All Through The Night by Bodhi Smith

Aug 28, 2020

"all through the night" a brand new impression and blog from me...
 
"under the stars i have all the light i need, all night long they illuminate my world. bringing me out of my darkness. i can see all i need to see, as i embrace this fairytale in my arms all through the night. and until it ends, there is no end..." ― bodhinku, all through the night  
  
"all through the night...i'll be awake, and i'll be with you all through the night. this precious time, when time is new...oh, all through the night today, knowing that we feel the same without saying. we have no past, we won't reach back. keep with me forward all through the night. and once we start, the meter clicks, and it goes running all through the night. until it ends, there is no end" ― cyndi lauper, all through the night 
 
"and, when you want something badly enough, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it" ― paulo coelho, the alchemist 
 
"it's like stepping into a fairy tale under a curtain of stars" ― erin morgenstern, the night circus 
 
“i think you’re a fairy tale. i think you’re magical, and brave, and exquisite. and i hope you'll let me be in your story" ― laini taylor, strange the dreamer  
 
"she walks in beauty, like the night
of cloudless climes and starry skies..." ― lord george byron
 
"hello, i've waited here for you, everlong. tonight, i throw myself in two...out of the red, out of her head she sang: and i wonder when i sing along with you if everything could ever feel this real forever? and the only thing i'll ever ask of you: you've got to promise not to stop when i say "when" ― foo fighters, everlong   
 
this song is not only the same title as my impression today, but it is also the absolutely most perfect song to accompany it with such apropos lyrics...a classic alternative/pop tune from the mid 1980s, a beautiful love ballad from a singer with a beautiful voice, with a message of embracing love all through the night...it is the perfect accompaniment to connect music with the meaning of my impression and blog today: "all through the night" by cyndi lauper ...(just click on any of words in the blue links to listen to the musical selection)....

"all through the night...i'll be awake, and i'll be with you all through the night. this precious time, when time is new...oh, all through the night today, knowing that we feel the same without saying. we have no past, we won't reach back. keep with me forward all through the night. and once we start, the meter clicks, and it goes running all through the night. until it ends, there is no end, all through the night...stray cat is crying, so stray cat sings back all through the night. they have forgotten what by day they lack...oh under those white street lamps, there is a little chance they may see...we have no past, we won't reach back. keep with me forward all through the night. and once we start, the meter clicks, and it goes running all through the night. until it ends, there is no end...oh the sleep in your eyes is enough. let me be there, let me stay there awhile...we have no past, we won't reach back. keep with me forward all through the night. and once we start, the meter clicks, and it goes running all through the night. until it ends, there is no end, keep with me forward all through the night....and once westart, the meter clicks, and it goes running all through the night. until it ends, there is no end" ― cyndi lauper, all through the night
 
"live your life as if you may lose everything at any second" ― mary higgins clark, all through the night
    
"life seems random sometimes, things just happen and it might be hard to understand why...but love is the opposite, when it happens, we understand nothing is random about this life, there is just love" ― bodhinku, love is not random  
 
"you don't make a photograph just with a camera. you bring to the act of photography all the pictures you have seen, the books you have read, the music you have heard, the people you have loved" ― ansel adams 
 
"it is looking at things for a long time that ripens you and gives you a deeper meaning" ― vincent van gogh 
 
"bored with obvious reality, i find my fascination in transforming it into a subjective point of view. without touching my subject i want to come to the moment when, through pure concentration of seeing, the composed picture becomes more made than taken" ― earnest haas
 
"never lose hope my dear heart, miracles dwell in the invisible" ― jalaluddin rumi, the music and silence of the heart 
----------------------
 
MEANING
"i was in a walking dream...i could picture her in my mind's eye, so clear, so real...there we were, her and i, lost alone in our universe of no noise, no distractions, just the focus of holding each other tight under the stars all through the night, the colors of all those heavenly bodies above faintly washing all over our skin...our hearts tingle, feeling that hungry touch and delightful warming inside and out as our eyes lock into each other, connecting, illuminating our souls with visions so obvious that enlightenment is a mere afterthought" ― bodhinku, our universe  
 
this meaning behind this image is pretty clear on the surface, but like all my titles, it has a much more deeper and emotional meaning from every feeling i felt while capturing the impression...as this image was created by experiencing the wilderness of the sonoran desert "all through the night"...
 
i was walking down my faintly lit path of the unknown into a new world, thinking of her, though we still have yet to meet...i could feel her presence with me, though i did not know where she was exactly...i was comforted by the loving stars overhead, excited and scared at the same time...hopeful, but worried i'd somehow misread the signs, so unsure of myself, but never before so positive of what i wanted so badly...
 
i was an oxymoron wrapped deeply in contradicting feelings of untold amounts of mystery, romance, fear, and amazement...i sensed her with me in my heart, and she felt me in her heart...she's out there somewhere in the universe thinking about me thinking about her...this dreamy vision amidst a rapid heartbeat driven by a massive emotional rush of a hopeful romance one day soon, blended altogether with tears, smiles and sighs entwined as one...  
 
as it turned out, i lived a lifetime of hope and happiness in one just night...all night long just being, just breathing and just letting go...truly living and experiencing life, so unexpected, and letting moments take my breath away...how could i not capture a beautiful impression with my camera?
 
