Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Borderline


Boundaries
become thinner
as our need for help
grows more dire.

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Wrong Turns



Life is full of intersections.

Knowing when to turn
and when to continue on
is the work of experience.

What brings experience?
Making wrong turns.

Monday, October 29, 2012

Hidden


The secrets we hide from others
are reflections of the secrets
we hide from ourselves.

Sunday, October 28, 2012

The Line


On this side
of the line
is the good.

On that side
of the line
is the bad.

Take away
the line.

Does good
fade away?

Does bad
overwhelm?

Saturday, October 27, 2012

Eternity's Palm


Where is the future?
It lives in your imagination.

Where is the past?
It lives in your memory.

Imagination and memory
live only in this moment.

Eternity holds this moment
in the palm of its hand.

Friday, October 26, 2012

Word Problems


Celebrate distress in your life.
It is the vehicle of passion.

Avoid contentment at all cost.
It is the carrier of dissatisfaction.

Every line is bisected
countless times before it ends.

Straight lines and crooked lines
are not defined by their color.

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Extra Layers


We build layers from inside out
to hide the deepest kernel
of who we worry we might be.

But every layer is just one more
we have to cut through to hack
our way back to who we already are.

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Empty Life


What exists
where there is nothing?

What lives
in the emptiness between?

Distance is always an illusion.
Separateness is only a claim.

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

The Color of Light


White contains every color.
Black contains every color, too.
Light makes the difference.

What we take in through our eyes
is nothing compared to what
we make of it in our mind.

Monday, October 22, 2012

The Nature of Wisdom


It's our nature to be
builders of bridges,
stringers of wires,
connectors of souls.

We are also by nature
builders of walls,
stringers of fences,
closers of doors.

Wisdom teaches us 
what to build,
what to string,
what to open and close.

Sunday, October 21, 2012

Truth Hunt


Our experiences in life
are nontransferable.

This is why truth varies
from person to person.

When I am afraid,
I hunt for truth outside
my own experience.

When I am awake,
I hunt for truth inside
my own experience.

Saturday, October 20, 2012

Three Bowed Heads


One mind is looking.
One mind is worrying.
One mind is praying.

The first reaps knowledge.
The second reaps pain.
The third reaps gratitude.

Friday, October 19, 2012

Heaven and Hell


Heaven is not above us.
Hell is not below us.

Hell we create with our fear.
Heaven wells up from inside.

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Decisions


Some decisions
are turning points.

Some decisions
are two paths crossing.

The first kind
change your life.

The second kind
change your doubt.

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Fossil


Soft molds hard.
Sand accrues to stone.
Flesh leaves a mark.

For a time.

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Temples


The ten thousand things.
Temples of Tao.

Everything is a gift.
But not all gifts are opened.

Monday, October 15, 2012

Sunday, October 14, 2012

Common Ground


Common ground
exists in any conflict.

But we won't find it
until we're both
willing to look for it.

Saturday, October 13, 2012

Ten Thousand Answers


The edge of light
is also the edge of darkness.
What lies between?

How can a simple line
divide anything in two?

Tao answers with
ten thousand things.

Friday, October 12, 2012

Listening for Silence


Silence is
sometimes a river,
sometimes an ocean,
sometimes a desert,
sometimes a well.

Swift. Vast. Empty. Deep.

What better reasons
to listen for it?

Thursday, October 11, 2012

Anger Is Nothing


Anger is nothing but
pain turned outward.

Sometimes, that's
the only way it can go.

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Simple Mercy


To catch a glint
off the current
that carries us along
like leaves.

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Dependent


To be a child
is to be dependent.

We are all children
under the skin.

It's a shame
we forget this.

Monday, October 8, 2012

Surprised by What Doesn't Last


We build one impermanence
on top of another impermanence
like layers of sedimentary rock.

New houses on top of old houses.
New farms on top of old farms.
New towns on top of old towns.
New nations on top of old nations.
New civilizations on top of old civilizations.

And still, change surprises us.

Sunday, October 7, 2012

What Passes Through


Our senses are like windows.

What is outside remains outside.
What is inside remains inside.

What passes through the glass
is light and all of its reflections.

Saturday, October 6, 2012

Four Humor Questions


Where in the universe
did humor first evolve?

What storms carried it
to our planet, our shores?

What virus spread it
among us like a plague?

What mystery keeps us
laughing even now?

Friday, October 5, 2012

Eye of the Believer

Sacred river.
Wicked river.
Same rushing water.
Same curving shore.

Holy mountain.
Devil mountain.
Same green valleys.
Same cloudy peaks.

What we see depends
on what we believe.

What we believe depends
on what rivers we cross,
what mountains we climb.

Thursday, October 4, 2012

String


The past is a nest
of both snakes and birds.

The future is a bowl
of both figs and hemlock.

This moment is a string
waiting to be plucked.

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Four Reminders


Tao is the dancer.
We are the dance.

God is the gardener.
We are the garden.

Allah is the dreamer.
We are the dream.

Yahweh is the mirror.
We are the reflection.

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Predictable


Winds rise and fall
by their own clock.

Rains follow the seasons
of their own calendar.

Wisdom arrives from
a different direction every time.

Monday, October 1, 2012