Better to be hurt

“But better to be hurt by the truth than comforted with a lie.”

~Khaled Hosseini

Source

How you carry it

“People are afraid of themselves, of their own reality; their feelings most of all. People talk about how great love is, but that’s bullshit. Love hurts. Feelings are disturbing. People are taught that pain is evil and dangerous. How can they deal with love if they’re afraid to feel? Pain is meant to wake us up. People try to hide their pain. But they’re wrong. Pain is something to carry, like a radio. You feel your strength in the experience of pain. It’s all in how you carry it. That’s what matters. Pain is a feeling. Your feelings are a part of you. Your own reality. If you feel ashamed of them, and hide them, you’re letting society destroy your reality. You should stand up for your right to feel your pain.”

~Jim Morrison

Source

Vessel

"Anger is an acid that can do more harm to the vessel in which it is stored

than to anything on which it is poured."

~ Mark Twain

Dandelion Vessel

Some stories

“I wanted a perfect ending. Now I've learned, the hard way, that some poems don't rhyme, and some stories don't have a clear beginning, middle, and end.  Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what's going to happen next.  Delicious Ambiguity.”

~Gilda Radner

Dandelion Fountain

All kinds of things

“I want to stand as close to the edge as I can without going over. Out on the edge you see all the kinds of things you can't see from the center.” ~ Kurt Vonnegut Source

To grow

“In the middle of the night, things well up from the past that are not always cause for rejoicing -- the unsolved, the painful encounters, the mistakes, the reasons for shame or woe.  But all, good or bad, give me food for thought, food to grow on.”

~May Sarton, At Seventy

Dandelion salad

Bittersweet Symphony

'Cause it's a bittersweet symphony, this life
Trying to make ends meet
You're a slave to money then you die
I'll take you down the only road I've ever been down
You know the one that takes you to the places
where all the veins meet yeah,

No change, I can change
I can change, I can change
But I'm here in my mold
I am here in my mold
But I'm a million different people
from one day to the next
I can't change my mold
No, no, no, no, no

Well I never pray
But tonight I'm on my knees yeah
I need to hear some sounds that recognize the pain in me, yeah
I let the melody shine, let it cleanse my mind, I feel free now
But the airways are clean and there's nobody singing to me now

No change, I can change
I can change, I can change
But I'm here in my mold
I am here in my mold
And I'm a million different people
from one day to the next
I can't change my mold
No, no, no, no, no
I can't change
I can't change

'Cause it's a bittersweet symphony, this life
Trying to make ends meet
Trying to find some money then you die
I'll take you down the only road I've ever been down
You know the one that takes you to the places
where all the things meet yeah

You know I can change, I can change
I can change, I can change
But I'm here in my mold
I am here in my mold
And I'm a million different people
from one day to the next
I can't change my mold
No, no, no, no, no

I can't change my mold
no, no, no, no, no,
I can't change
Can't change my body,
no, no, no

I'll take you down the only road I've ever been down
I'll take you down the only road I've ever been down
Been down
Ever been down
Ever been down
Ever been down
Ever been down
Have you ever been down?
Have you've ever been down?

 -The Verve

Painting by the amazing Craig Stephens

Thorns

"Truths and roses have thorns about them."

~ Henry David Thoreau

Dandelion and Roses linocut print

What Will Matter

Ready or not, some day it will all come to an end.
There will be no more sunrises, no minutes, hours or days. All the things you collected, whether treasured or forgotten will pass to someone else.
Your wealth, fame and temporal power will shrivel to irrelevance. It will not matter what you owned or what you were owed.
Your grudges, resentments, frustrations and jealousies will finally disappear. So too, your hopes, ambitions, plans and to-do lists will expire.
The wins and losses that once seemed so important will fade away.
It won't matter where you came from or what side of the tracks you lived on at the end.
It won't matter whether you were beautiful or brilliant. Even your gender and skin color will be irrelevant.
So what will matter? How will the value of your days be measured?
What will matter is not what you bought but what you built, not what you got but what you gave.
What will matter is not your success but your significance.
What will matter is not what you learned but what you taught.
What will matter is every act of integrity, compassion, courage, or sacrifice that enriched, empowered or encouraged others to emulate your example.
What will matter is not your competence but your character.
What will matter is not how many people you knew, but how many will feel a lasting loss when you're gone.
What will matter is not your memories but the memories that live in those who loved you.
What will matter is how long you will be remembered, by whom and for what.
Living a life that matters doesn't happen by accident. It's not a matter of circumstance but of choice.
Choose to live a life that matters.

