Do not hesitate to love and to love deeply. You might be afraid of the pain that deep love can cause. When those you love deeply reject you, leave you, or die, your heart will be broken. But that should not hold you back from loving deeply. The pain that comes from deep love makes your love ever more fruitful. It is like a plough that breaks the ground to allow the seed to take root and grow into a strong plant. Every time you experience the pain of rejection, absence, or death, you are faced with a choice. You can become bitter and decide not to love again, or you can stand straight in your pain and let the soil on which you stand become richer and more able to give life to new seeds.
The more you have loved and have allowed yourself to suffer because of your love, the more you will be able to let your heart grow wider and deeper. When your love is truly giving and receiving, those whom you love will not leave your heart even when they depart from you. They will become part of yourself and thus gradually build a community within you.
Those you have deeply loved become part of you. The longer you live, there will always be more people to be loved by you and to become part of your inner community. The wider your inner community becomes, the more easily you will recognize your own brothers and sisters in the strangers around you. Those who are alive within you will recognize those who are alive around you. The wider the community of your heart, the wider the community around you. Thus the pain of rejection, absence, and death can become fruitful. Yes, as you love deeply the ground of your heart will be broken more and more, but you will rejoice in the abundance of the fruit it will bear.
BLOG POST DISCLAIMER: this blog post is unfinished, but I wanted to get it up before the clock struck 12:00 and v-day was done. So, if you are reading this, I apologize for the random-ness of this post and assure you it will be fixed within the day or so. :) So, thank you...come again. Happy vday, my loves!
Okay, okay already! You asked for it, so here I go...sharing the love from my wonderful Cesky Krumlov(e) Valentine's Day weekend adventure! I think this was my sixth time in Krumlov, and it certainly didn't disappoint. It just gets better and better!
It all began by sharing the TOMS love and bringing some red canvas TOMS down to Krumlov with me as a belated birthday and Valentine's Day gift for the wonderful Carolyn, owner of Krumlov House. She loved 'em and I was so excited. She even mentioned she was going to look into calling her children's school and looking into whether or not the kids could get TOMS to wear as their in-school slippers. How cool is that?! Kids...doing it for the kids. Cool. Weekend off to a good start - mission: introduce TOMS to Krumlov - check!
Although I ventured down to southern Bohemia by myself, I felt more love around me than ever...spending time with friends at Krumlov House, Antre, and more! And, the best part was, I did all of the activities Tom and I tackle when we're there together, and I really felt his presence there. It was pretty dang sweet. I had high hopes for getting some good writing in, but alas...I did not. :) It's okay the time for writing will come when I am ready to sit down and write.
Anyway, here is a visual tour (of sorts) of the weekend...I also took some vids, but am having trouble uploading those. So, more to come.
mission: dance with the locals in the 'music bar', featuring the beautiful and talented 'C'! check!
mission: watch bollywood dancers at small czech republic town bar, antre. check!
(so random)
mission: smoke shisha by myself at dobra cajovna. check!
(try to buy another teacup to replace broken one for Tom - no check. unsucessful.)
mission: drink desert dunes tea and write love letters to home. check!
mission: attempt to get reservation at krcma v satlavske (frequented by locals). check!
(actual outcome unsuccessful. worth a try.)
mission: capture moment where tourists are looking for bears in winter. check!
(uh...um...they are hibernating, people. come on.)
mission: take picture making kissing face next to really czech flower sign. czech!
oops, i mean, 'check!'. :)
mission: find a stand-in Tom to be valentime for the weekend. check!
(love at first sight! actually...he appears to be looking down my shirt?! ha.)
mission: stop by trdelnik stand and make pout-face after realizing it wasn't open. check!
mission: realize love is in the air when stumbling upon writing in the snow. check!
mission: write in the krumlov house guest book for the 6th time. check!
mission: take picture of self, pretending Tom is there (to photoshop him in later). check!
mission: make sad face and think of Tom by our normal picture-taking point. check!
mission: catch an accidental (but beautiful and apt) view of TOMS while thinking of Tom. check!
mission: introduce TOMS to krumlov house. check!
mission: kiss creepy cat bag with valentine's day present from sweet lo. check!
