PHOTOPOETRY SERIES:
EMBRACE WITH GRACE
EMBRACE WITH GRACE
As a person recovering from deep-rooted patterns of self-doubt, I’ve begun taking auto-portraits as a way of accepting myself - finding beauty and embracing the shadow parts. All pictures were taken at the places I was living or staying at, with no rush, holding space for all emotions to come up, and allowing the healing to happen.
Beyond all of the things we judge in ourselves, there’s a warm light that accepts us just as we are. Now.
The path of self-love is not an easy one, as you have to open-heartedly face all of your vulnerabilities, one by one. It does take practice. Sometimes you end up swimming every ocean just to realize that love has always been right here, looking back at you.
But it's all worth it in the end because you,
my dear, are worthy of love.
The path of self-love is not an easy one, as you have to open-heartedly face all of your vulnerabilities, one by one. It does take practice. Sometimes you end up swimming every ocean just to realize that love has always been right here, looking back at you.
But it's all worth it in the end because you,
my dear, are worthy of love.
<3,
JS
JS
⋆⋆⋆
Can’t get enough of that screen.
Damn, you make me feel so…
Seen.
Damn, you make me feel so…
Seen.
⋆⋆⋆
To lala or not to lala?
Does he like me not...
or likes me a lot,
and pretends that he doesn’t ‘cause it feels like a coronary cramp?
Gosh, this pen is pretty.
How come I perceive it to be solid if atoms are 99.9% empty?
If all the empty space within the atoms of French Apartment were removed...
would it fit in the palm of my hand?
Or perhaps even in a grain of sand?..
nteresting… Where was I?..
Oh, right!
𝘐.. 𝘢𝘮.. 𝘢.. 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯.
Does he like me not...
or likes me a lot,
and pretends that he doesn’t ‘cause it feels like a coronary cramp?
Gosh, this pen is pretty.
How come I perceive it to be solid if atoms are 99.9% empty?
If all the empty space within the atoms of French Apartment were removed...
would it fit in the palm of my hand?
Or perhaps even in a grain of sand?..
nteresting… Where was I?..
Oh, right!
𝘐.. 𝘢𝘮.. 𝘢.. 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯.
⋆⋆⋆
I don't feed the darkness anymore,
I only play with light from now on.
Serenity is the name of my queen,
She loves it when my hands are clean.
I only play with light from now on.
Serenity is the name of my queen,
She loves it when my hands are clean.
⋆⋆⋆
Hey! We haven’t spoken for years.
How have you been? I’m all ears.
How have you been? I’m all ears.
Uh oh… Don’t you feel like talking? It’s alright. Me neither.
Let me show you how troubles disappear into the ether.
Let me show you how troubles disappear into the ether.
Lift your eyes up at the night sky. Let go of the urge to forecast.
Gaze as long as it takes to dissolve constellations of the past.
Gaze as long as it takes to dissolve constellations of the past.
My little star,
Here you are:
There is more than ninety-nine percent of emptiness,
& a million shiny dots for you to paint your happiness.
Here you are:
There is more than ninety-nine percent of emptiness,
& a million shiny dots for you to paint your happiness.
⋆⋆⋆
And out of the blue, you’re conscious, too?
Is there anything else you find more true?
Is there anything else you find more true?
How come having the greatest gift of all,
You keep making me feel so very small?
You keep making me feel so very small?
So I wonder what it’s like to be you at the moment,
And realize I, myself, am my only opponent.
And realize I, myself, am my only opponent.
But if matter lights up from the inside with intent,
There’s nothing in me my heart can’t melt.
There’s nothing in me my heart can’t melt.
⋆⋆⋆
My battery is so low I can barely swim,
I can instantly tell that your light is dim.
You know, I have hypersensitive strings,
And it’s in my nature to multiply things.
I can instantly tell that your light is dim.
You know, I have hypersensitive strings,
And it’s in my nature to multiply things.
Oh, there’s so much that could sprout,
If only you ceased feeding me doubt.
⋆⋆⋆
There are depths under our chit-chats
That only the two of us can get.
You can tell me by my silhouette.
Oh, I am well aware of the dangers.
