Amber

“Sometimes there's nothing
to be done.
Sometimes
they're not listening,
can't hear,
don't want to,
don't believe you.
Sometimes
you cannot stop the storm,
stem the tide,
change the path of the ocean liner
even though it hasn't quite yet hit the iceberg.

There will be times
despite all efforts
you will feel
completely misunderstood
completely unappreciated
completely wronged.

Sometimes love
just
isn't enough.”
― Shellen Lubin

“If the voices and perspectives we assess ourselves by
are stuck in systems of their own
they can be another trap.
If they're stuck in their own agendas--
their needs and desires--
then they're another "wicked temptation"
to sell out our deepest truths
to please or pacify someone else.

Which is why I advocate multiple mirrors,
offering different ways of seeing,
of feeling,
of processing,
angles and views we might otherwise miss,
and
reminding us to revere just how complex reality is.”
― Shellen Lubin

“As a country, we revere ignorance.
We conflate ignorance and innocence,
and innocence is seen as divine.

Especially in women.”
― Shellen Lubin

“Witnesses.
Help us see how others see.
Help us see ourselves from another
vantage point,
a larger landscape,
a different view.

Witnesses.
Reality checks.
Mirrors.
Cameras.
Other lenses.
Different views.

They can save us from our worst possible choices
or from participating in someone else's.”
― Shellen Lubin