Lastweekend I had a special Valentine's Day visitfromtwoveryamazingwomen - beautiful Laura and her gorgeousmother, Nancee! Laura is a wonderfulfriend - andformer co-worker - of mine whom I love andadmireso, so much...soitwas such a blessing to get a chance to reconnect and visit!
i look like a giant compared to Laura - goodness, boots!
and...whatelsedidtheybringmebut a bunchofkraftmac-n-cheese (someone's been reading :) between this and my father's shipment, i am going to turn into mac-n-cheese) hee hee.
So, Laura - if you're reading this...thank you so much to you and your mother for being my Valentine's Day dinner dates! I'll have you know, my brother was bummed he didn't get to meet you! Why didn't I think of that?! Bummer!
Cheers to my first visitors, and here's to many more!
(+mhtv#4, yeah - a bit unconventional and all-a-jumble, just like yours truly!)
So, there I was, meandering around this gorgeous city and it seemed as if I were smack-dab in the middle of PDA-love-fest-galore (I mean, not that this was entirely out of the ordinary, as every day here is a PDA day) . I couldn't make sense of all of the canoodle-ing couples with roses in hand, chock-full of twinkles in their eyes until I remembered what day it was...ahhhh, good ol' valentine's day...and I was singing from palackeho namesti, "the city is alive...with the sound of lip-smackin' love!"
POW! BANG! ZAP! Okay, so now that I've grabbed your attention (hopefully)...this is one posting i've been hiding under (up?) my sleeve for quite some time now...but the reason i have been keeping it on the hush-hush is that it's an extra-special one and i wanted to save it for the right time. well, my friends, that time has come.
I'd like to present to you (drum roll, por favor!) the "tom blog: JUST DO IT".
I have to squeeze this one in before valentime's day (yes, that's right - "valentine's" with an "m" - the only way to spell it!), as this one is in honour of my valentime, mr. tom. I am wondering if you're wondering why I would have a posting dedicated to said "Tom". Well, allow me to share a lil' history lesson...
This chapter in my life will be deemed, "The Tom Chapter". Once upon a time (January 5th of last year, to be exact), a girl and a guy met and it was love at first...errrr...facebook message. :) ha. ha. hee hee. But really, they met and sparks flew...actually fireworks EXPLODEDwhen both of them least expected it (yes, uber-cliche, but oh-so-true!). With innate curiosity and an eclectic passion for life, she yearned to explore the world, while he yearned to explore pig pancreas(es) (and the world too). So, as you can see, they were a match made in heaven - she, an exploress...he, an explorer. These two lovebirds explored as much of the world they could possibly squeeze into a year before the gal was finally provided with the ultimate exploress opportunity...a move to the other side of the world. Of course the guy could have been opposed to the idea, but as much as he loved the gal and didn't want her to leave, he knew she wouldn't be happy until she set sail. Everyone thought they were crazy...and to be quite honest, they were crazy (but that's what makes them so freaking cool!). But, with all of the love and courage he could muster up, he said, "JUST DO IT!" (thanks to inspiration from his fav polyethelyene 80's beach vball style hat...scroll to top for pic). And, the rest, my friends, is history.
In case it wasn't obvious, I'm that gal and Tom's that guy (refer to pic above, duh!). I am so completely, utterly, fantastically blessed - more and more each day - to have this quirky, crazy/cool, uber-intelligent, pig-pancreas-lovin', basketball-playin', smarty-pants-wearin', baby-blue-eye-sportin', hardcore stud in my life! A more supportive, caring individual does not exist...he is the epitome of selfless. Anyone who has been graced with his presence would agree with me. And, his laugh (and zest) is contagious.
The reason I am writing this blog is not only to profess my love for Tom to the blogosphere, but also because I have gotten email after call after facebook message asking me the same question: "How are you and Tom doing...has the transition been okay?" I'm here to answer your question with a resounding YES, YES, YES! Why? Because he's made it easy. In the few months leading up to my departure from the states, I can't tell you how many times I caught myself attempting to explain our relationship to people who had mucho-strong views on overseas romance. And then it just got old. Because some people just didn't understand, and I realized I couldn't make them understand. And, this is completely ok because everyone is entitled to their own opinion (that's why this world is so wonderful!). But, we took a chance on love and leapt over the ledge, holding hands the entire way.
