Cultivating intimacy
It’s about longing. It’s the gentle ache of getting to know someone piece by piece, of building something meaningful together. It’s in the small, thoughtful gestures, the love notes, the quiet walks, the unspoken ways we say, I see you, and I care. When we skip yearning, we skip the foundation of intimacy.
Lust, Intimacy and the Lost Art of Slow Burns
I can see when two people are close in a way that blocks their energy from the rest of the world, insulated and intimate and barring others from entering. I can also see when two people are close in a way that supports each other in being more engaged with the world. I admire the couples who are able to inhabit both states: experiencing the kind of... See more
skincontact.substack.com • 21 Observations From People Watching
Good crushes and love are data-collection systems for identity, because they help you understand your shape
speak so you can be found
find your soul before your soulmate
substack.com
I love the idea of solitude being a gift. I think we can be afraid of being lonely, but if you figure out a way to own it and see it as a treasure and a pleasure and a joy, then it can be quite comforting. I have a place to go in my head that’s just my place, and no one ever gets to that place. I value that alone time so much. I wouldn’t be able to
... See moreJami Attenberg • I Came All This Way to Meet You: Writing Myself Home
In fact, you can’t have real intimacy until you can tolerate your own aloneness, integrity, individuality.
A. H. Almaas • Diamond Heart: Elements of the Real in Man
And yet, somewhere beyond my carefully guarded solitude–I know my walls are not unbreakable. With the right person, I’d want to see what dishes they’re cooking and hear the songs they’re playing on repeat. But real love should never feel like surveillance. It should be the kind of knowing that doesn’t require proof. The kind of presence that doesn’... See more
The epidemic of constant communication
Knowing how to be solitary is central to the art of loving. When we can be alone, we can be with others without using them as a means of escape.
bell hooks • All About Love: New Visions (Love Song to the Nation Book 1)
if you can’t sit with yourself how the HELL are you gonna sit with someone else -Rupaul
> After time alone, I’ve come to love my independence, to cherish the silence between messages, the space to exist without explanation. And yet, somewhere beyond my carefully guarded solitude–I know my walls are not unbreakable. Wit... See more
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