Clouds

I once accused you of never "getting" me and so we went our separate ways.

When I found myself laying in your warm arms again, an embrace that even the thought of never ceases to bring great comfort and protection to me, you whispered that I was a hard person to "get," me and my clouds. We both laughed and you hugged me tighter, my heart expanded.

You referred to me and my myriad of thoughts, moods, feelings, attitudes...as "clouds." And in that word and the embrace to follow, I realized that you do "get" me. Perfectly. So, we let go again, and I find that I love and appreciate you so much more.

There is a love that does not exist in confinement, but flourishes in the freedom of two hearts. I was warmly reminded today of a quote that has always been dear to me: "If you love someone, set them free. If they return, they were always yours. If they don't, they never were." And while our hearts long for that return, long to feel a validation of such a return, the existence of that love can never be denied. We do not need to own that person to enjoy that love, nor do we need them to return to know that love was true...we only need to fully give ourselves to that love, even if the object of that love is no longer present. And when the person we love doesn't return, it should bring a quiet smile, knowing they are free and carrying our love in their heart always, as we shall carry their love in ours.

May my clouds forever remain in his heart but never pose a dismal, overcast shadow. Rather, let them be a welcome place in which he may find solace and reminded of how loved he is, despite the brief absence of a bright summer sun.

*Image from here.

8/17

"I hold it true, whate'er befall;
I feel it, when I sorrow most;
'Tis better to have loved and lost
Than never to have loved at all."

-Alfred Lord Tennyson