"So, what's it like to do the long distance thang?"you may ask, out of curiosity (and just a tad bit o' nosy-ness:)). Well, it's actually pretty cool, because we do things like this:
...where he "shows-n-tells" me about his fancy new computer and all of the cool features (note to santa: for christmas I'd just like a computer that doesn't always crash when I use it - preferably a shiny mac...thanks:))!
And, we even have movie dates (I'm going to have to take credit for this brilliant idea).
Yeah, I said "movie date"...you heard me right. It's as easy as 1 (download movie from itunes), 2 (skype it up), 3 (watch movie together via skype and enjoy a one-of-a-kind inter-web experience)...
So, as you can see, technology is pretty incredibly fab. (oh, and don't worry - I am fully aware you be throwing up in your mouth a little bit right now as a result of our utter cuteness, but deal with it).
oh-so-true, Apple wise ones...I couldn't have said it better (except to add, "...they even make a great overseas date night, when combined with skype and a tub o' carte d'or choco ice cream." on the end).
I mean, I'm not going to lie - it does suck at times, but overall it is just downright cool. We may not get a chance to PDA-it-up around Prague (thank goodness, cause the lip-smackin' gets a entirely too intense at times...enough with the tram #10 lovin'!), but we do get to partake in skype dates complete with Rorschach inkblots, IQ tests and even documentaries about a typeface (see: "Helvetica" - those whackos are crazy about that font...far too crazy).
There I go on a tangent...so back on track, jack.
Today I am also here to give my valentime a couple of small tokens of my love. The first one is a lil' song I recently discovered, and adore.
So, without further ado:
(please ignore the fact that there are two girls in this video, and just listen to the words. ha.)
my voice of beacon in the night...my words will be your light, to carry you to me...
is love alive...
is love alive...
is love alive?
this is my winter song, december i've found so long (or "wrong"?), but you're not where you belong...
inside my arms...
(the second one will come in part 2 of the "tom blog" series...to be continued...)
p.s. i love you. p.s.s. to answer my question, yes - love is alive. p.s.s. i love ellipsises...too.
So, those of you who know me know that I am not a huge fan of good ol' v-day...but you also know very well that I - like my brother - am a hopeless romantic at heart. I love a good laugh, a good cry (even more so!) and - most of all - I am in love with the very notion of love. That's why I am so passionate about everything I do. That's why I live in Europe - I love Europe. I love travel. I love life. Ahhhh, tangent-flying time...
That's why, when my fantastic bro posted this video on his blog a while ago, it caught my eye and has kept my attention. Not only is it a gorgeous expression of creativity, which I - of course - adore, but the story is so real...so simple...so sweet. It's inspiring. It's LOVE. Isn't it a wonderful thing?
As this loathed hallmark-built up holiday (blog note: check out the comment left below by my beautiful friend Boo about the origin of Valentine's Day - super-sweet!) quickly approaches, just know I am thinking about you all every single day...not just one day because it's tagged as a special day for expressions of love by some greeting card company (although, I do LOVE and appreciate the cards). I love you all gobs and am so blessed to have you in my life!
The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page. - St. Augustine
Give me wings...fuel my writing!
If you like this post, consider buying me a red bull, (suggested: $3 a red bull...or coffee) to fuel my writing. Red Bull gives me wings! And, if I have enough of it, I may even write a mini travel guide for you all!
'zmena' - a beautiful, suitable title for this consortium of travel thoughts.
and i will sail all over this countryside with new friends and old...
I am married...that word sounds so old and stale. Can't we funkify the word a lil' bit?! Either way, I am SO psyched to be attached to my man by the hip (yeah, that's better) for life. Whoa. RAD.
Mam Rada zivot (i love life!)! As cliche (and I LOATHE cliche!) as it is, it's a dream come to fruition...as long as I can remember I've wanted to explore life in faraway places...not merely traveling to, but truly living in and immersing myself into the culture. From my point of view, life is all about living for the moment (with purpose, of course...that one's for you, dad!) and making the best of the time we have on this earth...living and loving passionately the whole way through.
I love and live to travel. Tell me your story over a coffee or pivo...I'm all ears.
oh-so-true, Apple wise ones...I couldn't have said it better (except to add, "...they even make a great overseas date night, when combined with skype and a tub o' carte d'or choco ice cream." on the end).
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