"life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away" ― vicki corona, tahitian choreographies   
 
"sometimes it's the same moments that take your breath away that breathe purpose and love back into your life" ― steve maraboli, reflections on life and the human experience  
 
"i know what i want. i so badly want the entire fairy tale, like julia roberts in pretty woman desiring to be "cinder.f*ckin.rella"...no more will i settle for mediocrity, or sacrifice my feelings for broken promises, or compromise for anything less than the extraordinary...i want the complete package: a total happily-ever-after...and in her eyes, i will see the hope that maybe i might finally have found a chance to have it all" ― bodhinku, the entire fairy tale
....................
 
and now here are a few more quotes from bodhinku from past blogs to help add to the deeper meaning of this blog today...
 
"all through the night, out under this beautiful canopy of the milky way stretching across the entire sky. it's my favorite place to be, when the darkness is so dark, that the stars light up everything inside me and out, illuminating everything all around with their collective energies...i was in the midst of an experience with a pure spirit so truly exceptional, time disappeared... and it became obvious soon with all of the coincidences brought to my attention, that this night could not have happened by chance...for all the while as the cosmos moved across the sky, the universe was sending signs that could not be overlooked or dismissed, signs so obvious and clear...and when i laid down in bed later just before dawn, i fell asleep with a smile on my face, finally" ― bodhinku, signs from somewhere over the milky way    
 
"buddha is famous for saying, "embrace nothing, nothing is worth holding on to", and even though i am a buddhist, after the other night, i emphatically disagree with this statement after what happened to me that night...sometimes, the universe sends you a sign in the form of an angel, a soul worth holding on to"― bodhinku, embrace your angel
 
"the evening before the last, my mood changed dramatically from being a strangely "optimistically dark" into becoming "hopefully enlightened"...emerging from the night illuminated with tingles and a warming smile, the signs were so clear to me. because the universe above whispered to me through jupiter, saturn, mars...and it spoke to me through sirius, polaris (the north star), and scorpio, cassiopeia...and then the universe sang to me through the full milky way stretched across the sky...and i listened to everything instead of nothing. i let go of all the noise. and my life has now taken a change down a newer more beautiful path for the better..." ― bodhinku, listening to the signs  
 
"when i looked at her glowing before me, i knew nothing else in the world mattered, or ever would" ― bodhinku, her glow 
  
"inside,
inside my heart,
inside my universe,
you are my dawning sun,
bringing me out of my dark night,
warming me with this sparkling happiness
i never knew possible, turning me from nothing into everything" ― bodhinku, nothing into everything 
 
"i have a dream, it is you"― bodhinku, i have a dream
 
"nothing but the stars shining through the darkness of the night mattered to me, everything in my dark world became much brighter, i found a rising sun so beautiful, the morning had dawned on me at last" ― bodhinku, dawn after the darkness
 
"thoughts of you both day and night
feeling so sensual never felt so right
i'm crazy obsessed by your afterglow
your joy of life is all i want to know
i'm wildly addicted to your light
and so badly aroused by your sight" ― bodhinku, afterglow   
 
"yesterday is nothing but today's memory... and tomorrow is nothing but today's dream...so live today like nothing else matters" ― bodhinku, live today 
   
"like stars of night skies
my universe in her eyes
sparkles, smiles, and sighs" ― bodhinku, my universe too (haiku)
 
"i really need to be illuminated daily by things that are inspiring to me, things than make me smile, giggle, and glow from my deepest depths...illuminating my inner shadows, those hidden dark parts of me, personal secrets that make me who i am, even if i am not proud of them" ― bodhinku, illuminated  
 
"when i first saw
your eyes
i knew you already
from gazing upward
at all the stars

i'd been looking into
your eyes
for so long already
across the universe
my whole entire life

if stars would become
your eyes
they'd truly know already
their exact name
was always yours" ― bodhinku, eyes of the universe   
 
"i want to feel each moment we have together as if it's simultaneously our last and our first" ― bodhinku, last and first  
 
"whenever sadness is in front of you, just remember that joy is right there too, just turn around and i am right there behind you, i am always right here behind you, no matter what, with all the love and support you will ever need" ― bodhinku, right behind you    
 
and here is another beyond beautiful song, read the lyrics and you will be able to connect this tune to my current feelings from recent signs sent to me from the universe which are impossible to ignore...a song sung boldly with a pounding meaning very dear to my heart, vocalized so powerfully, yet softly, by a mega rock band in a metal ballad from the 1980s..: "send me an angel" by the scorpions ...i sound old, but they just do not make songs like this anymore...(just click on any of words in the blue links to listen to the song)...  

"the wise man said: just walk this way to the dawn of the light. the wind will blow into your face as the years pass you by. hear this voice from deep inside, it's the call of your heart. close your eyes and you will find passage out of the dark...here i am (here i am), will you send me an angel? here i am (here i am), in the land of the morning star....the wise man said: just find your place in the eye of the storm. seek the roses along the way, just beware of the thorns..here i am (here i am), will you send me an angel? here i am (here i am), in the land of the morning star....wise man: said just raise your hand and reach out for the spell. find the door to the promised land. just believe in yourself. hear this voice from deep inside, it's the call of your heart. close your eyes and you will find the way out of the dark...here i am (here i am), will you send me an angel? here i am (here i am), in the land of the morning star..." ― the scorpions, send me an angel  
 
"please send me an angel, so i can see life though the stars of heaven's eyes" ― bodhinku, send me an angel
 
"i don't want to sleep, for i fear i might miss the twinkle of the brightest star: the smile of the girl laying here in my arms all through the night" ― bodhinku, the brightest star 
----------------------
 
