Ruth Nguyen

“The Mountain If the mountain seems too big today Then climb a hill instead If the morning brings you sadness It’s ok to stay in bed If the day ahead weighs heavy And your plans feel like a curse There’s no shame in rearranging Don’t make yourself feel worse If a shower stings like needles And a bath feels like you’ll drown If you haven’t washed your hair for days Don’t throw away your crown A day is not a lifetime A rest is not defeat Don’t think of it as failure Just a quiet kind retreat The mountain will still be there When you want to try again You can climb it in your own time Just love yourself ‘til then.”
― Laura Ding-Edwards, The Mountain

“Why do we love everyone so recklessly and then break our own hearts? And they don’t even break. They just swell, impossibly, with more love.”
― Catherine Newman, Sandwich

“This is what marriage is, I know. Tiffs and comfortability, miscommunications and long stretches of silence. Years and years of support and care and imperfection.”
― Rebecca Serle, In Five Years

“I think we all wear armor. I think those who don’t are fools, risking the pain of being wounded by the sharp edges of the world, over and over again. But if I’ve learned anything from those fools, it is that to be vulnerable is a strength most of us fear. It takes courage to let down your armor, to welcome people to see you as you are. Sometimes I feel the same as you: I can’t risk having people behold me as I truly am. But there’s also a small voice in the back of my mind, a voice that tells me, ‘You will miss so much by being so guarded.”
― Rebecca Ross, Divine Rivals