Pain Help

When I lose
my compassion
for others in pain,
it becomes harder
for me to withstand
my own pain.

We the People

"We the people, in order to form
a more perfect union ..."

What a great way to start a country.
We the people decided we wanted to make
ourselves into a more perfect union.

But when did we decide we don't
want to be a union anymore?

I missed that.

When We Stop Caring

When we stop caring
about one another in our country,
we stop being a country.

When we stop caring
about one another in our state,
we stop being a state.

When we stop caring
about one another in our community,
we stop being a community.

When we stop caring
about being a community,
we stop being human.

No Promises

Tao does not promise anything,
and yet it is the source of everything.

Aches

Headache.
Heartache.
Bellyache.

One is of the spirit.
One is of the body.
One is of the mind.

Split Mind

My mind is a split mind,
running forever back and forth
between what it thinks it is
and what it thinks it isn't.

As I watch it run and run,
I see that what it thinks it is
and what it thinks it isn't
has nothing to do with what it is.

Never the Same

Because every instant is unique,
no answer is the right answer every time.

Because every point is in motion,
no moment is the same moment everywhere.

Because every face is one of a kind,
no choice is the right choice for everyone.

Dark Mystery

When I open my eyes and truly look,
even the darkest moments are full of light.

In Harmony

When I am in harmony with Tao,
the universe becomes a symphony.

When I try to force my own way,
the universe turns a deaf ear.

Adversity and Patience

Adversity teaches me
I am not in control.

Patience is what I learn
when I accept this.

When I Am at Home

When I can sit
and be quiet,
I am at home.

When I am with people
I love and enjoy,
I am at home.

When I have all of what I need
and some of what I want,
I am at home.

When I can walk
around naked,
I am at home.

When I can carry on
conversations with myself,
I am at home.

When I know the meaning
of the sounds around me,
I am at home.

When I can laugh or weep
without constraint,
I am at home.

When I can sleep a sound sleep
and wake up ready again,
I am at home.

When I know I can
die without fear,
I am at home.

A Life in Time

When I feel I'm being treated unfairly by a friend, I'm measuring the present by the past.

When I worry about a problem I don't know how to solve, I get caught in an endless loop of questions.

When I draw my mind back to this moment, I discover I already have everything I need in the eternity of now.

Gaining Speed

If we reached the speed of light,
would we enter eternity at that moment?
Would we merge into emptiness?
Would we become like insects in amber?

How do we know we aren't light already --
just slowed down a bit?

To Be Empty

To be empty is to be full of questions.
To be silent is to hear the divine.
To be restless is to live small.
To be safe is to shelter under death's wing.

Overcoming Without Force

How to overcome without force?
Know your true self and let it show.

What to Make of Pains

Be grateful for your pains
and make your pains a blessing.
Complain about your pains
and make your pains a curse.

Why, Indeed

When every moment drips with wonder,
why does laziness come so easily?

When my life leaks away faster and faster,
why do I throw away days like empty cans?

When there is always more to see and hear,
why do I insist on remaining blind and deaf?

Why, indeed.

Not About

Humility is not about humiliation.
Vanity is not about arrogance.
Ignorance is not about stupidity.
Mercy is not about forgiveness.
Gratitude is not about abundance.
Salvation is not about freedom.
Knowledge is not about wisdom.

True Serenity

Still like a flower on a windy day.
Calm like a lake on a stormy afternoon.
Silent like an ocean beneath a hurricane.

True serenity arises from within.

Losing Myself

Before I can know myself,
I first must lose myself.

Losing myself is
the discovery of who I am.

What We Do

What we do with our hands
matters to our hands.

What we do with our minds
matters to our minds.

What we do with our hearts
matters to our hearts.

What we do with our lives
matters to us most.

Followers

Thunder follows lightning.
Morning follows night.
Patience follows weakness.
Wisdom follows sorrow.
Gratitude follows loss.

Without Weapons

Arm yourself without weapons, and you become easy to underestimate.

Action Is Necessary

Action is necessary to stay alive,
but stillness is the center of being alive.

Reflections

I look up and see trees and sky.
I look down and see trees and sky
wavering on the surface of a pond.
What is below reflects what is above.

Imagine that.

More Work to Do

Pain in my foot.
Pain in my shoulder.
Pain in my sense of worth.

What matters is
not the pain.
What matters is
what the pain means.

Pain in my foot
means I have traveled
a long way.

Pain in my shoulder
means I have put in
a long day's labor.

Pain in my sense of worth
means I have more
work to do.

Inner Path, Outer Path

Our spiritual journey is a journey into awareness of the Divine. We travel along an outside path and an inside path.

The outer path leads through the people, cultures, and religions around us. The sacred experiences of others. Received wisdom. Passed-down words from the Divine.

The inner path leads through our own personal explorations and experiences of the Divine. We seek the Divine, and the Divine responds.

We find our Divinity outside. We find our Divinity inside. Twin Divinities, yet only One.

Trading Shoes

The storms pass over again, and we are spared. No power loss. No trees down. No damaged roof. No hail-damaged cars. No flooding. No injuries. No deaths.

This time.

Storms will continue passing through, though. Tonight they passed over. One day, they may pass through, instead.

This alone is reason enough to reach out to the unspared among us. One day, we and they will trade shoes.

Shadows Among the Lights

Sometimes a few shadows among the lights are all I need to see what was there all along.

If I Want to Matter

If I want to matter to others,
others should matter to me.

If I want others to like me,
I should find reasons to like them.

If I want others to help me,
I should be willing to help them.

If I want others to accept me,
I should open my mind and accept them.

If I want others to care about me,
I should discover why I care about them.

Unmoved

When we stand unmoved on our own opinions,
no matter what arguments rise to counter them,
we earn the luxury of growing old without friends.