Lovers Too by Bodhi Smith

Oct 09, 2020

"lovers too" a brand new impression and blog from me...

"sages just know things without knowing, but so do lovers too...making love is not about touching the skin, that is just pleasure. what it's all really about is feeling each other's soul without touching...lovers are sages of love, knowing love without knowing, knowing love with undeniable certainty" ― bodhinku, lovers too   
 
"lovers don't finally meet somewhere. they're in each other all along" ― jalaluddin rumi, in the arms of the beloved 
  
"my lover is a dancer in the dark, whispering the secrets in her heart. she's opening up to my desire, my lover in the night...she is the morning sun, she's the one, bringing me back, the boy inside. my lover in the night, my lover is the light, my lover has it right, my lover is my life" ― chris deburg, my lover is
 
“making love requires no thought. you move as the fronds of a palm tree move in the breeze. it is all instinct. all wonder. when you love someone, your lips are incomplete until they are oiled by a kiss. you can say ‘i love you’ a thousand ways, but you can say it better with silence and a kiss" ― chloe thurlow, being a girl
 
“to express the love of two lovers by the marriage of two complementary colours, their blending and their contrast, the mysterious vibrations of related tones. to express the thought of a brow by the radiance of a light tone against a dark background. to express hope by some star. someone's passion by the radiance of the setting sun. that's certainly no realistic trompe l'oeil, but something that really exists, isn't it?" ― vincent van gogh, the letters of vincent
 
and this song i am providing for you here in this blog, it's the absolute perfect tune to listen to as you read along, this song speaks to these trees as lovers of the light...this is such a beautifully sung, melodic, and romantic song, in its message and meaning, with beautiful lyrics, "lover of the light" by mumford and sons (just click on the song title, it is a link to the lyric video)

"in the middle of the night, i may watch you go. there'll be no value in the strength of walls that i have grown. there'll be no comfort in the shade of the shadows thrown. but i'd be yours if you'd be mine...stretch out my life and pick the seams out. take what you like, but close my ears and eyes. watch me stumble over and over. i have done wrong, you build your tower. but call me home and i will build a throne and wash my eyes out never again...but love the one you hold, and i'll be your goal to have and to hold, a lover of the light...skin too tight and eyes like marbles, you spin me high, so watch me as i glide before i tumble homeward, homeward...i know i tried, i was not stable, flawed by pride. i miss my sanguine eyes. so hold my hands up, breathe in and breathe out. so love the one you hold and i'll be your goal to have and to hold, a lover of the light...and in the middle of the night, i may watch you go. there'll be no value in the strength of walls that i have grown. there'll be no comfort in the shade of the shadows thrown. you may not trust the promises of the change i'll show, but i'd be yours if you'd be mine...so love the one you hold and i will be your goal to have and to hold, a lover of the light" ― mumford and sons, lover of the light
 
...and if you like, here is a piano cover of this beautiful song as well: piano cover, lover of the light by mumford and sons
 
"a day without sunshine is like, you know, night" ― steve martin, a comic's life 
 
"i, you, he, she, we...in the garden of mystic lovers, there are no true distinctions, only one togetherness of love" ― jalaluddin rumi, hush don't say anything to god   
 
"an alive and loving person simply loves. love is a natural function. so remember this, don’t put demands on your lover; otherwise you will not find any love flowing in you. you have no right to demand anything from anybody. if somebody loves you, be thankful, but don’t demand anything, because the other has no obligation to love you. if somebody loves you, it is a miracle. be thrilled by the miracle"― osho, being in love 
 
"in the luminous golden sunset they stand, side by side forever and always, knowing why they love, and are alive" ― bodhinku, lovers 
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MEANING
"paradise is not found on a tropical beach under palm trees. paradise is instead found standing side by side in tandem with your lover through both thick and thin, just like two palm trees still standing though a windy hurricane together, and still standing side by side to see the calming colorful sunset after the storm finally passes" ― bodhinku, lovers paradise 
  
the meaning behind the title of the impression, "lovers too" comes from the ability of this image to personify that these two palm trees are a couple, like humans they are lovers too, the perfect two as one, lovers for as long as they can remain standing on this earth, soulmates eternally standing side by side together...and on this night, they got to witness together a transcending sunset under a spectacular glowing sky filled with all the colors of an exploding rainbow...and it all makes me envious, imagining the mind-boggling number of dazzling sunsets they have seen together, so lucky in love these lovers...
 
