Category Archives: Quotes

My Stance Regarding The Past, and The Distortions That Are Clung To

Posted on by

1

“Just because your pain is understandable, doesn’t mean your behavior is acceptable.”
— Steve Maraboli, Unapologetically You: Reflections on Life and the Human Experience

Keep this one in your back pocket for the next time someone acts like an ass and then tells you they’ve been through a lot of stuff. Respectful and yet still firmly keeping respect for yourself.

Respect for myself…this is new to me, for I have not really ever been aware of a “self” to respect!  The self I knew was more a naught than a presence.  What I was not plus who I was not added up to me equalling naught, and thus I never respected myself.

I do now…and taking responsibility for shortcomings does not make me responsible for the distortions and poor choices of others in reaction to them.  I can joyfully embrace my opportunity to express my true remorse in not being the perfect person I desired to be and not being “the best (fill in the blank)” I could be…

…but then letting someone add cruelty to this?  Allowing them to dehumanize me, devalue me?  Diminish me?

Nah, I don’t think so…not going there anymore.  Respect for myself means that I own my behavior and let everything else go, and oddly, I think this sets other people free by placing them in accountability for their own choices in how to respond to my shortcomings and places a responsibility to respect themselves by acknowledging their own failures.

Hey, if Victor Frankl can overcome what he did, choose a proactive life in spite of those grave horrors?  So can I…and so can you.

Do Justice.  Love Mercy.  Walk Humbly.
Charissa Gracetumblr_nn05mm9MLU1slipiho1_500

“Chill”…and I concede, gladly!!

Posted on by

0

“Chill has now slithered into our romantic lives & forced those among us who would like to exchange feelings & accountability to compete in the Blasé Olympics with whomever we are dating. Oh, I’m sorry, I mean whomever we’re ‘hanging out with.’  Whomever we’re ‘talking to.’
     “Chill asks us to remove the language of courtship and desire lest we appear invested somehow in other human beings. To even acknowledge that there might be an emotional dimension to talking or dating or hanging out or coming over or fucking or whatever the kids are calling it all these days feels forbidden.
     “It is a game of chicken where the first person to confess their frustration or confusion loses.”
— “Against Chill” by Alana Massey

d7af80755650dde6e9c8024e634865df

A Lesson I Failed Spectacularly To Bequeath

Posted on by

10

“One thing I can be, if nothing else, is decently kind and understanding. Everything else can go, but that doesn’t have to.”
— Tennessee Williams, Notebooks

tumblr_n3pxthOdc01s0a0voo1_1280

I Have Not Forgotten…

Posted on by

5

…how could I forget my own heart?

“There is a language older by far and deeper than words. It is the language of bodies, of body on body, wind on snow, rain on trees, wave on stone. It is the language of dream, gesture, symbol, memory. We have forgotten this language. We do not even remember that it exists.”
— Derrick Jensen

tumblr_nbritwDosD1t5g5c1o1_500

Whatchya Looking at ME For?

Posted on by

2

“Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified.

He is not here; for He is risen, as He said.

Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him. Behold, I have told you.”

So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word.

Good Parenting: Exhibit 1

Posted on by

1

 (overheard at work today)
  • 6-year old:Mommy, why is that man dressed like a lady?
  • Mother:That is a lady. She was just born with the wrong body.
  • 6-year old:How did that happen?
  • Mother:Nobody really knows. But she’s working to fix it, and that’s what’s important.
  • 6-year old:Okay! *runs up to obviously self-conscious woman*
  • 6-year old:Hey! Miss!
  • Lady:…yes?
  • 6-year old:You look really pretty in your skirt!
  • Lady:Thank you!
  • *Kid skips back to her mom, and literally everyone in the vicinity smiles*
  • I’d just like to point out that it wasn’t hard to explain this to a child at all…… Next excuse please?tumblr_nlo2ch2wPZ1smiia7o1_1280

The Results of Abandonment

Posted on by

4

“If you leave, please take the memories too.
I don’t want thoughts of you swirling around in my mind.
You see, those beautiful recollections are too dangerous
for my already damaged heart. So if you leave,
please take the source of my pain with you.”
— thevalsworldlove

tumblr_ne8997QSQV1rv43zto1_500

Love in Ten Lines

Posted on by

3

when love broke me
wide open with love
I surrendered my love
to you, my Love.

