1. V.E. Schwab // 2. Unknown // 3. Rudolph Vitkauskas // 4. Charles Bukowski // 5. Margaret Atwood

#tea

mentally, i’m in the back of a library sipping tea and re-reading my favorite books under the soft light of a candle

“Scar tissue has no character. It’s not like skin. It doesn’t show age or illness or pallor or tan. It has no pores, no hair, no wrinkles. It’s like a slip cover. It shields and disguises what’s beneath. That’s why we grow it; we have something to hide.”

— Susanna Kaysen 

This photograph was taken during the first Intifada (1987-1993), it shows a Palestinian boy shot in the heart by Israeli occupation forces. Most of the Palestinians killed during the Intifada were either shot in the heart or the head. via Younes Arar.

Edit: This is a still from ‘Kingdom of Ants’, still a very accurate depiction of reality.

خدا از تو محافظة كند وخت كه من نطنم

— Khuda az tu muhafezat kunad, wakhte ke ma natanam

‘’I ask God to protect you, whenever I can’t.’’

“Please do not mistake sensitivity for weakness.”

— Anaïs Nin 

In Arabic when we see someone became more beautiful we say “tnawarti” which comes from “Noor” or “Light” in Arabic. It means that someone has made inner effort to come closer to Divine Presence and organically became blessed with Divine Light. It is visible in someones face...

أتعرفين ما هو الوطن يا صفية ؟ الوطن هو ألا يحدث ذلك كله.

غسان كنفاني

The war will end, 

and leaders will shake hands.

That old woman will keep waiting for her martyred son.

And those children will keep waiting for their hero father.

I don't know who sold our homeland,

but I saw who paid the price.

Mahmoud Darwish

“Comparing yourself to others is an act of violence against your authentic self.”

— Iyanla Vanzant 

“Weeping is not the same thing as crying, It takes your whole body to weep, and when it’s over, you feel like you don’t have any bones left to hold you up.”

— Sarah Ockler