I hope you’re having a beautiful day. ♡
Here’s another light-filled ¤ Gem ¤

Photo, “Passionflower, Unfurled” by Cord X.

Cord took this photo in San Antonio, one of several.  There are many stages in the blooming of a passionflower.  This is the first I have ever seen, in this photo.  It’s just gorgeous.

Cord generously shared two photos of this beautiful flower during different stages of her growth over the past month. On the left is the passionflower after the fruit has been picked. It looks so unlike any flower I’ve ever seen.  And on the right is the passion-flower fruit.

Thank you, Cord, for the gift of these photos, and for all your beautiful contributions over the years.

How We Love
Beth Nielsen Chapman

Life has taught me this
Every day is new
And if anything is true
All that matters
When we’re through
Is how we love

Faced with what we lack
Some things fall apart
But from the ashes new dreams start
All that matters to the heart
Is how we love

How we love
How we love
From the smallest act of kindness
In a word, a smile, a touch

In spite of our mistakes
Chances come again
If we lose or if we win
All that matter in the end
Is how we love

How we love
How we love
I will not forget your kindness
When I needed it so much

Sometimes we forget
Trying to be so strong
In this world of right and wrong
All that matters when we’ve gone
All that mattered all along
All we have that carries on
Is how we love

It seems to me that love and a passionflower were a natural fit for the quote for today’s Gem.  This beautiful song about love was a new one for me this year and it’s one of my top favorites now.  My friend PJ told me about this one day when we were talking about favorite music.  PJ lives in Scotland, so a lot of the music he heard growing up was a bit different from mine and totally new to me. I love discovering new artists.  I found that same beautiful discovery with our Ivor, the Down Under Plumber/Poet and music lover.  So many new songs came to me this year by way of Ivor.  Thank you PJ and Ivor!

All photos in the video (created for my friend PJ on his birthday this year) were by the talented and generous Photography Volunteers at Pixabay.com.  Thank you!

♥.