Universal Mythology

Monkeys and typewriters
and enough time will not
recreate Shakespeare.

And God did not create
the heavens and the earth
in six days of commands.

The universe arises
from the spiritual, but
even this is mythological.

The Truth and Nothing More

Is there one Truth
that is not a desert
of shifting sand?

The truth?

The truth is
that the Truth
is a spiritual thing,
and nothing more.

Empty Vessel

I begin as an empty vessel.
The vessel fills with my life
until the day the clay dissolves,
and all that was inside
empties back into its source.

Eternity Test

When my heart gives up its last heartbeat, I'll pass from this earth and disappear into the short memories of those who knew me. And then what?

Will I meet God?

Will I face a divine judgment to determine my eternal destination?

Will the turning wheel of karma bring me back again to damp ground and another hard life full of sweetness and light?

Will I simply melt back into the Oneness from which I came?

Will I simply melt?

Will I go on forever?

Will I even know I'm dead?

Explain your answers.

When Stones Become

When stones
become diamonds,
people suffer.

When tusks
become ivory,
death attends.

When crude
becomes gold,
wars break out.

When stones
become bread,
hunger dies.

When tusks
become plentiful,
harmony reigns.

When crude
becomes unnecessary,
the next wave has already begun.

The Root of All Good

If money is the root of all evil,
how is poverty the root of all good?

Familiar Ground

The house and the church,
two patches of ground
where conflict and injury
flower most easily.

Ridding the World of Evil

Both sides honor their heroes.
Both sides mourn their dead.

Before the world can rid itself of evil,
it must first decide who is evil.

That's easy for a tribe to do,
not so easy for a world to do.

Self Revelation

It is amazing to me how much we reveal about ourselves in our critiques of others.

Serene Acceptance

Peace is not
the absence of war
or conflict or struggle.

Peace is the serene
acceptance of what is --
whether war, conflict,
struggle, or peace.

Three Stones

I hold two stones
in my hands.

One stone
is a weapon.
The other stone
is a tool.

The third stone
is the art I make
with the tool.

Expressions of the Spiritual

When I am
on my path,
the spiritual
will express
itself to me.

My response
should be to let
the spiritual
express itself
through me.

Forgiveness Is Like Water

Forgiveness
is like water.
It flows to the lowest
places of the spirit,
where the pain is deepest,
and washes out the wound.

Free Time

An uncommitted hour is like an empty room.

Words Are Like Bullets

Words are like bullets.
They cannot be called back
once they have left the gun.

The Power of Darkness

Are there dark powers
and devils and evil spirits
set loose in the world?

No. They're just ghosts
of our fears of not lasting.

The Best Still Inside

When you send out into the world
the best you have to offer,
the best that is still inside you will arise.

But only if you want it to.

Needing More

A pot needs more than soil to grow a plant.
A parent needs more than a partner to raise a child.
A believer needs more than faith to stay a believer.
A doe needs more than speed to save her fawn.
A well needs more than a bucket to quench a thirst.
A disaster needs more than destruction to create victims.
A pilgrim needs more than a path to reach holy ground.

The Force of Wisdom

Wisdom guides.
It does not force.

Crime Spree

You steal from the world
when you do not seek your potential.

You cheat the galaxy
when you do not explore your uniqueness.

You rob the universe
when you withhold the best that you are.

Wearing Away the Hard Stone of Pain

Forgiveness softens
the hard stone of pain
and wears it away
like a river over rocks.

Three Struggles

Sometimes a struggle is a battle,
one of many in a larger war.

Sometimes a struggle is the death of self,
another ego dissolving in the Tao.

Sometimes a struggle is a metamorphosis,
a butterfly escaping from its cocoon.

To Love Allah

To love Allah,
one must love the children of Allah.

To love the children of Allah,
one must love the family of Allah.

To love the family of Allah,
one must love the friends of Allah.

To love the friends of Allah,
one must love the enemies of Allah.

To do anything less is not to love Allah.

The Map of My Face

My face wears the marks of my life.
Where I have been. What I have seen.
How I have lived. How far I have traveled.
What I have gained and lost along the way.
It is the road map of my experiences.
The most accurate chart of my history.
Some lines are easy to read.
Others lie beneath the surface
where they can only be seen from inside.

Justice and Fear

On the surface,
justice is the rebalancing
of competing interests.

Underneath,
it is the mitigation of fear
and blind separateness.

Family Is More

Family is more than my mother and father.
More than my son or daughter.
More than my sister or brother.
More than my grandparents.
More than aunts or uncles.
More than cousins.
More than nieces and nephews.
More than the people I choose to be family.
More than those I love.
More than those I like.
More than those I struggle to understand.
More than those I share the earth with.
More than those who came before.
More than those who will come after.

Family will always be larger than I imagine.

Yellow Leaf Journey

A yellow leaf floats calmly on the surface of a river.

The river, swollen with weeks of rain, has overtopped levees and dikes for hundreds of miles. It has swept away farmhouses and barns, mansions and shacks, townhouses and shops. It has swamped Main Streets in valley after valley and submerged miles of highways and tracks.

It has carried away wealth and poverty, faith and hope, seeds and soil. It has drained off livestock and pets, snakes and beavers, rats and small children. It has broken families and left orphans in its wake.

It has fed thirsty ground, replenished deep aquifers, and guaranteed good harvests for the next seven years. It has cleared the land of the dead, the rotten, the diseased and infested. It has scoured the earth like a broom.

All of this, and still a yellow leaf rides comfortably on its back.

Can One Book?

Can one book hold the truth for you?
Can one friend sustain you for a lifetime?
Can one version of God last until you die?

Dig a Hole

Dig a hole,
and something
will fill it.

Build a bridge,
and something
will cross it.

Plant a tree,
and something
will call it home.

Keeping My Thumb off the Scale

When it is so easy to see selfishness in others,
why is it so hard to see selfishness in me?

If I want to live a balanced life,
it's best to keep my thumb off the scale.

Desire and Wisdom

Desire is an urge to explore,
to experience more deeply.

Some desires are best followed.
Some are best left undone.

Knowing the difference
is the work of wisdom.