~Michael Josephson

Image credit

Heart asunder

“The beauty of the world has two edges,

one of laughter, one of anguish, cutting the heart asunder.”

~Virginia Woolf

Source

Tragedy begins

“In human intercourse the tragedy begins,

not when there is misunderstanding about words,

but when silence is not understood.”
~Henry David Thoreau

This beautiful dandelion print can be yours at etsy shop SylviaCPhotography

Calm storm

"There are some things you learn best in calm,

and some in storm"

~Willa Sibert Cather

Joseph Stella

Real relative

“At some point I believe one has to stop holding back

for fear of alienating some imaginary reader
 or real relative or friend,

 and come out with personal truth."
~ May Sarton

"Where triggers come true..."

Dear Disney,

THIS is why I have a hard time watching your movies.

Sincerely,

Two

Anastasia:  Orphan girl grows up, learns she was Russian royalty, and finds her grandmother.

Angels in the Outfield:  Boy in foster care deals with his biological father giving up his parental rights, but ends up being adopted by baseball coach.

Barbie’s “Island Princess”:  Separated from her family by shipwreck, Rosella grows up with forest friends, but ultimately finds her human mother, a Queen.

Cinderella: Father dies, leaving her to cruel step-family, fairy Godmother helps her meet the prince, and she leaves her step-family to marry her love.

Dumbo: Delivered by stork, ostracized from the rest of circus animals for being "different", separated from his mother , who is chained up in a separate cage after trying to defend her child. Only brash-but-lovable Timothy Mouse offers the hand of friendship to Dumbo, encouraging the pouty pachyderm to exploit his "different" qualities for fame and fortune. After trepidatiously indulging in a vat of booze, Dumbo awakens in a tall tree. Goaded by a group of jive-talking crows, Dumbo discovers that his outsized ears have given him the ability to fly, ultimately reunites with mother.

Hercules:  Baby boy stolen from natural parents/gods, “adopted” by normal earth parents, reconnects with his biological parents, but chooses to remain mortal.

Jungle Book:  Orphaned baby boy adopted by wolves, then rejoins human village.

Meet the Robinsons: Orphan boy goes into the future, seeing the family who will one day adopt him.

Image credit

Pete’s Dragon:  Orphan boy adopted by cruel family, rescued by dragon, then finds new family to adopt him.

Prince of Egypt:  Based on biblical story of Moses – baby adopted by Pharoah, then as an adult he learns of his true roots and leaves, later connects with his biological siblings and ends up having to fight his adoptive brother to free his people.

Rescuers:  Orphan girl is kidnapped, rescued by mice, then adopted.

Snow White:  Evil step-mother tries to kill the princess, she escapes to live with 7 dwarfs, step-mother dies, & Snow White is rescued by her Prince.

Tarzan: Orphaned baby boy adopted by gorillas, meets Jane, and together they choose to stay with Tarzan’s gorilla family.

List source

No (or 'absent') mother

Pinocchio: Pinocchio - no mother.

Peter Pan: The Lost Boys - no mother.
The Great Mouse Detective: Olivia Flaversham - no mother.
Aladdin: Jasmine - no mother; a mother character was originally written for Aladdin's character, but was ultimately cut so he has no parents.
Pocahontas: Pocahontas - no mother (mentioned only; revealed to have been dead for years)
Beauty and the Beast: Belle - no mother.
Oliver & Company: Jenny Foxworth - her mother is mentioned to arrive in time for her birthday, but is not shown.
Pirates of the Caribbean: Elizabeth, Will - no mother.
Tron: Legacy: Sam Flynn - no mother. No father for the majority of his life as well.
The Emperor's New Groove: Emperor Kuzco - no mother.
Finding Nemo:Nemo - No mother, she was killed at the beginning of the film 
Lilo and Stich : Lilo and Nani - parents dead prior the beginning of the movie.

