You got to learn how to vibe alone. You can't live your life being dependent on other sources of energy. You have the ability to be self sufficient so tap into yourself once in a while.

Loving Yourself

“[Fulfilling the Law Through Love] Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.” -Romans 13:8 (ESV)

Soooo yea I always hear the story about one of the disciples testing Jesus in asking “which is the greatest commandment?“

Jesus responded by saying we are to love God with all our heart, mind, and soul. That is the first great commandment and the second is like onto it. “Love thy neighbor as thyself”

I hear that every Sunday at church and though I may not “love thy neighbor as thyself" like I’m suppose to…. I do recognize that love is the perfect response to conflict.

I always ask God to “show me how to love myself, so that I may love others" every night when I pray. I think you have to love yourself first before you can love another… and that goes for all relationships, platonic and romantic.

Kendrick Lamar’s “i" is a song that conveys that same message. However, I think I struggle with loving myself at a 100% maximum. I think I’m at 89% on most days. That other 11% is something I have yet to discover. Either that, or I’m using the wrong factor(s) as a substitute.

Anyway, I do think I have come a very long way from being a child with low self-esteem to a young man with ehhh… let’s say medium self-esteem. And I know it will only get better… as long as I stay on the right path. God loves me. Others love me… and as long as I got that, I will be just fine.

A post about romantic relationships

so I’ve been in a relationship for 5 years now. And I see a lot of posts about how people think relationships mean having butterflies forever, your heart beating faster when they walk into a room, about cuddling together every night, legs intertwined, that you’d be so happy to live together you’d sleep on a double bed with each other every night.

And its not really like that, at least not to me.

You stop getting the butterflies when you live together. Your heart no longer speeds up when you see them, but instead, everything calms down. When youre in the room with them, you feel calm, and secure. When you cuddle them you feel your heart beat slow, and the sound of their breathing carry you towards comfort. It doesnt feel like a roller coaster anymore, it feels like home.

You don’t sleep curled up with each other every night, legs twisted between theirs so tight its hard to tell where yours begin and theirs end.

Instead, you sleep comfortably, side by side, sometimes facing different directions. But every night, you find yourself scooting backwards on the bed so you bump into them. You snuggle against their arm, or stroke their hair as they fall asleep. There are nights when my boyfriend, in his sleep, reaches around me and pulls me to him, like a child with his teddybear, like I am his comfort.

 In the wee hours of the morning before the dawn breaks, when the world is blue and you see through cracked eyes, you curl into their chest and inhale their scent before drifting back to sleep. 

Kisses aren’t always romantic and firey anymore. But there are so much more of them now. There are cold kisses when you’re eating ice cream in the summer, and sticky kisses over breakfast pancakes. There’s “im leaving now” kisses, and “one more kiss before you go” kisses. There’s sleepy morning kisses before work, when you don’t remember the alarm going off but instead the press of their lips against yours is what brings you into the day.

There’s kisses before sleep, and, you are so sweet with the things you do kisses. There’s kisses because you treat animals so tenderly, and I’m so glad i’m with you and not someone else kisses. There’s quick kisses in the aisles of the grocery store, when its loud and you gravitate together, when instead of having your own personal space and their own personal space, its both of yours together, and you step into their chest to take up less area together. 

You don’t always text each other with confessions of love and care like you used to, because that’s a given now, and you’ve moved on to quirky inside jokes about the life youve built together. You share looks of exasperation and amusement in public, your own little world against the outside one. 

Relationships aren’t always a fairy tale. They’re not always fireworks and sparks, at least, after the start.

But they are a quiet rhythm and hum of love and care. It’s not a fire in your soul, but one in your hearth, keeping you warm and comfortable, comforting you as you drowsily drift into sleep.

And I love that.

S.L // A message #15 (via conqueredbythoughts)

7 Tips for Good Mental Health

1. Know the friends or people who tend to wear you out, and deliberately limit the time you spend with them.

2. Be aware of how your thought patterns change throughout the day, and challenge these thought patterns when they’re harsh or negative.

3. Recognise that it is normal to struggle with your feelings, and feelings can be fickle – so don’t let them rule your life.

4. Set some personal goals that use your talents and your gifts. It’s good to stretch ourselves, and to be all that we can be.

5. Be gentle with yourself when you are anxious, tired and stressed. Be kind, and understanding – and give yourself a break.

6. Self-nurturing is crucial for a healthy self esteem. You need to treat yourself as you would treat a special friend.

7. Remember: we ALL fail. It’s just normal part of life. What matters is you’re learning and you’re changing over time.

creatingnikki  (via wnq-writers)

falling for you… monday // 12.12.16 (via overdosedemotions)

4am (via 4am-reflections)

Sidd Long (via lovelustquotes)

I just hope that you’ll let me fall in your arms (via illuminatewords)

Azar Nafisi, Reading Lolita in Tehran (via ohteenscanrelate)

creatingnikki  (via wnq-writers)