Each night the air sang with the steady hum of the lantern as it turned, turned, turned; even-handed, not blaming the rocks, not fearing the waves: there for salvation it wanted.

With freedom, books, flowers, and the moon, who could not be happy?

So I let her go, for it was unfair of me to keep her. It was the hardest thing I'd ever done but I knew it was right. She was a bird I had caged that had forgotten how to fly but dreamed of clouds when she closed her eyes.

He had the effect on her of a window being thrown open and fresh air and sunlight being let in.

"I look up at her, then around me, and drift again into the world of scented colors."

"Every infant lives in a bright Garden where everything is sensed directly, without the interference of thought. The 'fall from grace' happens to each of us when we start thinking, when we become namers and knowers. It's not just Adam and Eve, you see, it's all of us. The birth of the mind is the death of the senses-it's not that we eat an apple and get a little sexy!"

"We entered a giant greenhouse. The air was warm and humid, contrasting with the cool morning air outside. Sox pointed to the tropical foliage that towered over us. "As a child, all this would appear before your eyes and ears and touch as if for the first time. But now you've learned names and categories for everything. 'That's good, that's bad, that's a table, that's a chair, that's a car, a house, a flower, dog, cat, chicken, man, woman, sunset, ocean, star.' You've become bored with things because they only exist as names to you. The dry concepts of the mind obscure your vision."

"I am in darkness at the foot of a great mountain, searching under every stone for a precious jewel. The valley is covered in darkness, so I cannot find the jewel. Then I look up at the shining mountain peak. If the jewel is to be found, it must be at the top. I climb and climb, beginning an arduous journey that takes many years. At last I reach my journey's end. I stand bathed in the bright light. My eyesight is clear now, yet the jewel is nowhere to be found. I look upon the valley far below, where I began the climb many years ago. Only then do I realize that the jewel had always been within me, even then, and that the light had always shined. Only my eyes had been closed."

"Act happy, feel happy, be happy, without a reason in the world. Then you can love, and do what you will."

"I had lost my mind and fallen into my heart."

Balance is the key. In everything you do.

Dance all night long and practice yoga the next day.

Drink wine but don't forget your green juice.

Eat chocolate when your heart wants it and kale when your body needs it.

Wear high heels on Saturday and walk barefoot on Sunday.

Live high and low. Move and stay still.

Embrace all sides of who you are.

Be brave, bold, spontaneous and loud and let that complement your abilities to find silence, patience, modesty and peace. Aim for balance. Make your own rules and follow your own path and don't let anybody tell you how to live according to theirs. 

There are wooden houses on land in far away places that don't cost much money and strings of light that make paths to them gently and do not turn off the stars.

In french, you don't say "I miss you." You say, "tu me manques." Which means, "you are missing from me." 

I love that.

I'm restless. 

Things are calling me away. 

My hair is being pulled by the stars again. 

-Anais Nin

Sometimes you meet someone, and it's so clear that the two of you, on some level belong together. As lovers, or as friends, or as family, or as something entirely different. You just work, whether you understand one another or you're in love or you're partners in crime. You meet these people throughout your life, out of nowhere, under the strangest circumstances, and they help you feel alive. I don't know if that makes me believe in coincidence, or fate, or sheer blind luck, but it definitely makes me believe in something. 

When I disappear, it means I'm somewhere else with a small group doing epic shit. 

Maybe one day we'll find that place where you and I could be together. And we'll catch our dreams within the waves of change. So smile for me one last time and believe that we'll meet again. Until then, I'll be missing you. 

-r.m. drake

Ask her what she craved and she'd get a little frantic about things like books, the woods, music. Plants and the seasons. Also Freedom.

-Charles Frazier

It seemed his lungs could never be large enough to breathe in this much air, his eyes could never see this much space, nor could he hear the full extent of the rolling, roaring ocean. For the briefest moment, he had no edges.