and this image is the second in a series of these two trees by me, so the name "lovers too" is also a play on words with dual meaning since this impression is "lovers two" as well as "lovers also"...

plus, i am a lover of trees, they are by far my favorite subject to take an impression of...and being born in southern california by the beach, i love palm trees, and until now i have never released a palm tree image, and i love this one, everything in this impression is about love, the deeper meaning of this image is just love, because all you need is love, truly...
 
"there's nothing you can know that isn't known. nothing you can see that isn't shown. there's nowhere you can be that isn't where you're meant to be...it's easy: all you need is love, love is all you need"― the beatles, all you need is love
 
and here is another beautiful song about lovers being friends, sung by stars from the world of soap operas in the 1980: "friends and lovers" by gloria loring and carl anderson ...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)...
 
“what would you think if i told you, i've always wanted to hold you? i don't know what we're afraid of, nothing would change if we made love. so i'll be your friend and i'll be your lover. because, i know in our hearts we agree, we don't have to be one or the other...yes, it's a chance that we're taking, and somebody's heart may be breaking. but we can't stop what's inside us, our love for each other will guide us...so i'll be your friend and i'll be your lover. because, i know in our hearts we agree, we don't have to be one or the other...i've been through you and you've been through me, sometimes a friend is the hardest to see. we always know when it's laid on the line, nobody else is as easy to find...so i'll be your friend and i'll be your lover. well, i know in our heart we agree, we don't have to be one or the other” ― gloria loring with carl anderson, friends and lovers  
 
"blue skies
birds' sighs
brown eyes
true blue
lovers too
in the sun
two as one 
unified palm
only calm
tropical lush
no rush
no worry
time's blurry
wonderful slow
light's glow
life's flow
letting go
all i know" ― bodhinku, lovers too
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MORE BODHIKU QUOTES
and now here are a few more quotes from bodhinku from past blogs to help add to the deeper meaning of this blog today...
 
"but the birds really know us too. in their innocent wisdom, they are sending us a message, if only we dare to truly listen to their song...they have been watching us like we watch them...and they all know this kind of certainty comes but once in a lifetime. they know: if you are a bird, i am a bird" ― bodhinku, the birds know 
 
"why do birds fly? because they love the art of flying...why do people love? because we love the art of loving...being in love is like being a bird and flying...if you're not embracing love right now, you're just a bird wanting to fly" ― bodhinku, love and flying    
 
"the higher and higher we fly on wings of love, the smaller and smaller we appear to those who have yet discovered that they have wings" ― bodhinku, wings   
 
"i see us floating across time and space together, feather-tip to feather-tip, not worrying about a thing"― bodhinku, feather tips
 
"exploding rainbow
colors streak across and flow
palm trees loving so" ― bodhinku, loving palm trees (haiku)    
 
"he loved her, she was his true art. and he loved all of her colors, she was his favorite color, the most beautiful color in the world...but trying to explain the beautiful color of her to someone else, would be as impossible as trying to explain the beauty of an exploding rainbow" ― bodhinku, exploding rainbow
    
"these two palm trees are a couple, the perfect two as one, lovers for as long as they can remain standing on this earth, soulmates eternally standing side by side together"― bodhinku, lovers  
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"LOVERS" SONGS WITH LYRICS (click on artist name for link to music)
"my lover is a morning with the sun, another day with her has just begun. she's waking me up to see her world, my lover is the light...my lover is a chance to play the fool, to shake a lot of trees and break the rules. she's bringing me back the boy inside, my lover gives me time...and all through the days, there are so many ways to love her. it's easy to do when the heart and the soul are true...my lover has the meaning of success, she's telling me that i can be the best, but if i should fail at least i've tried. my lover has it right...and all through the days, there are so many ways to love her. it's easy to do when the heart and the soul are true...my lover is a dancer in the dark, whispering the secrets in her heart. she's opening up to my desire, my lover in the night...she is the morning sun, she's the one, bringing me back, the boy inside. my lover in the night, my lover is the light, my lover has it right, my lover is my life" ― chris deburg, my lover is
 
