This exerpt is from Roland Barthes' chapter, Sobria Ebrietas: "to let come what comes, to let pass what goes, to possess nothing, to repel nothing: to recieve, not to keep, to produce without appropriating. So desire still irrigates the Non-will to possess by this perilous movement: I love you is in my head but I imprison it behind my lips. I do not divulge. I say silently to who is no longer... the other: 'I keep myself from loving you'" I'll be making many of my references to the next book I'm reading which are the complex definitions and words to describe love and desire in each of it's forms. This Non-will to possess, is the realization that even though you love someone so much, there are emotional difficulties with loving that person which creates this notion to abandon all "will to possess" in his regard for this loved one. For me, the perfect example would be a final realization that no matter how much you love someone, especially when you love them too much and they don't accept what you give. You choose to surrender and let go all the feelings and emotions that arise from certain circumstances with the person you loved. You might still love them, to the point of sacrifice or suicide, but you abandon, maybe childishly, the intensity of your love for them. They will never know how much they meant to you, but the calm and sad part is that they will never ask and as you abandon the notion of love for them, you have stopped being concerned for them, because when you were completely in love, you felt everything they did and it was no burden to you. But now, when they ask for you, you will support, when they forget you it doesn't mean anything anymore. People might feel this way when they give up on love or maybe they have just grown up and let go of the hurt they have been through. You don't own them which means there is no jealousy, no expectations, no anger towards or anything. There is just them and you. This might be another level of love, to the point where nothing defines your love for someone except the fact that they exist, and that is enough to love. Non-will to possess goes hand in hand with letting the person be as they are - and surrendering yourself to accept that. Photos: Jane Ashley Photography Instagram: @janeashleyphoto