STORY BEHIND THIS IMPRESSION
"i lived a lifetime of happiness in one just night...all night long just being, just breathing and just letting go...truly living and experiencing life, so unexpected, just letting moments take my breath away" ― bodhinku, just 
 
this image is a picture of the stars, the milky way, and jupiter, all above a classic looking saguaro cactus in the middle of the sonoran desert...taken during a magical evening all through the night...to get to this location, i headed out to the deep sonoran desert last saturday with high hopes of some beautiful images...
 
i went out into the heat of the sonoran desert with hopes of capturing dramatic impressions of monsoonal clouds, glowing sunsets, and saguaro cacti...but the big afternoon clouds slowly evaporated by the time sunset arrived, so no glorious sunset...but all good, because the clear skies provided instead for a wonderful evening of shooting heavenly bodies in the night...the crescent moon, the milky way, the planets, and the stars over-top of the saguaro cacti...a magical time spent all through the night, taking images with my camera in a beautiful wilderness, a time spent that i wish never had to end...
 
so, pictured here is my memory in the form of an impression, captured of this wonderful time...all through the night i was breathing in life that took my breath away, moments lived that i will always treasure...just like the famous quote i cited above in the last section says: "life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away" ― vicki corona, tahitian choreographies
 
sorry, but now a little bit of a side-track ramble with me babbling on a bit...
 
i had to make the tough decision to not take my doggie with me on this trip (and he was very missed)...i didn't take besos (my pup) because of all the wicked evil cholla cacti all over the place where i was headed...ironically the cholla (pronounced "choy-yah") are nicknamed as the "teddy bear cactus", which they are anything but fuzzy and cuddly...for the cholla are just plain wickedly evil plants, maybe my least favorite species on the planet...and if their species were to disappear forever, along with mosquitoes, stable flies, no-see-ums, and new zealand black flies, i would not feel one tiny iota of remorse for their collective extinction... 
 
the cholla cactus has the nasty reproduction habit of budding by dropping tons of round golf-ball sized spores, with every millimeter of their surface area encased in tiny but sturdy sticky prickly spines. they are truly santan's velcro and fiercely adhere to anything they come in contact with, and i mean anything. the fiendish buds fall off the tips of the cactus by the barrel load and lay all around close by on the ground...these little demons spread by wind and unlucky animals to increase their area of disbursement to a much wider circumference with time...and each spore germinates eventually into new cholla plants that grow and bud in the same way to diabolically spread hundreds more of their heinous seeds about... they are the devil's spawn and are awful to be around...
 
good boots, a good flashlight, and caution, plus a pair of needle nose pliers in your pocket (just in case one adheres to you) are the only ways of dealing with these little pricks...it would take a brave (or maybe crazy) person to walk around barefoot, or even in flip-flops if cholla are even anywhere close in the vicinity...
 
once one hellish spore attaches to you, you must remove it cautiously and slowly...because it literally explodes super stiff piercing needles all over anything it contacts when you try to remove it hastily. it takes some serious restraint to just let it stick in you until you can carefully remove the vile bud intact as one piece using needle-nose pliers...for if you brush at it, it breaks apart and viciously sticks to the next surface just as bad with needles covering even more space on the new surface, and then if you touch it again, it spreads even more again, and so on...and that is just one little villainous bud...getting numerous of these feisty unholy bastards on you is just unspeakably misery...
 
so imagine an aussie shepherd doggie, with all its energy, spunk, and obsessive focus...just imagine them getting a few on their fur or paw pads, and what kind of a brutal disaster would happen as they panicked to shake them off, inducing them to explode, to only become covered more and more with spines spreading all over, making the situation exponentially worse and loathsome...so, no besos on this trip, unfortunately cholla abounding are just "no bueno", and just not a good or safe environment for a doggie...
 
but this weekend and the next few, no fail, besos will be on adventures with me, i will not leave the poor guy home again for a long while...
 
"in trying to understand myself, and things that really make me glow with happiness, i created something special here...one fusion joined together from my psyche, dreams, visions, feelings, emotions, thoughts, and illuminations from the inner workings of my combined mind, heart, and soul" ― bodhinku, zen to me 
 
"all through the night i was breathing in life that took my breath away, moments lived that i will always treasure" ― bodhinku, my treasure chest  
---------------------
 
HISTORY OF THE SAGUARO
"i was born to dream amidst her stars, to awaken and drink the dew from her flowers, then walk barefoot in the sands of her sunshine days" ― bodhinku, barefoot   

the saguaro cactus (carnegiea gigantea)...pronounced “sah-wah-roh”, is a long standing icon of the american west, especially the desert. images of these cacti are seen all through our lives as a symbol of the american desert. a trip to the sonoran desert is not complete without examining one of these famous desert plants. these huge green columnar cactus have fascinated nearly every person who has seen one. to the local tohono o’odham people, the saguaro are even more important. these giant cactus are not plants to the tohono o’odham native americans, but a different type of humanity, and are revered as respected members of their tribal community...

while the regal saguaro cactus has become a symbol of the american west, it will only grow in the sonoran desert. as a desert indicator species, its the range of is limited to southern arizona, and only will grow from sea level to about 4000 feet in elevation. the farther north and higher in elevation you go, the saguaro will restrict their growth to the warmer, south facing slopes.

the saguaro is the largest cactus in the united states, and will normally reach heights of 40 feet tall. the tallest saguaro ever measured towered over 78 feet into the air. the saguaro grows as a column at a very slow rate, with all growth occurring at the tip, or top of the cactus. it can take 10 years for a saguaro cactus to reach 1 inch in height. by 70 years of age, a saguaro cactus can reach 6 and a half feet tall, and will finally start to produce their first flowers. by 95-100 years in age, a saguaro cactus can reach a height of 15-16 feet, and could start to produce its first arm. by 200 years old, the saguaro cactus has reached its full height, reaching upwards of 45 feet tall. some saguaros have been seen with dozens of arms, while others never produce a single one. why this happens remains one of the desert’s mysteries.