"we could leave the christmas lights up until january. this is our place, we make the rules. and there's a dazzling haze, a mysterious way about you, dear. have i known you twenty seconds or twenty years? can i go where you go? can we always be this close forever and ever? and ah, take me out, and take me home, you're my, my, my, my lover...we could let our friends crash in the living room, this is our place, we make the call. and i'm highly suspicious that everyone who sees you wants you. i've loved you three summers now, honey, but i want 'em all...can i go where you go? can we always be this close forever and ever? and ah, take me out, and take me home (forever and ever), you're my, my, my, my lover...ladies and gentlemen, will you please stand? with every guitar string scar on my hand, i take this magnetic force of a man to be my lover. my heart's been borrowed and yours has been blue, all's well that ends well to end up with you. swear to be overdramatic and true to my lover. and you'll save all your dirtiest jokes for me. and at every table, i'll save you a seat, lover...can i go where you go? can we always be this close forever and ever? and ah, take me out, and take me home (forever and ever), you're my, my, my, my, oh, you're my, my, my, my darling, you're my, my, my, my lover" ― taylor swift, lover 
 
"you must abide by the golden rule: do unto others as they do unto you...because what goes around comes around, hear what i say. why look tomorrow, if it's here today? it seems the lovers win every time. you must hold on to the love that you find. in the world of mass confusion, one thing i find, it seems the lovers win every time. my love's getting stronger every day. i keep the feeling in the love we make, if you worry about your feelings, they'll be fine because i'm a lover, baby i won't let you go...so baby, don't let people interfere. just come on and love me your way, because there's nothing better than to know that you are my perfect lover" ― alexander o'neil, lovers  

"lover doll, oh lover doll, you're the cutest lover doll that i ever did ever see. let me tell you, lover doll, you were meant just meant for me. on the first time that i saw you, how i fell for your cuddly charms. lover doll, i'm crazy for you, let me rock you in my arms...i'm so glad i found you, never thought dollies came full grown. i'm gonna tie a ribbon around you, wrap you up and take you home...i would never treat you badly like a cast away broken toy. lover doll, i love you madly, let me be your lover boy...lover doll, i love you madly, let me be your lover boy..." ― elvis presley, lover doll

"no one conceals me like, no one reveals me like my lover. no one can disconnect, no one can resurrect like my lover. my lover makes me weak, gives me breath to speak. my lover takes me home, cools the rolling stone. my lover's thorny kiss, the reason to exist...i wonder...no one can saturate. no one manipulates like my lover, the sensuality it's immortality, my lover. my lover needs to seize, bring me to my knees. reads me like a prayer, calls the spirit there. secretly inspires, strips me to desire...i wonder...no one can visualize. no one can make me rise like my lover. they dream of paradise. they'll never ever pay the price, my lover" ― melissa etheridge, my lover
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STORY BEHIND THIS IMPRESSION
"photography is magical and unique because it is like no other art form…just think about it: when you take a picture, you are seeing something in a way only you can see it, it's very personal, a part of what is inside of you, and it is your vision and yours alone…the camera is just a mechanism that is reflecting back that vision, creating something tangible, a permanent memory of one of your experiences, something seen through your own eyes in your own unique way, something you can reflect back upon yourself…and if your chose, let others see as well for themselves, so they too can experience your vision, but in their own personal way..." ― bodhinku, personal reflection  
 
this image was taken to compliment a previous image i released back on new years 2020 called "lovers" and begin a series of these two same palm trees...this image is the same two trees on south padre island, in pretty close to the same frame, on the same evening (only earlier), but a much shorter exposure of 11 seconds (compared to 333 seconds) with different clouds thus, and entirely a different color palette of blues and yellows...

but i always try to remain true to myself and my artistic style in photography (which i have become known for)...those of you who know me know that i love taking pictures of trees, and know that i am a long exposure specialist, and i love taking various images of different types of trees at varying degrees of longer exposure times. and because i take such long exposures, you have the true reason why you have never seen any pictures of palm trees from me yet  (before the impressions of these palm trees of mine this year)...
 
