Studying. Estudiando.

Sitting shirtless at my computer, working feverishly, and dripping sweat. A cup of strong, black coffee at hand. Birds singing raucously outside. Sunlight streaming through the window. Suddenly, I am transported back to Madrid.

Me siento en frente de mi ordenador, sin camisa, trabajando locamente. El sudor corre por la espalda y se gotea de las piernas. Una taza de cafe muy fuerte está lista para el trago ocasional. Afuera, los pájaros cantan ruidosamente. Los rayos de sol entran por la ventana abierta y rebotan por mi habitación. De repente, en mi espíritu, me traslado otra vez a Madrid.

Life in Ruin

Ruin is the road to transformation.
Were we not occasionally to find our lives in shambles,
We would become far too comfortable in mediocre existence
To desperately take the chances that otherwise seem like lunacy,
But are in fact the means by which we grow,
The very oxygen that our minds breathe,
The very food by which our souls nourish themselves.

Glass

El amor es difícil porque las emociones humanas son como el vidrio -- son delicadas, pero también se pueden cortar.

My spontaneous response when asked to write a thought about love at the beginning of Note to Self, a student production in UF's theatre department that consisted of monologues of the actors' varied experiences with love and relationships, which note then joined the hundreds of others on the studio wall that had been collected during the piece's run.

Translated:

Love is difficult because human emotions are like glass -- they're delicate, but they can also cut.

Thoughts in Yoga

For the heart to beat requires no thought.
For the lungs to breathe requires no thought.
To be requires no thought.

Thoughts come into and go out from the mind.
Let them go.
Be.

People come into and go out from the heart.
Let them go.
Be.

Objects come into and go out from one's presence.
Let them go.
Be.

Let go.
Let go and be.

Inspired by my instructor, Jenne, whose words are paraphrased in the first two lines.