The Balcony- The Rumour Said Fire

Talk about a gorgeous day outside! I want to play hooky and go cruising for pictures.

It's days like this that make me forget about all the human toil, pain, and fret that plague us constantly, and make me just appreciate.  It doesn't matter what race, religion, or nationality you stand by; the beauty transcends all of that.  Days like this engulf me in the moment.

I've been down lately and preoccupied with what is past, but this day tables all of it.  Maybe it's God trying to tell me I'm being silly, but I think maybe this isn't one of those messages that you're not intended to inwardly analyze.  I think maybe, this is something you have to outwardly feel.  It's not quite definable in words, and that's how it should be--  left as something more primordial.

When you get too caught up in humanity, you lose the bigger picture.  We, as a species, are only one piece of the puzzle.  And when you focus so hard on where that one piece fits in, you miss the infinite other connections being made in the world and the exquisite masterpiece they create.



I realize I'm trying to do what I believe to be impossible (expressing this all in words), so I'll just stop.   It's beyond me, and that's why I love it. Maybe you feel this feeling too, and if so I'm happy for you.  It's...golden.

Happy trails!

My own song of supplication

let me recede
into a place warm and safe
where my pleading cries
and swollen eyes
may in a gentle embrace
finally feel the
depth of grace
that this world has to offer


I've been having dreams about Japan lately; both waking and sleeping.  I think more than anything, I feel frustrated.

Happy Valentine's Day

First Day of My Life- Bright Eyes

It's that day again.  We all know it.  People around the world are forced to recognize it, whether it's because they're alone, because they're in love, or because three whole aisles in their grocery store have been taken over by pink, red, chocolate, and roses.

Seems like most the people I meet hate Valentine's day.  A great number of them cite the commercialization of the holiday as the source of their disgust, and I can agree with that.  It has become increasingly material-based.  It makes me sad when people begin to feel that proof of their love can only be shown through monetary goods.  That is a pitfall of the escalating materialism of the modern world, and, as of yet, I'm not sure how to de-bunk that idea.

However, a great many more despise the holiday because it emphasizes their loneliness.  That's a feeling that people struggle against every day.  Even those in romantic relationships still fight some form of loneliness.  On this particular holiday, though, that kind of thinking should be examined carefully.  When it is, the selfish nature of the feeling becomes apparent.

I find myself bemoaning my own single status when I watch girls walk around hand in hand with their loves, but then I think, "Instead of begrudging them and the holiday for promoting such wanton displays of PDA, why don't I just feel happy for them in their joy?"  Really, it's only one day a year, and love is such a wondrous emotion.  It encompasses so much, and precipitates a whole pantheon of other emotions, so why not celebrate the day for its deeper meaning?  Celebrate "love", not the more topical applications of it.

This Valentine's day, I'll celebrate in my own way.  I'm going to spend some time with the idea of love.  Instead of buying candy hearts or red roses, I'm going to meditate on the notion of loving in every manner, not just the romantic one, and be joyous!

I hope you'll join me.

Love until later,

Caitlin D.

'OMG!' Exports American Slang to China | The Rundown News Blog | PBS NewsHour | PBS

'OMG!' Exports American Slang to China | The Rundown News Blog | PBS NewsHour | PBS