because, simply stated, it is nearly impossible to remain true to my style and create an impression where the entirety of a palm tree remains in sharp focus, especially difficult the longer the exposure time...for me to take pictures of palm trees the way i envision, i need an evening at sunset, one with beautiful glowing clouds, and one where there is no wind what-so-ever...i need a dead calm, perfectly windless and void of any airflow, but this is an extreme rarity in evenings by the beach, truly a virtual impossible improbability...
 
but i have always had patience, and never forget one of my visions i would like to create as an impression...and have been waiting, and waiting, never forgetting to recognize the opportunity if it ever arises for me...sometimes believing it would never happen...but it did on this night, january 2, 2020 on south padre island in southern texas...i was lucky to be there and witness such an explosion of colors in the clouds, over the course of a couple hours, like an exploding rainbow...but even luckier to be able to capture my vision with my camera, and remain true to my own photographic style...i was lucky to get to experience the beautiful sunset during a windless evening at the beach, both of which i needed at the same time to be able to create a few long exposure compositions, the previous vibrant ultra long-333 second exposure of palm trees, as well as this one too shot at 11 seconds in a beautiful sunset (plus one more to come of an even longer exposure of these two trees at a later date too)...
 
it seems such a small thing, the wind...for other photographers, they would just shoot a 1/250th second exposure time and be done...but not for someone trying to capture long exposures, the wind is destructive and makes taking long exposures virtually impossible...windless nights and palm trees are a rarity, they seldom happen together...you see, the wind is always blowing and moving the palm trees...even the most calm breeze over the course of an eleven second exposure, (let alone a five minute long exposure!) would ever-so slightly create movement in the fronds of the palm, thus blurring them and not allowing them to stay sharp in focus over the course of the entire exposure time...
 
for this picture, and the picture preceding it in january, it all came together for me finally...a true rarity for my long exposure style, and something i am lucky to have captured with my camera...so much so, in the future i am going to have a third image in this series of "lovers" images all taken on this same evening...
 
"love, are you fleeing from love because of a single humiliation?
what do you know of love except the name?
love has a hundred forms of pride and disdain,
and is gained by a hundred means of persuasion.
since love is loyal, it purchases one who is loyal:
it has no interest in a disloyal companion.
the human being resembles a palm tree; 
its root is a covenant with nature:
that root must be cherished with all one's might.
a weak covenant is a rotten root, without grace or fruit.
though the boughs and leaves of the date palm are green,
greenness brings no benefit if the root is corrupt.
if a branch is without green leaves, yet has a good root,
a hundred leaves will put forth their hands in the end" ― jalaluddin rumi, the essential rumi
 
"lovers find secret places inside this violent world where they make transactions with beauty" ― jalaluddin rumi, the music and silence of the heart
 
"lovers move like lightning and wind. while lover and beloved pull themselves into each other" ― jalaluddin rumi, the book of love: poems of ecstasy and longing  
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MORE QUOTES FOR EXTRA MEANING
this next song is such a classic song, even if you do not like reggae, you have to appreciate this beautiful tune sung about being newly in love with a lover by bob marley: "is this love?" by bob marley ...(just click on any of words in the blue links to listen to the musical selection)....
 
"i wanna love you and treat you right. i wanna love you every day and every night. we'll be together with a roof right over our heads. we'll share the shelter of my single bed. we'll share the same room, oh yeah. for jah provides the bread. is this love, is this love, is this love, is this love that i'm feeling? is this love, is this love, is this love, is this love that i'm feeling? i wanna know, wanna know, wanna know now...i got to know, got to know, got to know now... i'm willing and able, so i throw my cards on your table...i wanna love you, i wanna love and treat, love and treat you right. i wanna love you every day and every night. we'll be together, yeah, with a roof right over our heads. we'll share the shelter, yeah, oh now of my single bed. we'll share the same room, yeah, for jah provides the bread...is this love, is this love, is this love, is this love that i'm feeling? is this love, is this love, is this love, is this love that i'm feeling? oh yes,iI know; yes, i know, yes, i know now! oh yes, i know; yes, i know, yes, i know now!...i'm willing and able, so i throw my cards on your table. see: i wanna love ya, i wanna love and treat ya, love and treat ya right. i wanna love you every day and every night. we'll be together, with a roof right over our heads. we'll share the shelter of my single bed. we'll share the same room, yeah, because  jah provides the bread. we'll share the shelter of my single bed..." ― bob marley, is this love?   
 
