Midnight Mindfulness

Restless sleep offers its own brand of awareness.

Carvings

Tao carves the ten thousand things
like a stream carving a block of wood.

Does the block know it's being carved?
Does the stream know it's shaping wood?

They work as one to make something new,
knowing only that the carving is what matters.

Zero Sum

Money is a zero-sum game.
The more I hoard what I have,
the more it eats away my soul.

Community Standards

Something wise heard inside one house
can sound stupid inside another house.

The teachings of one tribe can ring false
in the schools of a different tribe.

A beautiful painting in one gallery
can turn ugly on the wall of another one.

Each community sets its own standards,
but success needs balanced input from all.

Not Here

I am here, and I am not here.
I exist in this familiar human form,
but what am I?

According to the current theories,
I am mostly empty space.
I am quivering strings of energy.
I am the sum of countless strands
of potential converted into existence.

But how does that explain
this awareness I have
of my own hands,
this taste of saliva in my mouth?

How does this vibrating horde
cavort into me?

Examination

What is wise?
What is strong?
What is clear?
What is full of trust?

A silent breeze.
A spider's thread.
A starlit night.
A singing sparrow.

Sequences

Sequence matters to us
in the universe of time and space
because it gives us the context we need
to understand our surroundings
and what is happening to us.

But how do we know
the future doesn't create the past
to bring itself into being?

How do we know
this present moment
where we live our lives
isn't creating the past and future
it needs to exist?

How do we know
cause and effect
aren't illusions we create
to limit our fears of the unknown?

Time Spent

Time spend waiting for an answer
is time spent in frustration.

Time spent in the future or past
is time spent in worry or pain.

Time spent in the present moment
is time spent in patience and awe.

Always and Ever Tao

Tao flows where it wills,
appears when it wants,
creates whatever it chooses.

It leaves nothing untouched,
hides nothing from view,
takes nothing for its work.

Wisdom Is Light

Wisdom is light.
Silence is its home.

The doors are always open,
questions always answered.

Listening, rather than asking,
is the best way to know this.

To Know or Not to Know

Our need for permanence
grows from our hunger
for predictability.
We want to know
what to expect.

But when our lives
become too predictable,
our expectations grow
spoiled and stale,
and we crave novelty
like a strange diet.

No Answer

No answer is sometimes the answer.
Too many answers are sometimes no answer.

When you ask a troubling question
and no answers satisfy, look inside.

Four Ironies

Thoughtlessness brings misery,
but misery brings insight.

Laziness brings frustration,
but frustration brings action.

Weakness brings struggle,
but struggle brings strength.

Folly brings defeat,
but defeat brings wisdom.

Four Answers

The first satisfies curiosity.
The second leaves room for more.
The third arrives as a question.
The fourth ends in wisdom.

Listening for Silence

Listening for silence.
Waiting for belief.
We wish we could know
what cannot be known.

Believing in silence.
Waiting to hear.
We wish we knew more
of what is ours to grasp.

Not One

Two or more.
Some things cannot be known alone.

We discover who we are in part
through the eyes of others.

We learn in relation to one another.
We become both teacher and student.

We discover those parts of us
that come to life only in community.

Waiting for Discernment

How long does it take
to find your footing?

How much pain does it take
to make you change?

How many answers does it take
to dissolve your confusion?

The discernment you seek
is already in your hand.

Hard Travel

Some paths seem
harder than others,
and maybe they are.
Only those who travel them
would know for sure.

As all travelers know,
every path has rough patches.
And every path has moments
of beauty and grace.

Sometimes, the hardest part
is to keep walking.

Bringing the Universe Into Being

Grass grows whether we watch it or not.
Trees put on leaves regardless of our awareness.

Rivers rise and fall even when we are not around.
Clouds drift overhead in the middle of the night.

The universe does not need us to pay attention,
but it only comes into being for us when we do.

Starting a Community

We can't start a community
until we come out of our caves.

Getting Even

To get even
is impossible,
unless you know
where the center is.

Three Lessons

Every hard line is an illusion.
Every fortified border is temporary.
Every sacred belief is too small.

Not Just

Loneliness is a disease
of the community,
not just the individual.

Greed is a curse
of the poor,
not just the wealthy.

Fear is a weapon
of the beggar,
not just the powerful.

Compassion is a task
of the bellicose,
not just the priest.

Our Best Choices

How often do we really know
what is driving our actions?

How many times do we recognize
our agendas toward others?

How much of what we do
is beyond our own making?

Sometimes our best choices
are the ones we do not make.

Words Matter. Words Fail.

Words matter to us
because they are the tools
we use to understand
who and what we are.

Words fail us
when we try to use them
to understand what lies
beyond names.

Building the Universe

Random waves travel across the ocean.
Birds blaze invisible trails through the air.
Trees send roots and branches in every direction.
We create the universe with every step we take.

Only the Walking

How many steps will I take in a lifetime?
Where will that winding journey take me?

The distance I cover will never seem enough.
There will always be more than I can ever see.

Every footprint I leave behind will disappear.
It is only the walking that lasts forever.

When Wisdom Becomes Wisdom

Wisdom does not
become wisdom
until you pass it on.

Helping the Helpless

When you help someone in need,
you lessen your own helplessness.

Greatest Value

Gold has its greatest value
not among the hungry,
but among the wealthy.

Tao has its greatest value
not among the satisfied,
but among the lost.

Inner Light. Inner Darkness.

A bright light shines
inside every one of us.
We do not see this in each other
because we do not see it in ourselves.
When we see our own light within,
we see light all around us.

A shadow darkness hides
inside every one of us.
We see darkness in others
because we cannot see it in ourselves.
When we see our own darkness
we begin to see our own light.