Home > Author > Shannon Mullen
1 " Is there such a thing as being too happy? "
― Shannon Mullen , See What Flowers
2 " Even the tiniest of flowers can have the toughest roots. "
3 " As I accept the flowers, I release my grip on the balloons, and they bounce gently against the ceiling the way they did before—hovering, annoyed, frustrated, contained by the ceiling and disappointed by the limits of life. "
4 " I guess all the time I spend on social media has made me believe that love exists above the surface, that it’s supposed to be light all of the time. "
― Shannon Mullen
5 " The intensity of my grief hits the mountains across Eclipse Sound, and then echoes throughout Arctic. There’s nobody around. I can barely see the town below the hill, nestled within the valley of barren tundra, across from the tiny airport, my only access to the south. I’m alone amidst this desolate landscape and there’s nowhere to hide. No trees or buildings or distractions. It’s just me in the depths of my suffering and all my faults and mistakes of the past are exposed underneath the spotlight of the midnight sun. "
6 " Just as I’m about to continue walking along the shoreline, the left third of the iceberg breaks off suddenly and crashes violently, like a high-rise apartment building imploding in the heart of the city. Tears roll down my face uncontrollably as I watch the two distinct halves of the iceberg drift further and further apart from each other. It’s devastating to watch something that seems so strong and unbreakable crumble in an instant. Even more devastating is the feeling that there’s nothing I can do about it. "
7 " I guess love distorts our perception of reality, and it’s even harder to recognize the truth when it’s buried underneath layers of what we imagine relationships should be like. "
8 " Sometimes you have to fight for the past and sometimes you have to let go. "
9 " Can I Tinder swipe for cat cuddles? "
10 " Despite all of the social advances in women’s rights and the push for gender equality in the workplace, it seems like modern men still want a woman that they can take care of at home. "
11 " How can any of us even know what to believe anymore? Our culture’s full of so much phoniness and deception. Companies advertise products to make us believe that we will be more beautiful, more healthy, or live longer by consuming their products. We are seduced by lovers who feed their porn addictions when we’re asleep. We’re taught to believe that if we work hard and take risks, that we can achieve our dreams, yet youth unemployment is the highest it’s been in decades. Fairytales tell us that true love exists, but half of all marriages end in divorce. "
12 " She can’t worry. She can’t ‘fix.’ She can’t love. "
13 " Perhaps love in the digital age is more like Netflix binge-watching: we enjoy bursts of fantasy, and then move on to something else when it’s done. Like browsing for a new series on Netflix, if the relationship doesn’t fit perfectly, you can trade it in for something new with the click of a button or a swipe on your phone. "
14 " Family is the most important thing in this life. "
15 " We’re lost in each other, in the heart of Toronto, slow dancing to nothing but the beat of my heart and the sound of her breath on my neck. I know the subway trains are trembling beneath my feet and that we’re amidst the constant buzz of city life, yet I hear nothing but my heart beating and feel nothing but her breath on my neck. "
16 " Maybe love’s more than the daily comforts: more than morning coffees and flowers and notes in my lunch bag and holding hands while watching the stars. It’s about never giving up, believing in each other, and supporting each other through the good and the bad. "
17 " Can you revive wilted tulips? "
18 " Of course her dumb Lab’s going to do whatever it takes to retrieve the ball. What he craves more than freedom is companionship. "
19 " Sometimes our heroes let us down. "
20 " Maybe the truth doesn’t exist if you look the other way. "
