Aggregate

To stay separate
even in the middle
of community
is to stay hard edged.

Hard edges make
for hard communities.

Is It Possible?

Is it possible to be happy in all moments?
Why would you want such a thing?

Is it possible to be serene in every instance?
What is the advantage in something like that?

Is it possible to live unperturbed in the world?
Why would you cut yourself off from so much?

Seven Times Seventy

Do we have to forgive
our neighbor seven times
before we can turn our back?

No, Jesus said. You must forgive
your neighbor seven times seventy --
which is to say every time.

Is this for the sake of the neighbor?
No. This is for your sake.
Forgiveness frees you of your hurt.

More Than a Year Ago

Do I know more
than I did a year ago?

It feels as though I should.
It feels as though I do.

But I can't be sure how much
I've left behind since then.

What Lives, Dies

What lives, dies.
Two ends of the same branch.
One is a root. One is a limb.

Beyond living and dying
lies treeless ground.

Pain Is an Abrasive

Pain is an abrasive.

It shapes you in ways
nothing else will.

Is This.

Is this the right time.
Is this the right place.
Is this it.

Reflections

Sky reflects water.
Water reflects sky.
Which is real, and
which is the reflection?

Three Seats of Power

First is the seat of strength.
Second is the seat of advantage.
Third is the seat of passion.

Weighing Flaws

My flaws weigh on me
until I set them down
or convince myself
they're not really flaws.

When I set them down,
the trick is to walk away
and not look back.

When I convince myself
they're not really flaws,
the trick is to close my eyes
and not look forward.

Pain Says Stop

Pain says stop.
When it is sudden,
it screams stop.

Stop twisting.
Stop bending.
Stop moving.

Stop looking.
Stop listening.
Stop remembering.

Sometimes,
to be stopped by pain
is a good thing.

Sometimes,
even pain isn't enough
to make me stop.

Eat. Walk. Sleep. Work.

What is the difference
between eating and being eating?
Between walking and being walking?
Between sleeping and being sleeping?
Between working and being working?

Eat. Walk. Sleep. Work.
Are these what I do?
Or what I become in doing?

This Time Next Year

This time next year
will seem more important
than the times we're in now,
but that's only because
we will have forgotten
this Now in favor of that Now.

There can be only one now,
and it always seems new.

Slow

Green vines creep
over fences, up walls, over roofs.
Their work is so slow
that we hardly notice the changes.

A stream runs down
the long slope of a mountain.
We'll never live to see the mountain
worn down to a plain.

Lines grow across the continent
of my face every morning.
The older I become,
the easier they are to ignore.

Easier to Forgive

Do you know how to survive
your own worst deeds?

Do you know how to forgive
your own sordid past?

Do you know how to let go
of your most profane acts?

Forgiving others becomes easier
when you forgive yourself.

Roof and Rooftop

Roof.
To be enclosed
and held within.

Rooftop.
To be exposed
and looking up.

How Tribes Are Born

Sharing
a harsh climate.

Fighting
a common enemy.

Speaking
the same tongue.

Agreeing
on what is sacred.

Sleep or Rest

Sleep on my back and wake up stiff.
Sleep on my side and toss and turn.
Sleep on my stomach and ache all day.

Rest on my back and discover stars.
Rest on my side and contemplate my spouse.
Rest on my stomach and remember the womb.

Who I Think I Am

Who I am
and who I think I am
will always be at odds
until who I think I am
stops thinking.

Letting Go

Letting go of anger before it becomes anger.
Letting go of hurts before they become hurts.
Letting go of worry before it becomes worry.

Where along my spiritual path do these happen?

How Good a Musician?

One note from a bow
drawn across a string
can sing a pure, bright tone
or a scratchy chaos
that sets teeth on edge.

Which one we hear depends
on the skill of the musician --
or her intent if she's good enough.

From God?

Where did Jesus
gain his divinity?

From God?

Or from faithful
biographers?

Shelter

Shelter is a curious thing.
Something we want.
Something we want to escape.

When it is something we want,
what is it but another wish
for a happy and pain-free life?

When it is something to escape,
what is it but another need
we bring down on our heads?

Hardly

A town of factions
is hardly a town.

A city of tribes
is hardly a city.

A nation of armies
is hardly a nation.

Pain in You

Some pain never goes away.
It becomes part of who you are.

Whether it becomes who you are
is up to you.

To Split in Two

To split in two what cannot be split.
How to do this?

To know in whole what cannot be known.
How is this done?

To see into that which cannot be seen.
How is this possible?

The answer is in what is,
not in what is possible.

Trusting Nothing

To trust in nothing is terrifying.
To trust in nothingness is sublime.

Danger Immunity

No one is immune from danger.
Natural disasters cross everyone's path.
Sickness is the mirror side of health.
Fear begets violence. Violence begets fear.

Like a virus, every danger is temporary.

Three Chances

A chance to grow
comes at a cost.

A chance to learn
expands ignorance.

A chance to love
offers the greatest reward.

Reason and Faith

Reason and faith quarrel like siblings.
Yet, faith without reason is deaf,
and reason without faith is blind.