Wicked Stepmother


Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: Evil Queen.
Cinderella: Lady Tremaine.
Enchanted: Queen Narissa
Tangled: Mother Gothel



Mother killed and/or captured

Image credit

The Hunchback of Notre Dame: Quasimodo:  Mother killed by Frollo.
The Little Mermaid: Ariel, Attina, Aquata, Andrina, Arista, Adella and Alana - Mother killed by pirates.
Bambi: Bambi - Mother killed by a gunshot.
The Fox and the Hound: Tod - Mother killed by gunshot.
Dumbo: Mrs. Jumbo is locked up for the majority of the movie, but is not killed.
The Jungle Book: Mowgli - Raksha Killed by Shere Khan.
Lilo & Stitch: Lilo and Nani - Both parents killed in a car accident.
Brother Bear: Koda - Mother Killed by Kenai.
Tarzan: Tarzan - Mother killed (as well as father) by Sabor.
Finding Nemo: Nemo - Mother killed by barracuda.
Atlantis: The Lost Empire: Princess Kida - Mother killed while trying to save Atlantis from its first fate.

Biological mothers

One Hundred and One Dalmatians: Perdita - Only to the litter 15 puppies.
Bambi: Faline.
Bolt: Penny's mother.
The Lion King II: Simba's Pride: Nala - Mother of Kiara, Zira - Mother of Nuka, Vitani & Kovu
The Lion King: Sarabi - Mother of Simba, Sarafina - Mother of Nala.
The Lion King 1½: Ma - Mother of Timon.
The Aristocats: Duchess.
Beauty and the Beast: Mrs. Potts, single mother.
Mulan: Fa Li.
The Princess and the Frog: Eudora.
Tangled: Queen.
Lady and the Tramp: Lady - Mother of Scamp, Annette, Collette and Danielle. Jane Brown - Mother of James Brown Junior.
Toy Story: Only mother present, no father.
Treasure Planet: Sarah Hawkins, single mother.
The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea: Princess Ariel - Melody's mother.
Peter Pan: Mary Darling - Wendy, John, and Michael's mother.
Return to Never Land: Wendy - Jane and Danny's mother.
Sleeping Beauty: Leah, Queen.
Hercules: Hera.
The Hunchback of Notre Dame II: Esmerelda - Zephyr's mother.
The Emperor's New Groove: Chicha - mother of Chaca, Tipo and Yupi, Azma - mother of Yzma.
The Incredibles: Helen Parr/Elastigirl - Mother of Violet, Dash and Jack-Jack Parr.
Meet the Robinsons: Unnamed Mother of Lewis. Franny Robinson - Mother of Wilbur Robinson, Petunia Robinson - Mother of Laszlo and Tallulah Robinson. 
Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: Diane Szalinski, mother of Nick, Amy and Adam Szalinski.



Image credit

Adoptive mothers

One Hundred and One Dalmatians: Perdita - Only to the other 84 puppies.
The Jungle Book 2: Messua - Mowgli's adoptive mother.
Tarzan: Kala.
Meet the Robinsons: Lucille - Lewis' adoptive mother.

List source
Tinkerbell image credit

Again and again

“As a single footstep will not make a path on the earth, so a single thought will not make a pathway in the mind. To make a deep physical path, we walk again and again. To make a deep mental path, we must think over and over the kind of thoughts we wish to dominate our lives.”

~ Henry David Thoreau

 

Un (grateful)

“Adoption Loss is the only trauma in the world where the victims are expected by the whole of society to be grateful” ~The Reverend Keith C. Griffith, MBE