Favorite Photos, Pt. 2

This last picture is from when I dropped Allison off at the Greyhound station in Grants Pass, Oregon - the first step on her long journey to Papantla, Mexico. The smiles on our faces are pure bullshit (at least I know mine is); it was really hard to see her go. For the previous two weeks we had been together nearly 24 hours a day - visiting family, seeing sights, exploring life and deepening our relationship together. For days after she left I felt a void and a silent undercurrent of unhappiness. These feelings are perfectly natural and a sign of the love and joy we bring in to each other's lives, but are they the healthiest?

It's okay acknowledging someone is a source of happiness in your life, but when does it become too much? Isn't it easy to mistake someone as your primary source of happiness, becoming dependent on them to feel good? I've had this tendency in the past and it's good I'm now aware of it. After all, nobody can provide you with deep and lasting happiness. If you ask that of someone, you're bound to be disappointed. The ONLY place you can find happiness is inside yourself. I've been reading a lot about Taoism lately and I like what it has to say about letting go. Trying to hold on to anything in life is like trying to catch a river's current in a jar. The moment you capture it, you lose it. A key to life is accepting all circumstance without holding on.

And it seems to me, if you can be happy when you're utterly alone, happiness in a partnership is easy. Still working on the first part... can't wait to resume the second!