“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, lovers
 
“the only path that is wide enough for us all is love" ― gautama siddhartha buddha, sayings of buddha

“wherever you go, be a lover, and go with all your heart" ― confucius, the analects 
 
“being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage." ― lao tzu, tao te ching  
 
"love is of all the passions the strongest, for it attacks simultaneously the head, the heart, and the senses." ― lao tzu, tao te ching  
 
"the planet does not need more successful people. the planet desperately needs more peacemakers, healers, restorers, storytellers, and lovers of all kinds”― dalai lama xiv, mindscience
 
“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, thoughts   
 
"things frail and fleeting and types of endurance meeting here and blending in countless forms, as nature had gathered her choicest treasures, to draw her lovers into close and confiding communion with her" ― john muir, the yosemite  

"the one thing i know for sure is that feelings are rarely mutual, so when they are, drop everything, forget belongings and expectations, forget the games, the two days between texts, the hard to gets...because this is it, this is what the entire world is after and you’ve stumbled upon it by chance, by accident–so take a deep breath, take a step forward, now run, collide like planets in the system of a dying sun, embrace each other with both arms and let all the rules, the opinions and common sense crash down around you. because this is love kid, and it’s all yours. believe me, you're in for one hell of a ride, after all–this is the one thing i know for sure" ― beau taplin, bright eyes

"it is a frightening thought, that in one fraction of a moment you can fall in the kind of love that takes a lifetime to get over" ― beau taplin

"maybe it is only after great separation and longing that we are able to fully see and appreciate. maybe that’s why the lovers clay is divided. maybe in finding that individual perspective separate of the other, in becoming whole into one’s own truth and loving the very fabric of one’s own being we become what we need. we learn the lessons necessary to become the truest versions of ourselves. in that moment of seeing our own truth and brilliance, we are able to recognize at long last the clay form of the other and are able fully open to them in a powerful, soul deep homecoming. in this total love for our own clay, even into the depths of our loneliness, at long last we can clearly see. when we shine in our own light we draw to us the other. 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 between lovers you can’t explain or ignore" ― c. ara campbell  
 
"lover, i'm simple. i'm looking for giggles and belly laughs, saturday adventures to nowhere except your eyes, cuddling on the couch watching romance movies, endless conversation, deep soul sex, and penetrating, lingering kisses that last for days on our lips. that sounds like perfection to me" ― c. ara campbell    
 
"i love you without knowing how, or when, or from where. i love you simply, without problems or pride: i love you in this way because i do not know any other way of loving but this, in which there is no i or you, so intimate that your hand upon my chest is my hand, so intimate that when i fall asleep your eyes close" ― pablo neruda, 100 love sonnets 
 
"you are like nobody since i love you" ― pablo neruda  
 
"a lover loses nothing when expressing love" ― paulo coelho
 
"lovers need to know how to lose themselves and then how to find themselves again" ― paulo coelho, the fifth mountain
 
"the strongest love is the love which is not afraid to show the weakness" ― paulo coelho, eleven minutes
 
"the true lover is not the one who says: “you need to be by my side and i need to take care of you, because we are loyal to each other,” but the one who realizes that loyalty must go hand in hand with freedom. and without fear of betrayal, he accepts and respects the other person’s dream, trusting in the greater power of love" ― paulo coelho, manuscript found in accra  
 
"before a dream is realized, the soul of the world tests everything that was learned along the way. it does this not because it is evil, but so that we can, in addition to realizing our dreams, master the lessons we’ve learned as we’ve moved toward that dream. that’s the point at which most people give up. it’s the point at which, as we say in the language of the desert, one 'dies of thirst just when the palm trees have appeared on the horizon"  ― paulo coelho, the alchemist
 
