band-aids

band-aids are made to aid an injury. we stock up on them because we know at some point or other hurt is going to come. it is in fact, a product that, while hopes to make the process as easy as possible, recognizes that pain is going to occur.

life isn't safe.

sometimes it's freefalling. sometimes it's letting go. sometimes it's letting the inevitable or unexpected happen without any control over the result. sometimes it's opening up. sometimes it's diving in. sometimes it's the spring air carrying a forgotten memory back to you. sometimes it's catching a glimpse of who you are.

life is intricate. and, whether we want to admit it or not, life is completely and fully about love, and loving is complicated.

see, truly loving takes 24 hours a day, 7 days a week- and in that, we will never succeed. it requires complete selflessness. complete sensitivity. being completely unattached. being completely uninhibited. but, we are flawed. broken. imperfect.

we ache to connect. we yearn to be a part of. and, we will never lose the demand of relationship.

yet, wounds are part of this journey. we will give, as well as receive. it's how we heal that reveals the depth of intimacy, and unification that we allow ourselves to live in.

the only thing we can do is keep it up. whether we fail or succeed. never become bitter. never become hardened. never become cold. never become void.

we have to simply trust. we have to believe that our blemishes reveal the history of who we are, and with every relationship, friendship, or acquaintance we become stronger friends, lovers, parents, and children.

i recently heard in a movie, "our fingerprints don't fade from the lives we touch." never run away from the beauty of emotion, or the impact that it marks.

heed from my experience: when removing your pride and barriers: don't pull slowly. rip it off. experience the burn. feel the blood in your veins. breathe. live. experience. trust that "the heart of life is good" and you're not the only fool scared to remove a two-inch lamb-chop band-aid that has been begging to be pulled off for the last three days. you'll find that adhesive to be less dangerous than you thought, and perhaps ready to come off anyway.