Keeping Secrets

Secrets separate us from one another.
Sometimes that is good. Sometimes not.
Depends on the secret and why we're keeping it.

Busy Days

Busy weeks make
a day of rest matter.

Hard work makes
a bed soft and warm.

Seven Rivers

Seven rivers flow through our lives.

First is the river of family.
Second is the river of discovery.
Third is the river of equals.
Fourth is the river of desire.
Fifth is the river of adversity.
Sixth is the river of grief.
Seventh is the river of wisdom.

What Does It Matter

What does it matter that the earth isn't really flat after all? We still have to get up and feed ourselves every day.

Why does it matter whether the universe burst into being in a bang or at the word of God? We still have to raise our children and bury our dead.

Why does it matter whether God came to earth as a man or entered through the mind of a prophet? We still have to put our heads down at night and sleep before our next day of work.

Religious convictions don't relieve us of the rigors of daily life any more than the distractions of food, clothing, and shelter free us from the rigors of our own spiritual path.

Why So Hard?

Why is it so hard to see
the the source, the intent
from which all of this arises?

Is it because
there's so much pain
and suffering among us?

After all,
what kind of deity would make
us to go through such things?

No deity created pain.
Pain is a natural part
of our separateness.

It comes from being
disconnected.

All pain dissolves
in the timeless One.

The Power of Faith

Why is it we are most willing to wage wars and kill one another over things we cannot prove?

The Horizon as Reminder

The horizon is
always with us,
even when it
cannot be seen.

Flat, jagged,
mountainous,
or barely arched,
it is a constant reminder
of what is forever
beyond our reach.

In God's Image

The Bible tells us we are created in God's image.

If this is so, it isn't because we wear white robes and scowl and have long hair.

It is because we are willing to forgive even when no apology is offered.

It is because we strive for fairness even where there is no hope of justice.

It is because we act compassionately even when we have every reason not to.

It is because we create everything from poems to salad dressings just because we can.

Love One, Love All

Jesus said the greatest commandment of the law is to love the Divine with everything we are.

But he didn't stop there. He said there's a second one like the first, and that is to love our neighbors as we love ourselves.

But he didn't stop there, either. He added one more thing. All of the law and the prophets hang on these two.

To love your oneness and to love your separateness. When these are in balance, there is no need for laws or prophets or saviors.

Empty Questions

Empty hands.
Empty bowls.
Empty minds.

What is good?
What is bad?

Making a Count

How many white flowers have I smelled?
How many red berries have I stripped off their branch?
How many orange leaves have I watched fall?
How many yellow jackets have I ignored?
How many green rivers have I churned into foam?
How many blue birds have I listened to?
How many purple hills have I crossed?
How many black nights have I wasted in fear?

Open or Closed

When I open a space for the Divine,
the universe opens a space for me.

When I close my eyes to what is,
I close my life to what can be.

The answer to every question I ask
is already in the palm of my hand.

Not Enough or Too Much

Not enough water, and we die.
Too much water, and we die.

Like all things, the best path lies between.

Born as One

We come into the world not knowing we are separate from everything and everyone around us.

We grow into our separateness as if putting on new clothes. We discover we are not only separate but also one of a kind.

It can take a lifetime to discover that underneath our clothes, underneath our skin, underneath our uniqueness, underneath our separate being, there is no separateness.

Nothing Lasts

Nothing lasts forever.

Not our minds.
Not our senses.
Not our memories.
Not our bodies.
Not our existence.

What does last
does so outside of time
where there is no forever.

Divine Secret

Stay in love.

Destroyers

We destroy that which we seek to control.

Capturing History

Amber captures
the prehistoric and holds it
for us to see with our own eyes.
A translucent gem of the past.

What histories do we miss
because we cannot see
through stone?

My Task Now

My task is to build a path
out of the rocks I dig up
from the ground of my life.

Remembering Why

Finding my path
is my first task.

Following my path
is my second task.

Remembering why
is my third task.

Watching for the Answer

When I ask to know
which direction I should turn,
the answer always arises inside.

It's up to me to pay attention.

Reality Has No Substance

Reality has no substance beyond my ability to sense it.

This creates a mystery. What realities lie beyond my ability to sense them?

Seeing Beyond Egos

When you try to help me by telling me the truth as you know it, what do I do if your truth runs counter to my own experience?

Do I follow your advice even though it doesn't make sense to me? Or do I follow the guiding hand of my own past?

Sometimes your answer is the better choice. Sometimes it isn't. Either way, the decision is mine to make. Our mutual hope should be that I can see beyond our egos to the right one.

Two Faces of Work

To work instead of rest is hard sometimes.
At others, being busy is the greatest escape.

Comparing Notes

My experience of life is really all I have to go on in living my life. I cannot know the world as you experience it. You cannot know the world as I experience it. We can compare notes, but that's it.

Comparing notes is enough.

No Familiar Path

None of the familiar paths
will take you all the way
on their own.

They all stop at the edge
of your own continent.
That is your life.

You are the one who must
make the path through that.

Too Soft, Too Hard

Soften a bell too much,
and it cannot ring.

Harden a church too much,
and it cannot save.

The Mystery of Dying

If dying is a natural part of living,
why does it hurt so much to lose
someone dear? Why so much pain?

Is it because I'm selfish
and don't want to be deprived
of the dying one's presence?

Or is it because I don't want
to be reminded of my own end?
The fear of letting go of myself.

The mystery I still cannot understand
is this. How is it that we gain ourselves
by letting go of who we think we are?

Determined

A tree root can break
a sidewalk after long
and patient work.

It doesn't try
to crack the cement.
It just knows where
it needs to go,
and goes there.

Why So Many?

Why so many white flowers?
Why so many yellow flowers?
Why so many red flowers and blue flowers?
Why so many purple flowers and orange flowers?
Why so many flowers at all?
Why flowers in the first place?
Why all the different shapes and sizes?
Why all the different smells?
Why all the different leaves and roots?
Why all the different seeds and fruits?
Then again, why not?