no smile like yours.

Fingers trace the lines of your mouth,
Behind which are shadows of myst'ry.
I learn the taste of the warmth in your skin,
As the curves of your lips re-write history.

With a shape like a wind curled over the sea;
Where whispers have music in sound,
Like laughter that crashes like waves in my ears,
In midst of the darkness are found.

Your song is the moonlight that melted the snow,
Enchanting my heart for to dance,
In your lullaby lost by the turn of the clock,
And with sly, subtle gazes -- romance.

I believe that as beings that are capable of complex thoughts and opinions, we have a tendency to over-complicate things. The search to finding true happiness is the age old question, that has puzzled so many for so long. But the answer is ultimately so simple – so elementary of a notion – that our intricate minds are unable to gather together the strands of the simplicity of it all to recognize such an idea. We become so caught up in each specific, minor detail of our somewhat insignificant lives that we forget the absolute most natural belief ever conceptualized.

 Find who and what makes you happy, and stick with them. As a dear friend of mine once said to me, "The best things in this world are always worth fighting for."

 Oftentimes I find that I have a habit of living through the happiness of others. I live to make sure that the people that surround me are able to find their own joy, but have taken little time to even think about what lightens my own heart, and stirs my own soul to move. So, I have compiled a list of five things that I love most ardently – with the pure intent of never letting them go from my life.

 1. God.

The number one thing that makes me the most happy is God. All of the other things on my list could slip through my fingers, but if I continue to have Him in my life, all is well. I am changed spiritually as well as physiologically, and through my eyes He softens the harsh lines of the world. When I intentionally seek Him out, I am always greeted with patience, kindness, love, and forgiveness; and I am humbled.

 2. My Only.

The thought of you helps me to have the insatiable desire to be better; to grow stronger – that I may indeed be strong enough to help lift – or carry – you through the darkness when the world becomes too much for you to bear. You bring a light and true happiness to my life through your patience for my flaws, and gentle willingness to understand what you do not. I will never be able to repay to you, what you have given me.

 3. The night.

Mystery. Night is purer than day; it is better for thinking, loving and dreaming. At night, everything is more intense, more honest. The echo of words spoken during the hours of the sun take on new and deeper meanings. There are secrets in the shadows that pique curiosity, and causes  your heart to skip a beat in wonderment.

 4. Words.

Words make me happy. Which is why I always want to know the thoughts of others. To have an emotion or a flash of a dream pass through a minds eye, and I feel compelled to know what it was through the magic of words.

Words that can paint a picture that is more beautiful than anything you have ever seen with your physical eyes, or cause an onslaught of an incurable fit of the laughter and mirth, or words that can writhe in your heart bearing the fruit of screaming, or cause a love and bout of passion to be set afire.

5. Light.

Contradicting perhaps to my love of the night, you may assume. But I am not referencing the light emitting from the tendrils of the sun that melts on your skin like butter, or the light of a comforting lamp in a quiet room, or even a gentle flickering of a sighing flame. As much as I love all of these, the light in a soul is more beautiful to me than all of these. It shines delicately through the pores of your being, and bathes every passerby in its warmth. It cleanses the cold and damp places of a heart with love, and replaces that emptiness with peace.

Five simple rules to happiness:

1. Free your heart from hatred.
2. Free your mind from worries.
3. Live simply.
4. Give more.
5. Expect less.


~C

*Photo credit: 2, 4, 9 taken by Mike Harman. The rest are, as usual, my own.