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“As an introvert, you can be your own best friend or your own worst enemy. The good news is, we generally like our own company, a quality that extroverts often envy. We find comfort in solitude and know how to soothe ourselves. Even our willingness to look at ourselves critically is often helpful.”

— Laurie Helgoe

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“We try to hide our feelings but we forget our eyes speak.”

— Unknown

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healing happens in circles, not lines. you will return to old places with new eyes.

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“Autumn shows us how beautiful it is to let things go.”

— Unknown

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Anaïs Nin, from a diary entry featured in Trapeze: The Unexpurgated Diary of Anais Nin, 1947-1955

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warm baked goods are insane. something so beautiful and almost maddening about absolutely tearing into them when they’re fresh. feeling warm all over after. I really do get vampires for real

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bitch this is all you’re gonna get. this life, this face, this body. you better not ‘maybe in another universe’ your way out of everything. sit your ass down and face this. go make tea and have a picnic and read a goddamn book. kiss your loved ones, send that damn text, and hug your siblings. this is all you’re gonna get.

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This is part four in my series about making my first book, You Are a Sacred Place, and also about making literally anything at all.

Read parts 1–3

Order You Are a Sacred Place

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you have to find small pockets of joy to survive in a world where there is a constant news cycle of bad things happening

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“𝘐 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰u”

𝘈 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘯𝘰 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳⁣...

𝘛𝘰 𝘴𝘢𝘺 "𝘐 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶", 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘢𝘺

"𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘎𝘰𝘥".

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probably needed a hug but instead distanced myself from everyone

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She's the type of girl that would give you the whole world but her mental health makes her want to die sometimes

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If they look like you, they will be the calm storms!

"Maybe one day we will get married... and we will have children, if they look like me then they will be poets, or if they look like you then they will be poems.”

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Peace begins the moment we release the heavy burden of expectations—those silent demands we place on ourselves, others, and the world. When we expect things to unfold in a certain way, we set ourselves up for frustration, disappointment, and inner turmoil. True peace comes not from controlling outcomes, but from accepting life as it is, embracing imperfections, and finding contentment in the present moment. It is in letting go that we create space for serenity, understanding, and genuine connection. Expectations often breed resentment, as they tether our happiness to circumstances beyond our control. When we free ourselves from these mental constraints, we open the door to gratitude and appreciation for what is, rather than longing for what should be. Peace flourishes when we trust the flow of life, adapt to its rhythm, and find joy in the unexpected. By surrendering unrealistic expectations, we discover that true harmony is not something to chase—it is something to allow. — Balt Rodriguez

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to fall in love with God is to be the fish that falls in love with water; the bird that falls in love with air; the tree that falls in love with earth