Tag: Khalil Gibran

Love Is Love

I grew up in the northeast/midwest, but I have spent most of my adult life living in the south. Northeasterners often have the unfortunate reputation for being rude/abrupt/curt, etc., but this is not how I am experiencing the gracious people of New York City and New Jersey during my stay here. I am an observer and contemplator of life and what I have keenly noticed is a different kind of service style than we are used to in the friendly, hospitable south. Up here, it is clear that the servers and the clerks and the people who work in hospitality are not here to “make friends.” They are not about chit-chatting and God forbid, you appear to make anything close to a “demand.” That won’t fly. What I have noticed is that, in general, the Northern service workers are efficient, dedicated to excellence, and to getting the job done fast and well. And I can appreciate this experience. Like all things, “hospitality” can come in many forms, but no matter where you are experiencing any kind of service, the underlying theme is usually there – “I want you to have a good experience, and I am doing my best to give you that good experience.” And that sentence that I just wrote translates down to one word – love. As Kahlil Gibran famously wrote, “Work is love made visible.” Different styles of work is still love, and love is just one thing – love is love.

Are you passing on love or are you passing on pain? Heal your pain and pass on love.

Soul Sunday

Good morning, loves. Sundays are devoted to poetry here at Adulting – Second Half. I’m a little distracted this morning. My own words aren’t flowing. My husband just shared a video with our family, which was magically created by Apple. My family is outdoorsy. We have been blessed to have taken trips together, to some of the greatest natural wonders of our beautiful country. Big Brother Apple just made a lovely montage of our family, on the trails. (and thus, I forgive Apple completely for this intrusion of privacy) The video was pure poetry, in pictures and in motion. I think that poetry is honestly anything that makes you feel deeply. Poetry is not restricted to words. Poetry can be found in music and in nature, in pictures and in paintings, in expressions and in shadows. What makes you feel deeply? That is your poetry. Below are a couple of poetic quotes which I saw today on the internet, from some of my favorite writers. As always, please feel comfortable to share your poetry in my Comments section.

It’s less what the eyes see and more what the soul feels (Paulo Coelho)

Cave People

My darling,

Never decide to Dim your light Accommodating the Ones accustomed

To cages And caves (C. Joybell C.)

“Love one another, but make not a bond of love: Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.” (Khalil Gibran)

The Joy of Friendship

“The ability to sit down with another person and talk for hours, about anything and everything, is more attractive to me than anything else.” – Koi Fresco

Last night I had a lovely dinner with three of my most intimate girlfriends and a friend of a friend, who fit right in, with our crazy crew! We had such a good time. It was one of those dinners that you wish didn’t have to end and we lingered and laughed until our server finally prodded us along to go home and get some sleep, so she could, too.

Today I am having lunch with one of my dearest friends who I have known since my first days in college, when we were both eighteen years old. I am sure that this will be a several hours long lunch and I can’t wait! We will catch each other up on the events going on with our families, our mutual friends, and we will bask in our familiarity and fondness for each other and the treasure of our shared history.

The older I get, the more I treasure my friendships. I don’t take them for granted. I’m a person who likes a lot of alone time. Sometimes I may even have the tendency to isolate myself a little too much. My friends make sure that I don’t keep my flower bud too tight. They force me to open up, loosen up and bloom a little more. I’m so grateful for them and for that gift that they give to me. It feels so good to relax and to unwind, in the warm, accepting sunshine-y glow of people who know all about you and love you anyway.

“In the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter, and sharing of pleasures. For in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed.” – Khalil Gibran

“One of the most beautiful qualities of true friendship is to understand and to be understood.” – Lucius Annaeus Seneca