love is not a one- size-fits-all box we’re meant to fit into…

sugar + flowers… the sweet. the soft. the vulnerable things that tender the walls and break your heart open

love languages…

blood + fire… the wild. the passionate.
the visceral things that burn in your veins,
that bite at your senses, that give you a pulse

sugar + flowers… the sweet. the soft.
the vulnerable things that tender the walls
and break your heart open

love + soul… the deep. the true. the heart.
the lungs. the breathing. the wings. the free…
the things you ache for… and the ones that ache back

magic + stars… the infinite. the destined.
the things you feel beyond words, beyond bodies,
beyond… before… after… always.

– butterflies rising

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With any kind of heartbreaking or excruciatingly hard thing we go through…

i used to be so hard on myself for how long it can take me to let go and heal from things

With any kind of heartbreaking or excruciatingly
hard thing we go through, there’s this turning point that can
come, the one when you start to feel yourself shifting from
hurting to healing… and healing from something you thought
you might never recover from. That feeling is maybe one of
the most powerful things we can ever feel. It’s that feeling of
knowing that not only are we going to make it through what
we thought we couldn’t, we’re going to come out of it all a
more beautiful version of ourselves. And we just have to
keep reaching for that turning point. And we don’t have to let
the things that break us break us for good or completely strip
away our passion and light and fire and hope. We can let them
take us deeper into ourselves and connect us even more to all
those things that set our hearts wild and free.

– butterflies rising

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i saw one step. in the dark. not a path. not even two steps…

i saw one step. in the dark. not a path. not even two steps. so i took just one step

i saw
one step. in the dark.
not a path.
not even two steps.
so i took just one step.
and i didn’t know if there
would be another one waiting,
but i took it anyways…
because i’m trying to have
a brave heart
even when it feels so. dark.
so with no light
and everything unknown
and not even very much hope,
i took a little step.
and then…
there was another little step.
and everything in me breathed wild relief,
not because i’m where i want to be yet…
but because there was another step.
and so now i have a little hope.
and i still don’t know what’s waiting,
and i don’t know when i’ll get to
where i pray that i’m going,
but i know that when i do… i’ll look back
and see just how much it mattered
that i took that one little step.

– butterflies rising

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ways to break this southern girl’s heart…

she’s made up of sweet tea and poetry

Ways To Break This Southern Girl’s Heart
after Diane Lato’s “Easy Ways To Break My Heart”

– give her unsweetened tea. there are no two more terrible words to a southern girl when put together

– tell her you’re an alabama fan. you’ve gotta know that she’s gonna bleed volunteer orange ‘til the end no matter

– tell her you don’t like the mountains. her heart has east tennessee sunrises imprinted on it… and she wants to show you every sunlit, treelined, starkissed view

– turn down the volume when ‘country girl’ by ray lamontagne comes on. papa used to play it for her on the porch, and she’s gotta hear every bit of it, every time

– you wanna really crush her heart? then ask to meet her daddy. because he isn’t in her heart anymore. he was the first one who broke it, and in too many ways, long ago

– and if you wanna just completely shatter her into pieces… then try to give her an ordinary love. because she needs love like wildfire. like forever-fire. until every last southern sun sets. till the stars burn out. and to know her heart is finally safe… with you

…she needs to know that breaking her heart is the very last thing you would ever want to do.

– butterflies rising

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when you let your fear fall quiet…

who are you when you put it all down for just a moment? when you let your fear fall quiet. - butterflies rising

who are you
when you put it all down
for just a moment?
when you let your fear fall quiet.
and you let your anxious heart settle.
and you let a little trust in.
and when you let your soul breathe…
and maybe even dream a little.
what if somewhere in the way that
all feels is who you really are.
and what if there is another life in it
you’re meant to find… one where
your breathing is allowed to be so easy
and the stars are allowed to be so close
and your heart is allowed to run so wild
and your dreams are allowed to burn so. bright.
what if somewhere in the way that
all feels is what it’s meant to be like.
what if… what could it all be like?
maybe let yourself feel it,
even if for just a moment; who you are
when you let all of your fears fall away.

– butterflies rising

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what if there is a life…

what if there is a life where your breathing is allowed to be so easy and the stars are allowed to be so close

what if
there is a life where
your breathing is
allowed to be so easy
and the stars are
allowed to be so close
and your heart is
allowed to run so wild
and your dreams are
allowed to burn so bright

…what if

– butterflies rising

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