“lovers alone wear sunlight” ― e.e. cummings   
 
"lovers never surrender to each other, lovers simply surrender to love" ― osho, awareness: the key to living in balance  
 
"lovers feel a certain burning in their hearts. a deep longing and desire to meet with their beloved creates that burning" ― osho, awareness: the key to living in balance   
 
"when two lovers are really open to each other, when they are not afraid of each other and not hiding anything from each other, that is intimacy. when they can say each and everything without any fear that the other will be offended or hurt.… if the lover thinks the other will be offended, then the intimacy is not yet deep enough. then it is a kind of arrangement, which can be broken by anything. but when two lovers start feeling that there is nothing to hide and everything can be said, and the trust has come to such a depth where even if you don’t say it the other is going to know, then they start becoming one" ― osho, intimacy: trusting oneself and the other  
 
"serve love through the lover, so that you never become attached to the lover. and when one is not attached to the lover, love reaches its highest peaks. the moment one is attached, one starts falling low. attachment is a kind of gravitation—unattachment is grace. unreal love is another name for attachment; real love is very detached" ― osho, love freedom aloneness  
 
"you are my best friend as well as my lover, and i do not know which side of you i enjoy the most. i treasure each side, just as i have treasured our life together" ― nicholas sparks, the notebook  
 
"you are a lover of life, a strength to those who shared in your friendships. you are a dream, a creator of happiness, an artist who has touched a thousand souls. you've led a full life and wanted for nothing because your needs are spiritual and you have only to look inside you. you are kind and loyal, and you are able to see beauty where others do not. you are a teacher of wonderful lessons, a dreamer of better things" ― nicholas sparks, the notebook  
 
"there is no path to happiness. happiness is the path. there is no path to love. love is the path. there is no path to peace. peace is the path" ― dan millman, way of the peaceful warrior
 
"they adored each other; but still the permanent and the immutable subsist. two lovers hide in the dusk of evening, amid flowers and the twittering of birds, and enchant each other with their hearts shinning in their eyes; but the stars in their course still circle through infinite space" ― victor hugo, les miserables  
 
"there is always a patch of blue sky to lovers, although the rest of the world may see nothing but their umbrellas" ― victor hugo, les miserables  
 
"she is all the great heroines of the world in one. she is more than an individual. i love her, i want to make romeo jealous. i want the dead lovers of the world to hear our laughter, and grow sad. i want a breath of our passion to stir dust into consciousness, to wake their ashes into pain" ― oscar wilde, the picture of dorian gray 
 
"you can never be sure of what has passed between lovers. there's always a little corner which remains a secret to the world and is only known to those two" ― fyodor dostoevsky, crime and punishment  
 
"lovers and madmen have such seething brains,
such shaping fantasies, that apprehend
more than cool reason ever comprehends.
the lunatic, the lover and the poet
are of imagination all compact"― william shakespeare, a midsummer night's dream

"you are a lover. borrow cupid's wings and soar with them above a common bound" ― william shakespeare, romeo & juliet  
 
"journeys end in lovers meeting" ― william shakespeare, twelfth night 
 
"in her first passion, a woman loves her lover, in all the others all she loves is love"  ― lord george gordon byron, the poetical works
 
"i look upon fine phrases as a lover" ― john keats 
 
"there are, i dare say, many lovers who would never have been drawn to each other had they met for the first time, as, say, since they met the second time" ― j.m. barrie, peter pan 
 
"the lover of nature is he whose inward and outward senses are still truly adjusted to each other; who has retained the spirit of infancy even into the era of manhood. his intercourse with heaven and earth, becomes part of his daily food. in the presence of nature, a wild delight runs through the man, in spite of real sorrows..."― ralph waldo emerson, nature and walking  
 
"billions of stars will lose their fuel from the brightness of the only face, the guest of your heart, the beauty of the lover that is your soul" ― bzam

"no one can walk beneath palm trees with impunity, and ideas are sure to change in a land where the sunsets are at home" ― johann wolfgang von goethe, elective affinities
 