the saguaro cactus is a master of desert survival. every aspect of this plant is specifically designed to thrive in the sometimes harsh and very extreme sonoran desert. the skin of the saguaro is covered with a thick waxy coating that waterproofs the plant, and reduces water lost to the air through transpiration. the skin of the cactus is covered with hard spines and flexible bristles as a method of defending the water stored inside.

the root system of a saguaro is equally as impressive. the cactus will send a large, single taproot straight down into the soil to a depth of about 5 feet. this taproot gives the cactus access to water that is stored deep underground. the main roots of the saguaro are quite different. the cactus sends out a massive maze-like array of roots very close to the surface. on average, these roots lie within 3 inches of the surface, allowing the cactus to easily collect whatever rain might fall.

very little water is instantly used. instead, most of the water collected ends up being stored within the cactus to use during periods of drought. the interior of the cactus is filled with a sponge-like tissue, which is used to hold the water. as more and more water gets stored, the skin of the cactus begins to expand, making room for more storage. as a result, the saguaro cactus can become quite heavy as more and more water is stored. at full capacity, a foot of saguaro cactus can weigh upwards of 90 pounds, and a full height saguaro can weigh over a ton.
 
saguaro cactus will produce flowers during late spring into early summer. in average years, the flowering occurs between april and june. the flowers are a milky white, and emit a sweet nectar which attracts multiple species of bats. these bats feast on the flower nectar, and in process act as pollinators for the saguaro cactus. as the cactus produce fruit, the bats will start to eat the fruits, and in turn help spread the saguaro seeds across the desert.

"let's escape this cage my dear,
and make the world ours...
let's bust out of here,
and break these bars...
let's do it without fear,
and rewrite the stars" ― bodhinku, rewrite the stars
 
"if nothing else...if i open my eyes, if i cry, if i think, if i sigh, if i giggle, if i dance, if i love, if i breathe, then i have lived a full days worth of life...nothing is wasted, nothing" ― bodhinku, if nothing else    
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MORE QUOTES FOR EXTRA MEANING
when i captured my impression, i was with someone new, walking down the path of the unknown into a new world, comforted by my loving stars overhead, excited and scared at the same time, unsure of myself, but never before so positive of what i wanted so badly...and here is the perfect song to reflect those emotions, and deeply contradicting feelings, a tune wrapped in four minutes of untold amounts of mystery, romance, fear, and amazement...a totally classic rocking love ballad with a rapid heartbeat and tangible emotional rush of a blossoming romance, easily my favorite by one of my favorite 1990's "lithium" bands, the foo fighters (song released in '97): "everlong" by foo fighters ...(just click on any of words in the blue links to listen to the musical selection)....
 
"hello, i've waited here for you everlong. tonight i throw myself in two... out of the red, out of her head, she sang: come down and waste away with me, down with me. slow, how you wanted it to be. i'm over my head...out of her head she sang: and i wonder when i sing along with you if everything could ever feel this real forever? if anything could ever be this good again? the only thing i'll ever ask of you: you've got to promise not to stop when i say "when..." she sang: breathe out, so i can breathe you in, hold you in. and now i know you've always been out of your head, out of my head, I sang: and i wonder when i sing along with you, if everything could ever feel this real forever? if anything could ever be this good again? the only thing i'll ever ask of you: you've got to promise not to stop when i say "when..."  she sang: and i wonder when i sing along with you if everything could ever feel this real forever? if anything could ever be this good again? the only thing i'll ever ask of you: you've got to promise not to stop when i say "when..." ― foo fighters, everlong 
 
"three things can not hide for long: the moon, the sun and the truth." ― gautama siddhartha buddha, sayings of buddha   
 
"it does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop" ― confucius, the doctrine of the mean  
 
"the secret waits for eyes unclouded by longing." ― lao tzu, tao te ching
 
"it is crucial to be mindful of death--to contemplate that you will not remain long in this life. if you are not aware of death, you will fail to take advantage of this special human life that you have already attained. it is meaningful since, based on it, important effects can be accomplished. analysis of death is not for the sake of becoming fearful but to appreciate this precious lifetime during which you can perform many important practices. rather than being frightened, you need to reflect that when death comes, you will lose this good opportunity for practice. in this way contemplation of death will bring more energy to your practice" ― dalai lama xiv, advice on dying and living a better life 
  
"the days are long, but the years are short" ― aristotle, politics  
 
“you're my star, a stargazer too,
and i wish that i were heaven,
with a billion eyes to look at you”  ― plato, the symposium  
 
"it is looking at things for a long time that ripens you and gives you a deeper meaning" ― vincent van gogh 
 
"fear isn't so difficult to understand. after all, weren't we all frightened as children? nothing has changed since little red riding hood faced the big bad wolf. what frightens us today is exactly the same sort of thing that frightened us yesterday. it's just a different wolf. this fright complex is rooted in every individual" ― alfred hitchcock
 
"but how would we have ever known the path if not for the longing of loneliness deep within? nothing about twin souls is taking the easy journey, but about a spirit-deep song that pulls you from somewhere beyond the horizon; it’s the beacon you can’t explain or ignore. it’s not about halves. we need to be whole within our truth to truly see our other. it’s about being present with what is on our road and not hiding. it’s about owning what needs owning, and stepping onto the path of our truth. it’s about being in a place of embracing all of our shadows and our light. it’s about opening, trust and surrender. when we live a life authentically as who we truthfully are, we hear the call deep within, and the clarity of knowing pours through our being. from this place of wholeness, connection and self-love, we are finally able to hear the ancient call that has eternally been etched along our soul. we can finally make sense of what we have always known: the time to return to our twin has come at long last, and it’s time to go home"― c. ara campbell 