Your eyes, limpid love
your heart red, Love
your touch, I love
that frisson, love-chills

in my love struck
love torn red heart.

“I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where. I love you simply, without problems or pride: I love you in this way because I do not know any other way of loving but this, in which there is no I or you, so intimate that your hand upon my chest is my hand, so intimate that when I fall asleep your eyes close.”
― Pablo Neruda, 100 Love Sonnetstumblr_nl7a0nykH01u19ezpo1_400

 

I am called too emotional…

Posted on by

0

“When people try to dismiss those who ask the big public questions as being emotional, it is a strategy to avoid debate. Why should we be scared of being angry? Why should we be scared of our feelings, if they’re based on facts. The whole framework of reason versus passion is ridiculous, because often passion is based on reason. Passion is not always unreasonable. Anger is based on reason. They’re not two different things. I feel it’s very important to defend that.”
— Arundhati Roy, The Checkbook and the Cruise Missile: Conversations with Arundhati Roytumblr_nlfaycl2NU1qz6f9yo1_1280

Me? It’s the EXACT Opposite!

Posted on by

0

…it’s why I do talk about things…

“There are two reasons why people don’t talk about things; either it doesn’t mean anything to them, or it means everything”
— Luna Adriana

tumblr_nhw3tn6hEd1tyuch8o2_500

Those Who Remember

Posted on by

5

 

“Those who love you
are not fooled by mistakes you have made
or dark images you hold about yourself.
They remember your beauty when you feel ugly;
your wholeness when you are broken;
your innocence when you feel guilty;
and your purpose when you are confused.”
— Alan Cohen

tumblr_nlj2o1V0qC1qllucco1_1280

All That Can Be Burned…

Posted on by

0

“There can be no rebirth without a dark night of the soul, a total annihilation of all that you believed in and thought that you were.”

– Hazrat Inayat Khan

On Level Ground, too, for taking two

Posted on by

1

“It always takes two. For relationships to work, for them to break apart, for them to be fixed.”
— Emily Giffin, Heart of the Matter

tumblr_ng2bqtBJJR1s5cyzso1_500

We Have Time Machines

Posted on by

0

“A novel worth reading is an education of the heart. It enlarges your sense of human possibility, of what human nature is, of what happens in the world. It’s a creator of inwardness.”
— Susan Sontag, The Art of Fiction No. 143

tumblr_m5xwgdsSlU1qfz8euo1_1280

Posting this as is: Language Alert

Posted on by

1

Constance, this is being posted as is…it was a question posed on a forum I read…well, actually, it was a statement disguised as a question.  Don’t you just love when people do that?  Instead of asking what you think, they tell you what they think but since they don’t have the courage to say that to you, they “rouge it up” all sweet and kind in the form of a question.
 
While the answer is spoken in harshed language than I would utilize, I completely agree with the answer.
Q:  Possible confusion
Do you think that it’s possible that everyone involved with gender identity furthers the confusion by focusing on labels? There are valid instances of people being less than admirable about pronouns and names but generalising about something like this could spite someone with sympathy for the cause. (I’m not saying you do these things because I don’t know you and thus wouldn’t have a position of authority to say something like that, I just want a different perspective on things)

A:  I think labels are only not necessary to people who haven’t had to fight for their labels before. When you get assigned to be the average label and you agree with it, there are tons of examples of your label everywhere. You get examples of how others act so when you grow you can emulate behavior, you can ask questions about your labels without fear of prejudice or hate, you get to practice and live out the examples of your labels without fear of being hurt.

I had to fight, tooth and god damn nail, to get my label. Being trans is something I’ve been beaten over, lost jobs over, lost friends over, and lost huge parts of my family.

