Loves of Our Lives Quotes

“I didn’t know it at the time But loving me was letting you go And hindsight allows me to see the hardest thing I’ve ever done as something beautiful”
― Josie Balka, Loves of Our Lives: Poems for Hopeful Hearts

“If you can’t change it today,
don’t waste the day away
wishing it were different.

Because right now,
it is what it is.
It can’t be different;
it won’t — not today.

And if you want it to change,
that’s okay.
You’re allowed to alter your life
whenever you want,
in whichever way you choose.

But change takes time.

So to sit and wallow
in hating the way something is,
and wishing instead
that it was not —
well, that is a waste of your time,
and a cruel punishment
to your mind and your heart.

You cannot go back in time
and alter your route
to change the way today is.

But you can decide about tomorrow.

And this isn’t tomorrow;
it’s now.

And you can’t get it back.

So don’t spend it recklessly,
like you’re tossing
a hundred-dollar bill
into a wishing well
that would’ve accepted a penny,
and your wish would be
equally as likely to come true
either way.

Change is slow and steady.

And you can start today —
but don’t miss today.

Things can be different,
and they will be.

So instead of the constant argument
between you and yourself
about all you haven’t done,

have a conversation over coffee
about all you’re capable of,

all you can do,

all that is to come.”
― Josie Balka, Loves of Our Lives: Poems for Hopeful Hearts

“I will say nice things about you — not only to your face, but behind your back - forever.

When your name comes up, I will barely be able to let that person finish their thoughts before telling them mine, because I’m so proud to know you.

I will bring you up in rooms that are filled with opportunities, and for no reason at all.

Talking to strangers about the small details about you like it’s my full-time job.

There are random people all over the place — people I saw once and never again — that know the little tidbits about the wonder of you．

They know why I chose that gift for you at the store, or your favourite drink that I always order in tandem with mine.

And they probably know, from just that small encounter, how grateful I am to be in your orbit.

I’ll correct anyone who speaks poorly about you, and you can always count on me to be in your corner, even on the days it feels isolated and far away.

That’s the thing about the people who always have your back in a way that’s so effortless: you don’t even need to see them all the time to know they’ve been behind you all along.

And if there’s ever a table that doesn’t have room for both of us, I will join the waitlist with you and grab a coffee next door until two spots open up.

As long as I’m alive, there’ll be someone saying nice things about you to whoever will listen — any chance I get.”
― Josie Balka, Loves of Our Lives: Poems for Hopeful Hearts

“If I could see you one more time I know just what I’d do Cause all I’ve thought of since you left Is one more day with you There are notes in every margin About everything you’ve missed And with every passing day More gets added to the list I’d probably invite you To do things simple and mundane Like walk to get a coffee Or listen to the rain I’d talk about tomorrow Like I know it’s going to come And for a few brief moments Everything would not feel numb I’d let you speak forever And hear every word you say I won’t take it for granted Since I know you go away I’d ask you all the questions That I wish I’d asked before I’d tell you that without you I am not whole anymore I’d make sure that before you leave again You know the truth About the very depths of the amount That I love you Before we said goodbye I would hold you tight as ever The way you hold somebody Right before they leave forever I’d say I’ll think of you Every part of every day And you’d tell me it won’t be life If I live it that way That you will be a part Of everything I ever am That I need to move on Instead of trying to understand And as our time ran out again I’d try to act real tough But no amount of time with you Could ever be enough But I won’t see you just once more But again and again and again Because the day that I do not Will mean I’ve found my end And even when that day does come I’ll see you that day, too Cause the first person I’m looking for Once I get there Is you”
― Josie Balka, Loves of Our Lives: Poems for Hopeful Hearts

“You’re doing so good, just keep being you Hey, you’re good Because life is so good You’ve made it through times you never thought you would Look at the craziness that you’ve withstood Just stay on the ride; everything’s good”
― Josie Balka, Loves of Our Lives: Poems for Hopeful Hearts

“So stop being mad at yourself for yesterday And make the decision you wish you’d made then, now I know you love to dwell on the past But nothing new can grow there Nothing new can grow there”
― Josie Balka, Loves of Our Lives: Poems for Hopeful Hearts

“We should glorify endings the same way we do beginnings Because they are beginnings in disguise”
― Josie Balka, Loves of Our Lives: Poems for Hopeful Hearts

“The house I grew up in still stands tall And my mom still answers the landline My childhood bedroom exactly as I left it Me a different person every time I spend the night”
― Josie Balka, Loves of Our Lives: Poems for Hopeful Hearts

“You’re not just anything You’re everything Knowing you has healed me in a way I think you understand Because knowing me has healed you, too”
― Josie Balka, Loves of Our Lives: Poems for Hopeful Hearts

“What about the relationship that ended with a reciprocal “I will always love you” And you both meant it You just couldn’t figure out for the life of either of you how to make it work You were both so in love, but it had to end”
― Josie Balka, Loves of Our Lives: Poems for Hopeful Hearts

“Because you are there to bear the other side of the weight that life has to offer It romanticizes the simple things I love to live for Like changing leaves and snowstorms and watching TV at night And makes me somehow love them more Because I exist with you while it happens all around us”
― Josie Balka, Loves of Our Lives: Poems for Hopeful Hearts

“met you in the summer and all I could do was hope I’d have the privilege Of loving you in the fall That when the sky started to grey and the leaves started to live on the ground Instead of in the trees That I would not only still know you but love you and I would say it out loud And you would say it back I hoped that I could hold you through the loneliest season And it wouldn’t feel lonely anymore When I loved you in the fall”
― Josie Balka, Loves of Our Lives: Poems for Hopeful Hearts

“If you let yourself fall in love with everything you love You are always in love And what a beautiful way to be”
― Josie Balka, Loves of Our Lives: Poems for Hopeful Hearts

“Be in love with trying new recipes and taking the long way home And coffee that’s exactly how you like it every morning Be in love with the last album your favorite artist released A book you read recently, or your weekly trip to the grocery store”
― Josie Balka, Loves of Our Lives: Poems for Hopeful Hearts

“If you’ve ever had a dog, you know.
You know what it’s like to be loved
just for being exactly who you are.

You could have nothing,
and you’d still be everything to them.
You could lose it all,
and they wouldn’t bat an eye
in the unconditional way
you can only understand
if you’ve ”
― Josie Balka, Loves of Our Lives: Poems for Hopeful Hearts

“If you’ve ever had a dog, you know You know what it’s like to be loved just for being exactly who you are You could have nothing and you’d still be everything to them You could lose it all and they wouldn’t bat an eye In the unconditional way you can only understand If you’ve ever had a dog You know how to find the good in a slow walk in the rain, even while you’re chilled to the bone You know that even on the worst day ever, there’s a little happiness on the other side of the door, if only for a moment You know how to selflessly surrender your last and best bite of food without ever hearing a thank-you But you have felt the thank-yous endlessly If you’ve ever had a dog You’ve been a protector and been protected You’ve been viewed as everything, even in moments when you’ve had nothing left to give Because in a world where you have a dog Just putting your feet on the ground in the morning Is enough to be cheered on endlessly And if that’s not the kind of unwavering love you need to feel like you’re enough I don’t know what is And if you’ve ever had a dog, you know That the love is unconditional But the time you get is not And years are fast, but dog years are faster If you’ve ever had a dog, you will know One of the greatest loves And one of the greatest heartbreaks Is having a dog But you will carry the feeling of being loved Just for being who you are Until the end of time You will always know in some way or another That you are enough And it will be because you had a dog.”
― Josie Balka, Loves of Our Lives: Poems for Hopeful Hearts