That only the two of us can get.
You can tell me by my silhouette.
Oh, I am well aware of the dangers.
So... Are we going to lose our acts,
Or remain just a couple of strangers?
Or remain just a couple of strangers?
⋆⋆⋆
Oh sweet girl,
You called it love.
A shimmering pearl
thrown down from above.
You called it love.
A shimmering pearl
thrown down from above.
Poor baby,
I’m not mad.
I’m the one who saw you break and stayed.
I wish you knew I was already there,
each and every time you prayed.
In the quiet moments you were aware.
In the pause between your breaths.
In the endless cycle of tiny deaths.
I’m not mad.
I’m the one who saw you break and stayed.
I wish you knew I was already there,
each and every time you prayed.
In the quiet moments you were aware.
In the pause between your breaths.
In the endless cycle of tiny deaths.
Just like my higher self lives in this line.
I know now she, too, wants us to shine.
I know now she, too, wants us to shine.
Rest in Peace, Starved Thing.
Ciao, cacao!
Ciao, bambinos! One last good bye kiss to you, Mr. Avoidant!
I don’t want to label things, but I’m done playing a clairvoyant.
I don’t want to label things, but I’m done playing a clairvoyant.
Au revoir, co-dependency, we part with a sigh,
Farewell, rumination, our time has come to let fly.
Farewell, rumination, our time has come to let fly.
Bye bye, perfectionista, your demands are absurd.
Ta-ta, overthinker, you haven’t said a single new word.
Ta-ta, overthinker, you haven’t said a single new word.
Shut the f*ck up, superego, your script is super outdated,
Gonna raise my inner child with the rules that I’ve created.
Gonna raise my inner child with the rules that I’ve created.
* * *
By putting a stop to all of the self-hatred, I rise above.
One simple choice brings me halfway closer to love.
One simple choice brings me halfway closer to love.
⋆⋆⋆
Barista, mix me yet another Sweet & Sad,
Just in case a dove flies by.
My oh my, I keep feeling above high,
Hoping I ain’t going mad.
And then again out of the blue,
I hear a distant tune of a cuckoo.
I used to be good at reading between the lines,
But lately I’ve been taking everything for signs.
It’s not a way to go, otherwise my mind will blow.
Maybe I should practice letting things flow.
The Universe seemed to be on my side,
I may just have to wait for another tide.
Just in case a dove flies by.
My oh my, I keep feeling above high,
Hoping I ain’t going mad.
And then again out of the blue,
I hear a distant tune of a cuckoo.
I used to be good at reading between the lines,
But lately I’ve been taking everything for signs.
It’s not a way to go, otherwise my mind will blow.
Maybe I should practice letting things flow.
The Universe seemed to be on my side,
I may just have to wait for another tide.
⋆⋆⋆
Thinking of how I got so good at overthinking.
Did I win a lottery at God’s?
Or was it a gift from my dads?
How responsible am I for letting it sink in?*
How does the fourth dimension look…
Am I still listed in your telephone book?
*How much of it is of my own making?
Did I win a lottery at God’s?
Or was it a gift from my dads?
How responsible am I for letting it sink in?*
How does the fourth dimension look…
Am I still listed in your telephone book?
*How much of it is of my own making?
⋆⋆⋆
Years and years of nameless sorrow,
A bottle of wine three nights in a row.
Then, through a crack in my shield, I first saw her,
Crawling on gravel, afraid of walking on Earth.
A bottle of wine three nights in a row.
Then, through a crack in my shield, I first saw her,
Crawling on gravel, afraid of walking on Earth.
I tried so hard to make it bright here, under the sun,
Until my pupils got burnt. And I took her for a ghost.
Until my pupils got burnt. And I took her for a ghost.
I’ve offered my hand to everyone but one,
That has always counted on me the most.
That has always counted on me the most.
⋆⋆⋆
“So, Follette, has he seen your story yet?”
“Nooo. And it makes me so upset.
I keep looking for a four-leaf clover,
Going mad instead of getting over.”
“Nooo. And it makes me so upset.
I keep looking for a four-leaf clover,
Going mad instead of getting over.”
⋆⋆⋆
