when I touch your face I touch the face of God
our identity actually depends on the attention we give to things outside of ourselves
(David Whyte via On Being)
It is so difficult to see this face *
because the countless others
we’ve seen before
cloud the view,
along with how we expect it to look
and how it might be improved.
Even the faces of the ones we love deeply
hide like buried treasure
behind histories of expression.
In order to see
what is right in front of our eyes,
we first have to recognize
we have gradually
become blind,
and then begin
the slow work of forgetting.
* Substitute with any noun: flower, beach, stone, bird, soap bubble, house, grandmother, beef stew, homeless person, celebrity, potato, dollar bill, construction worker, politician, drug addict, child, teacher, report card, mail order catalogue, boss, swimming pool, dog, towel, onion, computer, neighbor, planet, pine cone, cigarette, airplane, spam subject, fork, mountain, etc.
🍴
Recognition by Daron Larson
You are the sum total of everything you’ve ever seen, heard, eaten, smelled, been told, forgot — it’s all there. Everything influences each of us, and because of that I try to make sure that my experiences are positive.
☺️
– Maya Angelou
Me myself
Trippers and askers surround me, People I meet, the effect upon me of my early life or the ward and city I live in, or the nation.
The latest dates, discoveries, inventions, societies, authors old and new…
These come to me days and nights and go from me again. But they are not the Me myself.
– Walt Whitman from Song of Myself
I long to see your face
to touch the hills of your nose
your cheeks
the valleys where your eyes live
your forehead, I don’t know well enough
the crease of your chin
under your lips
your face is the place
where your soul
meets the world,
met mine
your breath
allows us to mingle
melting into each other’s dna
I miss your conversation
I miss our laughter
I miss your company
I miss your hands
mostly I miss seeing your face
with these eyes of mine
😍
AL
I think your whole life shows in your face and we should be proud of that.
– Lauren Bacall
look at your hands
your beautiful useful hands
you’re not an ape
you’re not a parrot
you’re not a slow loris
or a smart missile
you’re human
not british
not american
not israeli
not palestinian
you’re human
not catholic
not protestant
not muslim
not hindu
you’re human
we all start human
we end up human
human first
human last
we’re human
or we’re nothing
nothing but bombs
and poison gas
nothing but guns
and torturers
nothing but slaves
of Greed and War
if we’re not human
look at your body
with its amazing systems
of nerve-wires and blood canals
think about your mind
which can think about itself
and the whole universe
look at your face
which can freeze into horror
or melt into love
look at all that life
all that beauty
you’re human
they are human
we are human
let’s try to be human
dance!
💃🏻
Human Beings by Adrian Mitchell
life: acoustic & amplified 