martin, Barry White, Luther Vandross, Maxwell and Miguel (CDs and MP3s); along with sexual wellness products, from Jan. 1, 2012-Jan. 23, 2013 on a per capita basis in cities with over 100,000 residents.

Of course, if your romantic gesture involves buying locally, or from any other website, then your city doesn’t gain the benefit of Amazon’s publicity.

For the second year in a row, the top spot goes to Knoxville, Tenn., while “for the fourth year in a row, Miami is the sexiest city in the US, winning the top spot in the sexual wellness category. Cambridge, Mass. and Alexandria, Va. round out the top three.” And according to their data, Boise, Idaho is officially the least romantic city in the US. Looks like the local chapter of Romance Writers of America, the Coeur de Bois has some work to do.

Here’s Amazon.com’s top 20 most romantic cities in the US:

1. Knoxville, Tenn.
2. Alexandria, Va.
3. Miami, Fla.
4. Orlando, Fla.
5. Cincinnati, Ohio
6. Vancouver, Wash.
7. Dayton, Ohio
8. Murfreesboro, Tenn.
9. Columbia, S.C.
10. Pittsburgh, Pa.
11. Round Rock, Texas
12. Clearwater, Fla.
13. Las Vegas, Nev.
14. Salem, Ore.
15. Erie, Pa.
16. Everett, Wash.
17. Rochester, N.Y.
18. Clarksville, Tenn.
19. Tallahassee, Fla.
20. Billings, Mont.

So with those words from Amazon, I hope your Valentine’s Day turns out exactly as you want it to:

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Fading – Remembering – Love – Old Age – Preparation – Getting Older

Oct4

REMEMBER

by Christina Rosetti 1830 – 94

Remember me when I am gone away,

Gone far away into the silent land;

When you can no more hold me by the hand,

Nor I half turn to go yet turning stay.

Remember me when no more day by day

You tell me of our future that you planned:

Only remember me; you understand

It will be late to counsel then or pray.

Yet if you should forget me for a while

And afterwards remember; do not grieve:

For if the darkness and corruption leave

A vestige of the thoughts that once I had,

Better by far you should forget and smile

Than that you should remember and be sad.

+++

I shall be 61 years old soon, so I have made it through my 60th year, which has been very difficult for me. The difficulty comes when you don’t feel 60, not in your mind anyway, but the mirror and a chance glance in a shop window, remind you that you no longer look like you thought you looked. I have talked about the physical signs of aging before and will do again, but it’s harder to quantify the emotional mind when it ages.

People change as they get older. Dare I say that I am not the person I was at 14? or 21?, 30?, 40? or 50? I would like to think that I have improved but the truth is that I have just changed. I don’t think I am any better than I was way back then. Perhaps I am more forgiving? Yes, that is true. I am more forgiving, less judgmental but on the down side, I am more set in my ways. I resist change in my life more than before. I find I don’t yearn to learn new things quite as much as I did even five years ago. It is hard to keep up with new technology. It doesn’t seem to work like it’s supposed to so every day brings a new challenge. Something has gone wrong with A, B or C and it is up to me or my partner to fix it.

Computers and telephones play a much larger part in our lives than they used to. I have resisted getting a Smartphone thus far; saying to myself that I don’t need one; it is too complicated; I might lose it; I can’t afford the monthly payments now that I am on a restricted budget. Those are the kind of excuses I use for myself. I don’t need one, it is true. I do just fine with the two pay-as-you-go phones I have – one for England and one for America.

Computers are a different matter. So many forms need to be filled in online these days that no-one can really function properly without one. Then there is the fun side of computers. There is still a lot of fun in surfing the Internet and I enjoy that as much as anyone. However, my computer in England, which is only two years old, is running very slow. I have no idea why and no intention of buying software to sort out the problem. I know if I do that, more problems will occur. When I get back I intend to try and speed it up a bit. I may need to buy more memory but should I have to? after only two years use? I’ll let you know.

As I enter my 61st year next week, I find myself spending more and more time remembering……