Small and Not Small

Small houses do not mean small lives.
Small mysteries do not mean small wisdom.
Small knots do not mean small tangles.
Small talk does not mean small minds.

Not the Only Ones

Plants are not the only ones to grow toward light.

Grace

What is grace?

The Divine,
caught out
in the universe
of ten thousand things.

Seldom Does It Matter

Seldom does it matter what I think.
Seldom does it matter what I feel.
Seldom does it matter what I know.
Seldom does it matter what I remember.
Seldom does it matter what I forget.

Seldom does it not matter what I believe.

Seek Something to Like

If you would be happy,
seek something to like
about everyone you meet.

Siblings Under the Skin

When I sit on one side
and you sit on the other side --
regardless of our politics --
our first task is to remind ourselves
we are siblings under the skin.

In Tao Time

Living in Tao time
teaches patience.

Working in Tao time
teaches flow.

Resting in Tao time
teaches serenity.

Dying in Tao time
teaches gratitude.

Here I Am

Here I am,
hemmed in by my senses.

Here I am,
lost forever in the motion of time.

Here I am,
blind and deaf to my true nature.

When Answers Arrive

Waiting for the answer
to a dilemma rubs
my patience thread-bare.

It helps to remember, though,
that the timing of the answer
is part of the answer.

Long

A long trail needs
places to rest.

A long holiday needs
moments of silence.

A long year needs
reminders of grace.

Familiar Tasks

The task that seems impossible one day
may seem like child's play later on.

We grow into knowing how to do it
by doing it over and over again.

This is the gift of familiarity.

Every task is unique, though,
no matter how often it's repeated.

To miss this brings the gift of boredom.

Answers and Questions

If I have more answers
than questions,
I have more work to do.

More answers
lead to more wisdom.

More wisdom
leads to more questions.

How Much to Know?

How much do we need to have
to know we already have enough?

Paths to Contentment

If I'm unhappy,
I can either change
my circumstances
or my mind.

These are my paths
back to contentment.

Simple, but not easy.

How Much More

If I could hear everything,
how much more would I know?

If I could see everything,
how much more would I believe?

If I could touch everything,
how much more would I want?

Faith and Doubt

What is possible?
What is not possible?

What is true?
What is not true?

Moment by moment,
I create my future
by what I choose to believe
and what I choose to doubt.

Open Door

A bird raised in a cage
will ignore an open door.

Mundane Undone

The mundane
is mundane only
if you decide it to be.

Dangerous Steps

Courtesy.
Politeness.
Civility.

Dangerous steps.
No telling where
they might lead.

Kindness?
Patience?
Compassion?

Oh, my.

How to Measure the Infinite

How do I measure the infinite?
One inch at a time.

When I Was Hungry

Feed the hungry
and save the body.

Clothe the naked
and save the soul.

Comfort the sick
and save the spirit.

Visit the imprisoned
and save the mind.

Short Leg, Long Leg

Which leg causes the trouble
when a table isn't level --
the short leg or the long leg?

When breakfast is thick,
is there too little water,
or too much oatmeal?

When the keyhole is hard to find,
is it because it's too dark outside,
or because there isn't enough light?

Every problem has another side.

The Life of Symbols

Do we want to matter?
Do we want to make a difference?
Do we want to last in the hearts of others?
Do we want to be missed after we're gone?

This is our desire in this life of symbols.
Symbols create the quanta we become.
They mean something beyond themselves.
Meaning, then, becomes our lifelong task.

Why wouldn't we want to matter?
Why wouldn't we want to make a difference?
Why wouldn't we want to last in the hearts of others?
Why wouldn't we want to be missed after we're gone?

Two Skins

Two skins, not one,
stand between my heart
and the heart of every other.

Being Absent Where We Are Not

If I am present in this moment,
then I am absent from all that is
outside this present moment.

What does it mean to be absent from all
that is outside this present moment?

To be absent is to cease to exist
in the places and times where I am not.

This is what it means to be present.

Have a Friend

Have a friend for intimacy.
Have a friend for companionship.
Have a friend for arguments.
Have a friend for counsel.
Have a friend for mentoring.
Have a friend for wisdom.
Have a friend for strength.
Have a friend for secrets.
Have a friend for listening.
Have a friend for telling.
Have a friend by being a friend.

Splits

Split hairs.
Split mind.

One makes agreement hard.
The other makes decisions hard.

Impatience Immunity

As I get older,
days fly off the calendar
like flocks rising off a pond.

Their sudden disappearance
startles me into a panic
of what is not yet done.

And yet, when I grow impatient
for something still to pass,
I forget how fast the future will arrive.

Your Words, My Words

I should remember that
when I twist your words,
they become my words,
and no longer yours.

Heated Conversation

Heat rises off pavement
like rainwater evaporating.

Sun-soaked benches burn
the backs of bare legs.

Dry ground dries out lawns
and turns weeds to stalks.

And the hottest season
is just getting started.

What will we say to our children
when we discover we were wrong?

Trusting Your Eyes

To see what is not there
is an act of faith.

To see what is there
is also an act of faith.

The first is a matter
of trusting your heart.

The second is a matter
of trusting your eyes.