And for the record, if you see everything going on to trans people, if you see the undeserved hatred and the murder rates and the homelessness rates and the suicide rates and the abuse and the genuine fucking torture trans kids go through, and you STILL need to be convinced to be sympathetic, you are a horrible human being and we don’t need your sympathy.tumblr_nkyyvkUpyh1qj8rk8o1_1280

“Hawmingway” Strikes Again

Posted on by

4

I have never liked Hemingway…and I wasn’t sure why for the longest time.  I think I found his machismo distasteful, I think I found his writing blunt and club like, fitting together like a log cabin’s walls…

…but there was something more that I could never put my finger on.  But I think I have it now…

I think he was a coward.  And I am a lot of things, and riddled with fear at nearly all times, usually free-floating fear of an undefinable nature, but I am not a coward.  I press forward, face fear, and keep on chooglin’…

…especially with people.

Grace Notes is me…letting you see…me, telling.  Everything, with details discreetly hidden or disguised, or misdirected. But I will not be halted or stymied in my longing to know and be known, and so I will keep finding faith and courage.

To tell.

“Never, never tell them. Try and remember that. Never tell anyone anything ever. Never tell anyone anything again.”
— Ernest Hemingway

Image 002

Except that we Rise! For Someone…we fall for ourselves!

Posted on by

1

“I was pretty sure that’s how you know you’re falling for someone—when you want the good and bad, when you want everything, regardless of how horrible, how dark. You want it all, because at the end of the day, it’s still them.”
— Rachel Van Dyken, Shame

tumblr_nku78vBtof1tkt3wso1_1280

Breath. Taken Away. Resolved!

Posted on by

2

“You ruin your life by desensitizing yourself. We are all afraid to say too much, to feel too deeply, to let people know what they mean to us. Caring is not synonymous with crazy. Expressing to someone how special they are to you will make you vulnerable. There is no denying that.
“However, that is nothing to be ashamed of. There is something breathtakingly beautiful in the moments of smaller magic that occur when you strip down and are honest with those who are important to you. Let that girl know that she inspires you. Tell your mother you love her in front of your friends. Express, express, express. Open yourself up, do not harden yourself to the world, and be bold in who, and how, you love. There is courage in that.”
— Biance Sparacino (How To Ruin Your Life Without Even Noticing That You Are)

tumblr_nl7qhswpjM1rk1cbbo1_500

“Let There Be Light”, and there was Light

Posted on by

0

“In Greek myth, the Titan Prometheus stole fire from the gods to bring it to humanity. Our benefactor was later punished by the gods of Olympus, sent to the Underworld and continuously tortured for his transgression. The light he gave to us mythically is an important symbol.

“On the physical level, it represents the ability to cook our food and light our homes in the dark-a technological advancement. On the spiritual level, this light is the potential for enlightenment, not only knowledge, but wisdom and understanding. In many cultures and religions, the quest for light in times of darkness is a central mythological theme, showing us the importance and power of light.

“In our modern metaphysical sense, light is information. Light is energy. In our holographic model of the universe, reality is a hologram, a construct of light and information perceived to be physical by our consciousness. Everything is affected by the power of light because everything is light. In the Hermetic principles, we learned that everything is a vibration. Light is the energy of vibration.

“Ultimately, everything, including matter, is a form of energy.”tumblr_m5cxe2Jk5Z1qbaihjo1_500

Breathing Skin to Skin

Posted on by

0

Love comes from years
of breathing skin to skin
tangled in each other’s dreams
until each night weaves
another thread in the same
web of blood and sleep and I
have only passed through quickly like
light and you have only surrounded me
suddenly like flame

Thomas Moore (1779 – 1852)tumblr_neksycuDAt1qb3v7ho1_1280

No Holiday For Love

Posted on by

1

Il n’y a pas de vacances à l’amour, ça n’existe pas. L’amour, il faut le vivre complètement avec son ennui et tout, il n’y a pas de vacances possibles à ça — Marguerite Duras

Does Every Butterfly Still See Itself As A Caterpillar?

Posted on by

2

I literally and truly do not see it, what others say.
Except for the ugly parts, which is everything
Maybe they are there, the wings…maybe not
I am not the one to say.
Perhaps God will one day show the truth about me, and all will cringe then, I am certain!

