Even his closest friend, Okwudiba, often told him how humble he was, and it irked him slightly, because he wished Okwudiba would see that to call him humble was to make rudeness normal. Besides, humility had always seemed to him a specious thing, invented for the comfort of others; you were praised for humility by people because you did not make them feel any more lacking than they already did. It was honesty that he valued; he had always wished himself to be truly honest, and always feared that he was not. 

-Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Americanah 

Thankful list:
-God and faith
-Writing poetry just because sometimes it's the only way I can best express myself
-Cooking, because sometimes creating something both new and nourishing is a magical experience and opportunity to provide a space for community and fellowship
-Finished reading Educated by Tara Westover (HIGHLY recommend) and currently reading Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
-Relationships that leave behind indentations on your heart and grow you to be a better person

Slowdive

I experience extremes that undulate between having tête-à-têtes with
eternity and skydiving head over heels into the infinitesimal
moments that make up here&now.

It was never in my power to
tightrope-walk serenely between the two and
I fumble, keenly aware
that my existence was never mine to
control.

Dear, we pause to behold paradoxical situations - 
life that is fleeting and life that is full. 
And possibly, you might be privy to slivers of eternity 
in my waking gasp.

Garden Day

the overture of something new is found 

in the swell of the ground, in the pulse that 

subtly, shockingly, reverently, makes its way

from the ground to my heart.

this is CPR; the land beneath me and the sky above 

Work in conjunction to align arrhythmias 

And I would be foolish to say that I was never 

One with You.