"she was at once a mystical journey into the heart of the earth and the calm found in the fading light of sunset. she was like a moonless sky; dark, deep and eternal. upon her skin a blanket of stars was scattered to be traced by knowing fingers..." ― c. ara campbell
 
"her heart is worth it. her love is a once-in-a-lifetime, out of this world, rare and mystical power to behold and be enfolded by. her heart and her love is one of the most courageous, beautiful, passionate and powerful things you will ever encounter on this planet. true, it’s not for the faint of heart, but it is worth it. she will make every single moment count, every heartbeat, always, this i promise you" ― c. ara campbell 
 
“you have my heart, every single moment from now until my final hour, and even after that" ― beau taplin
 
“and god himself could bend the heavens and the earth, rain meteor showers, birth supernovas, spin whole galaxies into reality in the breadth of a moment, and still never come close to fathering a sight that could steal the breath from me like hers" ― beau taplin 
 
"some nights i wonder if the stars watch us the same way we watch them. other nights, i think of you and I'm sure of it" ― beau taplin, remedy
 
“in one kiss, you'll know all I haven't said.” ― pablo neruda
 
“your wide eyes are the only light i know from extinguished constellations.” ― pablo neruda
 
"lovely one,
with delicate hands and slender feet
like a silver pony,
walking, flower of the world,
thus i see you,
lovely one.

lovely one,
your eyes are too big for the earth.
there are countries, there are rivers,
in your eyes,
my country is your eyes,
i walk through them,
they light the world
through which i walk,
lovely one" ― pablo neruda, lovely one
 
"i crave your mouth, your voice, your hair, your everywhere...is that alright?" ― pablo neruda
 
"and i, infinitesima­l being,
drunk with the great starry
void,
likeness, image of
mystery,
i felt myself a pure part
of the abyss,
i wheeled with the stars,
my heart broke loose on the wind" ― pablo neruda, toward the splendid city
 
"and, when you want something badly enough, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it" ― paulo coelho, the alchemist    
 
"the night, with all its charms, is also a path to enlightenment. just as a dark well has thirst-quenching water at its bottom, the night, whose mystery brings us closer to the mystery of life, has a flame capable of enkindling our soul hidden in its shadows.” ― paulo coelho 
  
"look at the stars, and let that silence penetrate you. or look at the dark night and let that velvety darkness surround you, envelop you, dissolve you. this is the way of the simple heart.” ― osho, the buddha said 
 
“in your eyes is the light by which my spirit's born...you are my sun, my moon, and all my stars"
 
"trust your heart if the seas catch fire, live by love though the stars walk backward" ― e.e. cummings
 
"the voice of your eyes is deeper than all roses” ― e.e. cummings 
 
"you are the answer to every prayer i've offered. you are a song, a dream, a whisper, and i don't know how i could have lived without you for as long as i have" ― nicholas sparks, the notebook
 
"diamonds are found only in the dark bowels of the earth; truths are found only in the depths of thought. it seemed to him that after descending into those depths after long groping in the blackest of this darkness, he had at last found one of these diamonds, one of these truths, and that he held it in his hand; and it blinded him to look at it" ― victor hugo, les miserables  
 
"accept yourself, love yourself, and keep moving forward. if you want to fly, you have to give up what weighs you down" ― richard bach, jonathan livingston seagull  
 
"all men have stars, but they are not the same things for different people. for some, who are travelers, the stars are guides. for others they are no more than little lights in the sky. for others, who are scholars, they are problems... but all these stars are silent. you-you alone will have stars as no one else has them... in one of the stars i shall be living. in one of them i shall be laughing. and so it will be as if all the stars will be laughing when you look at the sky at night..you, only you, will have stars that can laugh! and when your sorrow is comforted (time soothes all sorrows) you will be content that you have known me... you will always be my friend. you will want to laugh with me. and you will sometimes open your window, so, for that pleasure... it will be as if, in place of the stars, i had given you a great number of little bells that knew how to laugh" ― antoine de saint-exupery, the little prince
 
"and forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair" ― khalil gibran, the prophet  
 
"it is wrong to think that love comes from long companionship and persevering courtship. love is the offspring of spiritual affinity and unless that affinity is created in a moment, it will not be created for years or even generations" ― khalil gibran, the prophet  

"clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add color to my sunset sky" ― rabindranath tagore, collected poems and plays
 
"you can only become truly accomplished at something you love. don’t make money your goal. instead, pursue the things you love doing and then do them so well that people can’t take their eyes off your work" ― maya angelou
 
"the desire to reach for the stars is ambitious. the desire to reach hearts is wise" ― maya angelou
 
"first best is falling in love. second best is being in love. least best is falling out of love. but any of it is better than never having been in love" ― maya angelou, even the stars look lonesome  
 
"your hand
touching mine.
this is how
galaxies
collide" ― sanober khan, turquoise silence

"and the afterglow...
of your gaze...is the only
sweater that i need" ― sanober khan, haikus 
 
"i will love the light for it shows me the way, yet i will endure the darkness for it shows me the stars" ― og mandino, the greatest salesman in the world
 
"in this world, it is too common for people to search for someone to lose themselves in. but i am already lost. i will look for someone to find myself in" ― c. joybell c.  
 