"i think of thee! - my thoughts do twine and bud
about thee, as wild vines, about a tree...
yet, o my palm-tree, be it understood
i will not have my thoughts instead of thee
who art dearer, better! rather, instantly
renew thy presence; as a strong tree should,
rustle thy boughs and set thy trunk all bare,
and let these bands of greenery which insphere thee
drop heavily down,—-burst, shattered, everywhere!
because, in this deep joy to see and hear thee
and breathe within thy shadow a new air,
i do not think of thee...i am too near thee" ― elizabeth barrett browning, sonnets from the portuguese
 
"there are going to be truckloads of people who will see the light in you before you see it. they are going to see the palm tree inside of your seed before you even realize that it's going to be a palm tree one day. but they're not going to bend over and reach down towards the flame to say "i see you, keep glowing." they're not going to kneel down and tap the ground and say to the seed "i see you, keep reaching." instead, they're going to try and snuff out the flame, they're going to try and drown the seed. lest you see your brightness; lest you realize you will one day bear fruit! it's tragic, because, how do you protect what you can't even see? put your hand to your chest and feel the warmth of your light; press your hand to the earth and feel the throbbing of the seed that is you; close your eyes, child, and never leave you!" ― c. joybell c.  
 
"i suddenly realized, i was in california. warm, palmy air...air you can kiss like a lover, and palms" ― jack kerouac, on the road
 
"the more clearly you understand yourself and your emotions, the more you become a lover of what is. i am a lover of what is, not because i’m a spiritual person, but because it hurts when i argue with reality. we can know that reality is good just as it is, because when we argue with it, we experience tension and frustration. we don’t feel natural or balanced. when we stop opposing reality, action becomes simple, fluid, kind, and fearless" ― byron katie, loving what is
 
"a woman such as only the desert poet knew how to praise: her face was the sun, her hair the protecting shadow, her eyes fountains of cool water, her body the most slender of palm-trees and her smile a mirage" ― amin maalouf, samarkand
 
"he kissed her. a kiss about apple pie a la mode with the vanilla creaminess melting in the pie heat. a kiss about chocolate, when you haven't eaten chocolate in a year. a kiss about palm trees speeding by, trailing pink clouds when you drive down the strip sizzling with love. a kiss about spotlights fanning the sky and the swollen sea spilling like tears all over your legs" ― francesca lia block

"love? love? love is not safe...love is dangerous. it is deceitfully sweet like wine from a fresh palm tree at dawn" ―ama ata aidoo, changes: a love story
 
"i’d be happy on a deserted island that had nothing but a palm tree and a lifetime supply of sunsets as long as he was there" ― kristen ashley, breathe
 
"a slight breeze cooled the island spring air, swaying the branches of palm trees, which cast black silhouettes against the purple and orange colors of the twilight sky" ― victoria kahler, capturing the sunset
 
"i have often asked myself, "what did the easter islander who cut down the last palm tree say while he was doing it?" like modern loggers, did he shout "jobs, not trees!" or: "technology will solve our problems, never fear, we'll find a substitute for wood?" or: "we don't have proof that there aren't palms somewhere else on easter, we need more research, your proposed ban on logging is premature and driven by fear-mongering"...similar questions arise for every society that has inadvertently damaged its environment" ― jared diamond, collapse: how societies choose to fail or succeed
 
"i hate all cell phones, and the whole raft of gadgets that intrude on solitude. when i was a kid, i used to disappear into the natural world all day. now i can walk on a remote beach without wasting my valuable time. as i stroll along, i can call anyone in the world, schedule an appointment, take a picture of me standing next to a palm tree and then send the person a map so they can join me there. solitude has been snuffed out" ― david skibbins, eight of swords
 
"he saw the sun rise over forest and mountains and set over the distant palm shore. At night he saw the starts in the heavens and the sickle-shaped moon floating like a boat in the blue. he saw trees, stars, animals, clouds, rainbows, rocks, weeds, flowers, brook and river, the sparkle of dew on bushes in the morning, distant high mountains blue and pale; birds sang, bees hummed, the wind blew gently across the rice fields. all this, colored and in a thousand different forms, had always been there" ― hermann hesse
 
