Contiguous

"contiguous, adj.

I felt silly for even mentioning it, 

but once I did, I knew I had to explain.

"When I was a kid, "I had this puzzle with all fifty states on it--

you know, the kind where you have to fit them all together. 

And one day I got it in my head that California and Nevada were in love. 

I told my mom, and she had no idea what I was talking about. 

I ran and got those two pieces and showed it to her--

California and Nevada, completely in love. 

So a lot of the time when we're like this"--

my ankles against the backs of your ankles, 

my knees fitting into the backs of your knees, 

my thighs on the backs of your legs, 

my stomach against your back, my chin folding into your neck--

"I can't help but think about California and Nevada, 

and how we're a lot like them. 

If someone were drawing us from above as a map. 

That's what we'd look like; that's how we are."

For a moment, you were quiet. 

And then you nestled in and whispered.

"Contiguous."

And I knew you understood.”'

~ David Levithan, The Lover's Dictionary

The End Of A Relationship

“The end of a relationship is not always a failure. 

Sometimes all the love in the world is not enough to save something. 

In these cases, it is not a matter of fault from either person. 

Some things cannot be, it's as simple as that.”

~ Ashly Lorenzana

I Suppose It's Not A Social Norm

“I suppose it’s not a social norm, 

and not a manly thing to do — 

to feel, discuss feelings. 

So that’s what I’m giving the finger to. 

Social norms and stuff…

what good are social norms, really? 

I think all they do is project a limited 

and harmful image of people. 

It thus impedes a broader 

social acceptance of what someone, 

or a group of people, might actually be like.”

~ Jess C Scott, New Order

Love Without Sacrifice

“Love without sacrifice is like theft”

~ Nassim Nicholas Taleb, The Bed of Procrustes: 

Philosophical and Practical Aphorisms

Why Don't We Break Up?

“Why don’t we break up? 

I guess I stay with her because she stays with me. 

And that’s not an easy thing to do.”

~ John Green, Looking for Alaska

Right Now We Are Here

“Right now we are here, 

and nothing can mar our perfection, 

or steal the joy of this perfect moment.”

~ Audrey Niffenegger, The Time Traveler's Wife

They Lay Silently

“They lay silently. 

She was staring at something across the room. 

She was making him feel uncomfortable. 

'It wouldn't work. 

It's the attraction of opposites,' he said.

We're not opposites.'

I don't mean just you and me. 

Women fall in love when they get to know you. 

Men are just the opposite. 

When they finally know you they're ready to leave.”

~ James Salter

Siblings

“Siblings: children of the same parents, 

each of whom is perfectly normal until they get together.”

~ Sam Levenson

Some People

“Some people come into our lives and 

leave footprints on our hearts and 

we are never ever the same.”

~ Flavia Weedn

If You Spend Your Life

“If you spend your life sparing people’s feelings 

and feeding their vanity, you get so you can’t 

distinguish what should be respected in them.”

~ F. Scott Fitzgerald, Tender is the Night 

& The Last Tycoon

Mutual Caring Relationships

“Mutual caring relationships require 

kindness and patience, tolerance, optimism,

 joy in the other's achievements, confidence in oneself, 

and the ability to give without undue thought of gain.”

~ Fred Rogers, The World According to Mister Rogers:

Important Things to Remember

A Man is Lucky

“A man is lucky if he is the first love of a woman. 

A woman is lucky if she is the last love of a man.”

~ Charles Dickens

The Quickest Way

“The quickest way to rectify that mistake 

(choosing the wrong person) is by learning from that, 

moving on, and choosing much more wisely in the future.”

~ Greg Behrendt, He's Just Not That Into You: 

The No-Excuses Truth to Understanding Guys

You Think That

“You think that holding someone 

hard will bring them closer. 

You think that you can hold them so hard 

that you'll still feel them, embossed on you, 

when you pull away. Every time Eleanor pulled 

away from Park, she felt the gasping loss of him.”

~ Rainbow Rowell, Eleanor & Park

What You Want Most

“What you want most you push away from you.

You want more than you care to admit.”

~ Tarjei Vesaas, The Bridges