Tell that to the dead Transwomen of 2015…

Posted on by

0

“Nothing in the world can bother you as much as your own mind, I tell you. In fact, others seem to be bothering you, but it is not others, it is your own mind.”
— Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Sorry, male cis-gendered person…gotta call BS on this one.

The person spouting filth at me in front of kindergarten children?  That was not just “in my mind”.

Constance…when you take your outrage for injustice out of your mind, your sense of compassion out of your mind and let it be incarnate in your actions in this world…THEN we will see some transformation!

tumblr_nknmx9iB3o1rulaxwo1_540

This Happens To Me…

Posted on by

0

“Sometimes the meaning for things comes later. There’s a million poems that I’ve read that I have no idea what they mean but it does something to me to read them, they excite me like nothing else can excite me. Sometimes a lyric collects meaning—like a magnet collects iron filings—over time.
“The actual meaning is not that important—it’s the emotional resonance of something. When I sit down and write a song, I’m not trying to write something that people can learn from. Songs don’t impart wisdom or information, but we get a sense of awe when we’re in the presence of a good song that you don’t find anywhere else.”
— Nick Cave

tumblr_nkaisxSFFw1u19ezpo1_1280

The Way Transcendant

Posted on by

2

Constance…make a distinction with me?  Let’s look at the point below as a mirror.  Miley Cyrus is absolutely right in what she says…at least in terms of the double standard that is applied to males and females.  Soo many of our issues culturally in our society stem from this disconnect.  But catch my thoughts down below, after:

“No one ever talked about Robin Thicke after the VMAs of 2013. It was all my fault and I was the one who was acting like a ‘slut’. And that isn’t the only example of a woman being put in a box. I’m just speaking out for women to be yourself and I think I’m doing something to break the double standard that has been created over the years.”

whether you like her as a person/an artist or not, one just HAS TO admit that she’s absolutely right about this.

*****     *****     *****     *****     *****

Okay Constance…now that I have agreed with her, I want to ask:

Why?

What happened to us, these Glorious Ruins Divine, who used to glow with the God-Light so fierce that clothing was not something any mind considered, for we were clothed in Eternity Resplendent…and now we compete to see who has more “freedom” and right to rip the mystery away and put it all on display?

It is as if it wasn’t enough for the God-Light to go out…now that it has we, all of us, want to wallow in our Unclothed-ness.

Please resist the temptation to write me off as a sexual prude, or sexually repressed, or any of those things.  My arguments are similar in outward appearance only to the moralists and repressive people who seek to bind up and punish and rob humanity of the incredible wonder and power and gift that our sexuality is.

If you are unfamiliar with my point of view, just use the search field, and search sexuality and you will find just a few posts about sexuality, the most comprehensive being this one:  Love in a Sexual World.

I am all about restoring the Image…I am all about the huge and significant metamorphosis humanity is in the throes of…from death to life, from empty to Full…from piles of sensient animated clay to the very incarnation of Divine.

I think this is why Mama made me transgender, so I would experience this in such a personal tangible way so as to be bent and marked forever, dedicated to this transition of all the lost “trans” humans with eternity encased in bodies bound by time and decay.

Yes, Miley…you are indeed right.  I pray that someday you will take the next step and understand the secret mystery of sacred sexuality.tumblr_mvpupqh9Pp1qb3v7ho1_1280

One Hell Of A Crucible

Posted on by

0

“…the self-awareness, inner resolve, and resilience a successful transition requires, the way in which it both evinces a desire for authenticity and is inseparable from such desire in other aspects of one’s life, is a relatively reliable predictor of an extraordinary person.

Being trans doesn’t make you strong, or gleam, but it is one hell of a crucible to forged in.”

Quote by “SmartAssJen”, a transwoman of extraordinary intelligence and substance

tumblr_mvt5wq6eGf1suq7neo1_500

This is the Gospel Truth

Posted on by

2

“The first act of violence that patriarchy demands of males is not violence toward women. Instead patriarchy demands of all males that they engage in acts of psychic self-mutilation, that they kill off the emotional parts of themselves. If an individual is not successful in emotionally crippling himself, he can count on patriarchal men to enact rituals of power that will assault his self-esteem.”
— bell hooks

tumblr_njnw4ak7Rd1r2zs3eo1_500