"i close my eyes, knowing that afterward we will fall asleep together on our small mattress, as we do every night, listening to the wind in the palm trees outside our window, believing in our dreams that we are" ― andrew porter, the theory of light and matter
 
"palm trees always make me smile. i love that they are free to play with the wind..." ― hibat a. lothman
 
"the empress surrounds you at all times. she feeds the soul with her brilliance and beauty of the night sky. mountain landscapes, rolling hills, and ocean waves rise like the curve of her hips. her breath is the warm air of summer, her cool palms are the palm tree's shade. she is the peace of mind of a walking meditation. the empress fills you with the entirety of the world's beauty if you let her in. she shows you in no uncertain terms, that you are never, ever alone. you are part and parcel of the glistening, pulsating world of energetic and beautific connection. you are her and she is you. she is everything and everything is you" ― sasha graham, llewellyn's complete book of the tarot
 
"my favorite place to be is by the bay where the palm trees sway" ― janet toole lewis  
 
"it is the nature of the strong heart, that like the palm tree, it strives ever upwards when it is most burdened" ― philip sydney
 
"advice doesn't help lovers! they're not the kind of mountain stream you can build a dam across" ― jalaluddin rumi, the essential rumi

"in the house of lovers, the music never stops, the walls are made of songs & the floor dances” ― jalaluddin rumi, the essential rumi
 
"there'll be no value in the strength of walls that i have grown. there'll be no comfort in the shade of the shadows thrown. you may not trust the promises of the change i'll show, but i'd be yours if you'd be mine...so love the one you hold and i will be your goal to have and to hold, a lover of the light" ― mumford and sons, lover of the light  
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ABOUT THE IMPRESSION
"he never had to say a word to her...she never had to say a word to him...they simply let their thoughts float on the sea breeze, listening and hearing their colors, knowing all they ever needed to know...forever there, standing right beside one another, always doing everything together, two as one perfectly...lovers eternal" ― bodhinku, lovers eternal 
  
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 two progreyusa filters along with the progrey g-120z magnetic holder in the capture of this composition...
 
this is a single frame semi-long exposure image composition taken about one hour before sunset on south padre island at the tip of texas...being so, along with a great set of filters and filter holder from progreyusa, a stable and sturdy tripod was an absolute necessity in order to keep the long exposure image sharp in the places i wanted sharpness (the palm trees) and permit for accurate motion blur for anything moving in the image (the clouds)...for this i used my faithful induro phq3 series 5-way panhead mounted on my dolica tripod 70" carbon fiber tripod, because it is sturdy, tall, and perfectly compact for travelling
 
for this impression, i used two progreyusa filters...i chose to use the 3.0nd progrey antarctica filter and a to slow down the pre-dusk light 10 stops and permit this exposure time of 11 seconds at f/11 to create the softening/smoothing effects on these clouds on such a windless evening, plus having a longer exposure helps to saturate all the green, yellow, and blue colors, in camera a lot more than would be possible with a short exposure time...combined with a 1.2 gnd progrey aurora filter in an inverted position to help balance down the sky in-camera overall the image the way i envisioned it, to stop down the glowing sun part of image in lower right corner of image 4 additional stops, as this portion of the composition was considerably brighter than the upper left portion of the image, about 4 stops brighter than the rest of the darker parts of the image composition...along with the progrey g-120z magnetic holder to hold both of these two progrey filters and secure them to my nikon d810 mounted with a nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 lens (shot at 60mm 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 faithful induro phq3 series 5-way panhead mounted on my dolica tripod 70" carbon fiber tripod, in combination with the progreyusa filters which i use with every photo i take...
 
"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
 
"contemplate without thinking. be certain only in your uncertainty. stop the world. slow down everything. let it all be. shut off the noise. relax. seize this moment. reconnect. feel and sense what surrounds you. listen to all the colors of light whisper as they envelope you. see the melody and harmony that float 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
 
"my photography is my way of keeping a diary" ― bodhinku, my diary  
 
i leave you today wishing that bright joy and spiritual peace fill your life...imploring you to make every moment count, no matter what, always and forever, for that is the only thing that truly matters... 
    
and above all else,
i hope this message and impression find you well.
 
namaste,
bodhi
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