Milk and Honey

Just finished a moving book of poetry focused on human frailty and emotion.  There are few books that capture the spirit with simple but raw feeling in every word like Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur.  The book is segmented into four chapters: the hurting, the loving, the breaking, and the healing.  Kaur describes the brutality of rape/sexual assault, how physicality can inhumanize others, male dominance, recovery through love, and so many other human emotions.  Her prose is “short and simple.”  What makes the book even more relatable are the drawings that support the words.  Pain is all around us, and while it is a focal point of the book, she also addresses how the pain can be healed, through love and respect of oneself.  Here are a few of her healing thoughts:

                If you are not enough for yourself   --  you will never be enough for someone else

                Some people are so bitter  -- to them you must be kindest

                You  ---  are your own ---- soul mate

                I have what I have and I am happy --- I’ve lost what I’ve lost and I am still happy

                If the hurt comes – so will the happiness

                Accept yourself --- as you were designed

And my favorite:

                How you love yourself is  -- how you teach others to love you

Thank you Rupi for allowing us into your world.  It is a world that we should share often to all.  We are only as good of a people as we act towards others, and most importantly ourselves.  This is worth a read for all!