Be my breath through the deep...

The waves broke and spread their waters swiftly over the shore. One after another they massed themselves and fell; the spray tossed itself back with the energy of their fall. The waves were steeped deep-blue save for a pattern of diamond-pointed light on their backs which rippled as the backs of great horses ripple with muscles as they move. The waves fell; withdrew and fell again, like the thud of a great beast stamping.

I was surrounded by friends, my work was immense, and pleasures were abundant. Life, now, was unfolding before me, constantly and visibly, like the flowers of summer that drop fanlike petals on eternal soil. Overall, I was happiest to be alone; for it was then I was most aware of what I possessed. Free to look out over the rooftops of the city. Happy to be alone in the company of friends, the company of my love and also strangers. Everything, I decided, in this life, was pure pleasure. Summer, after all, is a time when wonderful things can happen to quiet people. For these few months, you’re not required to be who everyone thinks you are, and that cut-grass smell in the air and the chance to dive into the deep end of the ocean gives you courage unlike any other - ready to face anything, ready to face everything.

It comes and goes in waves...

Watching the birds flying free...

The most crucial truths are always rejected before they're accepted. It's one of our greatest human flaws: arrogance. We look up and dare to assume we know, when the universe is unknowable. We are strong, tempered like steel in the fire and by the blows of the hammer of life. Nothing will break us again, only make us stronger and more whole. Perfection is the pride of those who have not lived, who know not these things in their arrogance. They remain the same - raw and without form. The hammer never touches them, and they lie on the shelf, gathering dust, slowly tarnishing and fading and crumbling. the blows in the fire refine us into bright shining glory for the roles we play in life - until we are one with the anvil, becoming immune to life's little knocks, and smile at it.