thankyou::

james & stacey kirkham: for living the kind of love, faith and strength that people strive for their entire lives.

brother: with out you i would not be me. not even close to it.

jenny: for having the same soul i do. there are almost no words to express my gratitude toward your being.

mike: for turning (almost) everything in to a joke but not being afraid to have a meaningful conversation. for believing in the things i attempt to accomplish.

molly: for always, with out fail, for ever and ever, making me laugh. and for being a very, very good adventure buddy.

mason: for yoga (i know you are also going to want me to thank you for being the funniest person on planet earth, so thank you for always being a huge goofball).

andrew & joanna: for inspiring me to be in love and travel around the world only to see it through each other's eyes. for allowing me to continue to believe that it is possible. never forget how special that is.

oliver(bestie): for being truly the best, even from a million miles away.

oli: for your cup of tea cravings, your ridiculous english banter, your endless humor and childlike spirit. for your belief in the universe. and truly just for being you. you amaze me and make me smile. always.

samantha(fargo): for your accent you didn't know you have and for always asking questions. i believe in who you are becoming, i hope you can believe in it a little more, too. because in some way, you make me believe in who i am.

alexa, my littlest friend: for showing me what a good soul is like. for allowing me to be Broken Open and for dancing with the beautiful rhythm of life like no one else i have ever met.

katherine: for missed phone calls and longest voicemails ever. for your strength and dedication. and for your continued friendship and your everlasting belief in who i am.

alysha: for morning coffees and happy hour dates and always making time for our friendship. for knowing that it is important to know God.

kosta: for continuing to see me even when i am no longer there.

tobias: for always catching me on a day when i could use a joke. and always, always, having a joke for everything.

vicky: for having the most gracious and kindest heart of anyone i have ever had the pleasure of meeting.

kim hess: for always being on my mind. i love your spirit.

if i have not mentioned someone it is not because i do not love you. in fact, i really do love just about everyone... i have just felt the need to write about these people now, for their recent and continued love and support. and for always being on my mind.

love is simple when you have found souls like these. the family that encourages me to be a better person.

we as people, friends, lovers, ex-whatevers, cousins, etc. do not;

talk enough,

smile enough,

say bless you to strangers enough,

listen to our hearts enough,

look at each other in the eyes enough,

allow ourselves to truly feel enough,

say thank you enough.

love more. love always. love now.

home is where: the heart is

my home doesn't consist of where i sleep, where i rest my feet after a long day or where i get ready in the morning.

my home is much more than that.

it is dreams and visions of great todays and better tomorrows.

it is friendships and relationships i have nurtured over the years.

it is my happiest thoughts and my ambitions for an adventurous future.

it is the love i feel for all of those who have touched my heart and made me a better person.

it is the look in people's eyes when i thank them for being who they are.

it is the challenges i face each and every day and the strength and courage i muster up to get through the hard ones.

it is the smiles on the faces of the people on the bus i do not know but might like to know, because who knows, we could get to know each other quite well.

it is the smile my heart feels when i think of the love i have shared with very few people intimately and the love i have shared with a lot of people broadly.

it is the sand between my toes and the wind that howls through the moonlit air.

i may have a home... yes.

a place to rest my feet. a place to lay my head. a closet for my belongings.

but my home is much more than that.

my home can be found any where there is love to be shared.

it can be found along the paths between rivers and forests, between sea and land.

it can be found in the dusty, crowded streets when children look up at you with that twinkle in their eye that only children can posses.

it can be found at night, alone, sitting with my own self and my own heart contemplating, why?

it can be found in the coldness of someone who was once my best friend, and in the warmth of those who refuse to give up on me.

yes, my home can vastly be found in others. in the ones i love,

for i do not care if i have a home as long as my soul can dance with theirs.

Crazy Little Thing Called Love::

It's funny. Tonight I had the idea of picking up the computer to write about a subject that I think we can all relate to. A subject that each and every one of us has a connection with. An emotion that can be so powerfully good or so awesomely bad.

Tonight I was going to write about love.

We have all given love, and we have all received love. We have been blessed to share this special feeling with the people we choose to surround ourselves with. But then I thought; Can love really be described? Can something that tugs at the very shoestrings of your soul be written about on paper?

I started wandering around Facebook and on other blogs that I follow and came across one from a very lovely lady who I have only had the pleasure of being around a few times. But to me, she is love because I can see it and feel it through her energy and her writing.

I grew up in a neighborhood full of boys. Now this is not to say I didn't grow up "girly." In fact, sometimes I think I am too sensitive for my own good and I let my feelings get ahead of my rationality. But give it time and I always seem to pull myself back down to the ground where I find myself standing on two feet looking out at this beautiful existence with nothing but love to give. Now, I do contribute (a lot of) my amount of loving energy to my childhood, my parents and my "brothers." Thank you Eric, mostly, for always being my big brother. And the others? Well, you know who you are and I am pretty sure you have a good idea of how you've positively influenced me. But out of these brothers of mine, I have always admired James for his determination, his "cool" and his capacity to just be his inspiring self. And I think that is why he met and married a very loving woman.

It's funny that I would sit down to write about love and sift through the blog updates in my feed to find a recent blog post of Stacey Kirkham. She writes about it so well, I will just quote her:

"as i ponder love and its meaning, i often find myself questioning if love is even the right word for the emotion i feel. is it possible to more than love someone? these thoughts led me to the dictionary...

love
[luhv]
–noun
1. a profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person.
2. a feeling of warm personal attachment or deep affection.
3. sexual passion or desire.
4. affectionate concern for the well-being of another

why is "love" so hard to define? for me, love goes beyond affection, attachment, desire and concern...it reaches my soul and oozes from my pores. my love is intended for benefits not for profits, it is meant for others. my love is infinite and not temporal, it is patient. my love is merciful and not judgmental, it is unconditional." (Thank you Stacey).

Love is Truth. Love is the reason we are here. Without it, a person has nothing. With it, a person feels as though anything is possible. And believe this, with love, anything IS possible. It is good when it's here, but sometimes I think it gets overlooked or taken for granted. It is devastating when it is gone. The pain of losing love or a loved one seems almost too much to bear. Love leads people to do irrational things, funny things, inspiring things. It can also be pushed out of people's reach for no explanation at all.

The word "Love" may not be able to describe the emotion that a person has, but hell, the people that make the rules say that everything in this world needs to be named for the purpose of description and comprehension. So what is this I feel? It is so good. It is so big. It is so simple. It is what it is, my friends.

I often contemplate on how to share that love with more people. How to share that love with the world! I have felt the love of the world before and I know what it feels like to know you've touched the lives of people you may not even know. Love is all-encompassing, invigorating and True. More positive thought=more love=a better existence.

So, without further ado, thank you to all of the people who have ever given me love. I have learned from each and every one of you. And thank you to specific people who taught me what real love is.

I think this is the first time I have written a blog post and haven't really taken it anywhere. I have no concrete opinion, I have no easy line to suggest people follow. I don't even really know if this post has a point! But I guess that just means that love is ultimately something that the heart does not debate, it does not tell you one way or the other how to love. I guess you just... DO.