"you can talk with someone for years, everyday, and still, it won't mean as much as what you can have when you sit in front of someone, not saying a word, yet you feel that person with your heart, you feel like you have known the person for forever...connections are made with the heart, not the tongue" ― c. joybell c.  
 
"i say a good love is one that casts you into the wind, sets you ablaze, makes you burn through the skies and ignite the night like a phoenix; the kind that cuts you loose like a wildfire and you run with it!" ― c. joybell c. 
  
"i want morning and noon and nightfall with you. i want your tears, your smiles, your kisses...the smell of your hair, the taste of your skin, the touch of your breath on my face" ― lisa kleypas, seduce me at sunrise 
 
"it is so unfair that people who long for love the most, search the hardest for it, but find it so elusive" ― lisa kleypas, dreaming of you  
 
"there are some experiences in life they haven't invented the right words for" ― lisa kleypas, tempt me at twilight 
 
"it is beautiful to express love and even more beautiful to feel it" ― dejan stojanovic
 
"some moments are nice...some are nicer...some are even worth writing about" ― charles bukowski
 
here is another beautifully poignant song with beautiful apropos lyrics to give listen, from a sad but great move, and from an unexpected source: "is that alright?" by lady gaga ...(just click on any of words in the blue links to listen to the song)... 
 
"life is so simple, a little boy, a little girl laughing and loving, tryin' to figure out the world. it felt like summer when i kissed you in the rain, and i know your story, but tell me again. nothing you say wouldn't interest me, all of your words are like poems to me. i would be honored if you would take me as i am...i want you to look right in my eyes to tell me you love me, to be by my side. i want you at the end of my life. i wanna see your face when i fall with grace at the moment i die. is that alright? is that alright?....i hope you're still with me when i'm not quite myself. and i pray that you'll lift me when you know i need help. it's a warm celebration of all of our years. i dream of our story, of our fairy-tale. family dinners and family trees teachin' the kids to say, "thank you, " and, "please" knowin' if we stay together that things will be right...i want you to look right in my eyes to tell me you love me, to be by my side. i want you at the end of my life. i wanna see your face when i fall with grace at the moment i die, is that alright? is that alright?" ― lady gaga, is that alright?
 
"stars are always dancing. sometimes they dance twinkling away with the rhythm of your joyful heart" ― munia khan, attainable  
 
"i find the best way to love someone is not to change them, but instead, help them reveal the greatest version of themselves" ― steve maraboli, unapologetically you   
 
"be the reason someone smiles. be the reason someone feels loved and believes in the goodness in people" ― roy t. bennett, the light in the heart  
  
"top 15 things money can’t buy: time. happiness. inner peace. integrity. love. character. health. creativity. morals. trust. patience. self esteem. common sense. dignity. namaste"― roy t. bennett, the light in the heart 
        
"true, we love life, not because we are used to living, but because we are used to loving. there is always some madness in love, but there is also always some reason in madness." ― friedrich nietzsche, twilight of the idols 

"doubt thou the stars are fire;
doubt that the sun doth move;
doubt truth to be a liar;
but never doubt i love" ― william shakespeare, hamlet 
 
"love all, trust a few, do wrong to none" ― william shakespeare, all's well that ends well  
 
“turn her into stars and form a constellation in her image. her face will make the heavens so beautiful that the world will adore her, fall in love with the night, and forget about the garish sun" ― william shakespeare, romeo and juliet
 
"each time that one loves is the only time one has ever loved. difference of object does not alter singleness of passion. it merely intensifies it. we can have but one great experience at best, and the secret of life is to reproduce that experience as often as possible" ― oscar wilde, the picture of dorian gray
 
"they are both simply forms of imitation, but love is a more wonderful thing than art" ― oscar wilde  
 
"she walks in beauty, like the night
of cloudless climes and starry skies;
and all that's best of dark and bright
meet in her aspect and her eyes..." ― lord george byron  
 
"love will find a way through paths where wolves fear to prey" ― lord george byron
 
"soul meets soul on lovers lips" ― percy bysshe shelley
 
"for he would be thinking of love, of her, until the stars had run away, and the shadows eaten the moon" ― w.b. yeats, the wind among the reeds
 
"silently, one by one, in the infinite meadows of heaven, blossomed the lovely stars, the forget-me-nots of the angels" ― henry wadsworth longfellow, evangeline: a tale of acadie
 
"in today's times, it is a matter of grave importance that fairy tales should be respected" ― charles dickens
 
"we would be together and have our books and at night be warm in bed together with the windows open and the stars bright" ― ernest hemingway, a moveable feast
 
"you've got an awfully kissable mouth" ― f. scott fitzgerald, the great gatsby 
 
"if the day and the night are such that you greet them with joy, and life emits a fragrance like flowers and sweet-scented herbs, and life is more elastic, more starry, more immortal, that is your success. all nature is your congratulation...the true harvest of my daily life is somewhat as intangible and indescribable as the tints of morning or evening. it is a little star-dust caught, a segment of the rainbow which i have clutched"― henry david thoreau, walden  
 
"for i have known them all already, known them all—
have known the evenings, mornings, afternoons,
i have measured out my life with coffee spoons" ― t.s. eliot, the love song of j. alfred prufrock 
 
"all my heart is yours. it belongs to you; and with you it would remain, were fate to exile the rest of me from your presence forever" ― charlotte bronte, jane eyre  
 
“to move, to breathe, to fly, to float, to gain all while you give, to roam the roads of lands remote...to travel is to live" ― hans christian anderson, the fairy tale of my life
 
