Remember chain letters? Real chain letters? Will someone please send me a letter once I have a new address? If you don't remember those, I'm sure you remember email-chain letters. And how much you didn't want to spam your friends and how annoying they were. Well, I got one a bit ago and it was actually to send inspirational quotes and such as the 'act' in the chain, so I had to do it and I was really delighted by the things that came my way -- and by the people from whom they came. Some people I knew, some people I didn't know. The whole thing was pretty cool and hopefully I only annoyed a few people.

Below is one of the emails I received. So utterly perfect. I love Jorge Luis Borges' work, in both languages:

Uno Aprende

Después de un tiempo, uno aprende la sutil diferencia entre sostener una mano y encadenar un alma; Y uno aprende que el amor no significa acostarse y que la compañía no significa seguridad; Y uno empieza a aprender que los besos no son contratos y los regalos no son promesas; Y uno empieza a aceptar sus derrotas con la cabeza alta y los ojos abiertos; Y uno aprende a construir todos sus caminos en el hoy, porque el terreno de mañana es demasiado incierto para planes y los futuros tienen una forma de caerse en la mitad. Y después de un tiempo uno aprende que si es demasiado hasta el calorcito del sol quema. Así que uno planta su propio jardín y decora su propia alma, en lugar de esperar a que alguien le traiga flores. Y uno aprende que realmente uno puede aguantar, que uno realmente es fuerte, que uno realmente vale, y uno aprende y aprende… y con cada día uno aprende.

And in English...

You Learn

After a while you learn the subtle difference Between holding a hand and chaining a soul, And you learn that love doesn’t mean leaning And company doesn’t mean security. And you begin to learn that kisses aren’t contracts And presents aren’t promises, And you begin to accept your defeats With your head up and your eyes open With the grace of a woman, not the grief of a child, And you learn to build all your roads on today Because tomorrow’s ground is too uncertain for plans And futures have a way of falling down in mid-flight. After a while you learn… That even sunshine burns if you get too much. So you plant your garden and decorate your own soul, Instead of waiting for someone to bring you flowers. And you learn that you really can endure… That you really are strong And you really do have worth… And you learn and learn… With every good-bye you learn.

Happy Valentine's Day! Love yourself and your favorite people and places and words.