“My darling girl, when are you going to realize that being normal is not necessarily a virtue? It rather denotes a lack of courage.” ~ Alice Hoffman, from Practical Magic

I have always loved this particular painting by Alexander, and I thought that it was the perfect complement to this word:

“Repose” (1895, oil on canvas)
John White Alexander

                   

                   

Music by Ray LaMontagne, “Empty”

                  

Let Everything Happen

These are the words we dimly hear:

You, sent out beyond your recall,
go to the limits of your longing.
Embody me.

Flare up like flame
and make big shadows I can move in.

Let everything happen to you: beauty and terror.
Just keep going. No feeling is final.
Don’t let yourself lose me.

Nearby is the country they call life.
You will know it by its seriousness.

Give me your hand.

~ Rainer Maria Rilke

 

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