"how lucky am i to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard" ― a.a. milne, winnie the pooh 
 
"so come with me, where dreams are born, and time is never planned. just think of happy things, and your heart will fly on wings, forever" ― j.m. barrie, peter pan
 
"i might be in love with you...i''m waiting until i'm sure to tell you, though" ― veronica roth, divergent  
 
“then i realize what it is. it's him. something about him makes me feel like i am about to fall. or turn to liquid. or burst into flames" ― veronica roth, divergent 
 
"before you, bella, my life was like a moonless night. very dark, but there were stars, points of light and reason...and then you shot across my sky like a meteor. suddenly everything was on fire; there was brilliancy, there was beauty. when you were gone, when the meteor had fallen over the horizon, everything went black. nothing had changed, but my eyes were blinded by the light. i couldn’t see the stars anymore. and there was no more reason, for anything" ― stephenie meyer, new moon  

"it's not like love at first sight, really. it's more like…gravity moves…suddenly. it's not the earth holding you here anymore, she does… you become whatever she needs you to be, whether that's a protector, or a lover, or a friend" ― stephenie meyer, breaking dawn
 
"you are protected, in short, by your ability to love!" ― j.k. rowling, harry potter and the half-blood prince 
 
"home is behind, the world ahead,
and there are many paths to tread
through shadows to the edge of night,
until the stars are all alight.
then world behind and home ahead,
we'll wander back and home to bed.
mist and twilight, cloud and shade,
away shall fade! away shall fade!"― j.r.r. tolkien, the fellowship of the ring 
 
"i’m here. i love you. i don’t care if you need to stay up crying all night long, i will stay with you. if you need the medication again, go ahead and take it—i will love you through that, as well. if you don’t need the medication, i will love you, too. there’s nothing you can ever do to lose my love. i will protect you until you die, and after your death i will still protect you. i am stronger than depression and i am braver than loneliness and nothing will ever exhaust me" ― elizabeth gilbert, eat, pray, love 
 
"she had studied the universe all her life, but had overlooked its clearest message: for small creatures such as we, the vastness is bearable only through love" ― carl sagan, cosmos
 
"if you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. if you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales." ― albert einstein
 
"you don't make a photograph just with a camera. you bring to the act of photography all the pictures you have seen, the books you have read, the music you have heard, the people you have loved" ― ansel adams  
 
"some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again" ― walt disney
 
“words are flowing out like endless rain into a paper cup,
they slither wildly as they slip away across the universe
pools of sorrow, waves of joy are drifting through my open mind,
possessing and caressing me.
images of broken light which dance before me like a million eyes,
they call me on and on across the universe,
thoughts meander like a restless wind inside a letter box
they tumble blindly as they make their way
across the universe
sounds of laughter shades of love are
ringing through my open ears inciting and inviting me
limitless undying love which shines around me like a 
million suns, and calls me on and on
across the universe" ― john lennon, across the universe
 
“only once in your life, i truly believe, you find someone who can completely turn your world around. you tell them things that you’ve never shared with another soul and they absorb everything you say and actually want to hear more. you share hopes for the future, dreams that will never come true, goals that were never achieved and the many disappointments life has thrown at you. when something wonderful happens, you can’t wait to tell them about it, knowing they will share in your excitement. they are not embarrassed to cry with you when you are hurting or laugh with you when you make a fool of yourself. never do they hurt your feelings or make you feel like you are not good enough, but rather they build you up and show you the things about yourself that make you special and even beautiful. there is never any pressure, jealousy or competition but only a quiet calmness when they are around. You can be yourself and not worry about what they will think of you because they love you for who you are. the things that seem insignificant to most people such as a note, song or walk become invaluable treasures kept safe in your heart to cherish forever. memories of your childhood come back and are so clear and vivid it’s like being young again. colours seem brighter and more brilliant. laughter seems part of daily life where before it was infrequent or didn’t exist at all. a phone call or two during the day helps to get you through a long day’s work and always brings a smile to your face. in their presence, there’s no need for continuous conversation, but you find you’re quite content in just having them nearby. things that never interested you before become fascinating because you know they are important to this person who is so special to you. you think of this person on every occasion and in everything you do. simple things bring them to mind like a pale blue sky, gentle wind or even a storm cloud on the horizon. you open your heart knowing that there’s a chance it may be broken one day and in opening your heart, you experience a love and joy that you never dreamed possible. you find that being vulnerable is the only way to allow your heart to feel true pleasure that’s so real it scares you. you find strength in knowing you have a true friend and possibly a soul mate who will remain loyal to the end. life seems completely different, exciting and worthwhile. your only hope and security is in knowing that they are a part of your life" ― bob marley
 
"i want you to look right in my eyes, to tell me you love me, to be by my side...i want you at the end of my life; i wanna see your face when i fall with grace at the moment i die...is that alright? is that alright?"  ― lady gaga, a star is born
 
"i painted the stars and the moon and clouds and just endless, dark sky...i never knew why, i wonder if some part of me knew what was waiting for me. that i would never be a gentle grower of things, or someone who burned like fire...but that i would be quiet and enduring and as faceted as the night. that i would have beauty, for those who knew where to look, and if people didn’t bother to look, but to only fear it, then i didn’t particularly care for them, anyway. i wonder if, even in my despair and hopelessness, i was never truly alone. i wonder if i was looking for this place—looking for you" ― sarah j. maas, a court of mist and fury  
 
"here is the soundless cypress on the lawn:
it listens, listens. taller trees beyond
listen. the moon at the unruffled pond
stares. and you sing, you sing.

that star-enchanted song falls through the air
from lawn to lawn down terraces of sound,
darts in white arrows on the shadowed ground;
and all the night you sing.

my dreams are flowers to which you are a bee
as all night long i listen, and my brain
receives your song, then loses it again
in moonlight on the lawn" ― harold monro, collected poems  
 
"he was advancing through a night, breathing in its delicate transparency, made up as it was of an infinite number of facets of ice, of stars, of wind. he no longer felt any pain. no fear about what would happen. no anguish or remorse. the night through which he was advancing expressed this pain, this fear, and the irremediable shattering of the past, but this had all become music and now only existed through its beauty" ― andrei makine, music of a life  
 
“yours is the kind of kiss that inspires stars to climb into the sky and light up the world.” ― tahereh mafi, ignite me 
 
"there was a sudden sunburst in my head. and then black night. that blackness was sublime. i felt distributed through space and time: one foot upon a mountaintop, one under the pebbles of a panting strand, one ear in italy, one eye in spain, in caves, my blood, and in the stars, my brain. there were dull throbs in my triassic; green optical spots in upper pleistocene, an icy shiver down my age of stone, and all tomorrows in my funnybone" ― vladimir nabokov, pale fire  
 
"my bliss,
i love the way
you have crept
into my soul
how i feel
you deep
how you linger
within me
my body touched
by the warmth
of your heart
how your eyes
whisper your love
in the breeze
with secret words only
my heart can hear
every moment
with you
felt mesmerized
in each corner
of my body
as it waits
in anticipation
intrigue for you
to unwrap me
even more
this happy,
sated content me" ― karen o'moore 
 
"everything had colour in her thought; the months of the year ran through all the tints of the spectrum...morning was golden, noon orange, evening crystal blue, and night violet. every idea came to her mind robed in its own especial hue" ― l.m. montgomery, the golden road  
 
“shoot for the moon, even if you fail, you'll land among the stars” ― cecelia ahern, p.s. i love you  
 
"he could look at her forever. he could spend his life watching her just blink and breathe and be that near to her" ― veronica rossi, through the ever night  
 
"what is in our hearts is real whether we name it or let it exist only in darkness or silence" ― beth revis, shades of earth  
 
"we live in deeds, not years; in thoughts, not breaths; in feelings, not in figures on a dial. we should count time by heart-throbs" ― philip james bailey    
 
"love is the whole thing. we are only pieces" ― jalaluddin rumi, the essential rumi
 
"only from the heart can you touch the stars in the sky" ― jalaluddin rumi, the music and silence of the heart
 
"from the beginning of my life
i have been looking for your face
but today i have seen it

today i have seen
the charm, the beauty,
the unfathomable grace
of the face
that i was looking for

today i have found you
and those who laughed
and scorned me yesterday
are sorry that they were not looking
as i did

i am bewildered by the magnificence
of your beauty
and wish to see you
with a hundred eyes

my heart has burned with passion
and has searched forever
for this wondrous beauty
that i now behold

your fragrant breath
like the morning breeze
has come to the stillness of the garden
you have breathed new life into me
i have become your sunshine
and also your shadow

your effulgence
has lit a fire in my heart
and you have made radiant
for me
the earth and sky

my arrow of love
has arrived at the target
i am in the house of mercy
and my heart
is a place of prayer" ― jalaluddin rumi, looking for your face
----------------------
 
ABOUT THE IMPRESSION
"i know you, i've always known you...i believe that...known your eyes whenever i looked up to the night sky, and saw the stars twinkle and glow...all those nights of years before we met, spent obsessing with the heavens all through the night, i was already looking at you, photographing you, knowing you" ― bodhinku, i've always known you   
 
this composition is comprised of two exposures taken in the same frame, the stars and milky way 11:11pm on 08-22-2020, and then a second frame captured a little later by dimly light painting the foreground and the cactus to achieve the perfect lighting of the entire scene...the two frames were easily merged into one composition by blending layers together in adobe photoshop cc...  
 
in my photography, i always use filters to create longer exposure effects and to balance the light in my composition in-camera...i often use as many as four filters at time, and i always use at least one filter...for this exposure, to get the effects and balance i was looking for, i used one progrey gnd filter in the capture of this composition...
 
and for this impression, i chose to use a 0.9 gnd progrey aurora filter in an inverted position to help balance in-camera overall the image the way i envisioned it, and stop down the much brighter lower sky with its light pollution on the lower left, about 3 stops brighter than the rest of starry sky, along with the progrey g-120z magnetic holder to hold the filter and secure it to my nikon d810 mounted with a nikkor 24mm prime f/1.4 lens (shot in a portrait orientation)...
 
i wish to openly thank my sponsors who have always supported me through both the good and bad times...for truly this long exposure impression would not be possible without the use of my trusty dolica tripods in combination with the progreyusa filters which i use with every photo i take...
 
"you are 
in every 
single 
moment i 
ever want 
to be in" ― bodhinku, every single moment   
 
"contemplate without thinking. stop the world. slow down everything. shut off the noise. relax. seize this moment. reconnect. feel and sense what surrounds you. listen to all the colors of light that envelope you. see the melody and harmony that floats about unnoticed. taste the solitude of all this wonderment. smell the beautiful silence. now discover your peaceful serenity. then, reach out and touch your faith with all your senses. this is my world. awaken!" ― bodhinku, my world
 
above all else as always,
i hope this message and impression find you well.
 
namaste,
bodhi
-------------------------------------------------
 
please visit me at:
 
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