Saturday, June 30, 2012

What Lasts


What breathes
dies.

What doesn't
crumbles.

What lives
lasts forever.

Friday, June 29, 2012

Thursday, June 28, 2012

Silent as Light


Wei wu wei is silent as light.
Effortless work lies
within everyone's grasp.

What one hand strives against,
another carries like a breeze.

When the way turns hard,
loosen your grip on the reins.

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Hand and Hand


Make one hand wealthy.
Make the other hand poor.

Which life is worn more?
Which life is worth more?

How do you know?

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Six Lines


Six lines
draw us together.

Bloodline.
Credit line.
Hairline.
Hemline.
Waistline.
Bus line.

Monday, June 25, 2012

So


So I wake up.
Then what happens?

You become aware.

So I become aware.
Then what happens?

You choose your own actions.

So I choose my own actions.
Then what happens?

You discover who
you already are.

Sunday, June 24, 2012

Outside Inside


Wayward streams.
Delinquent storms.
Curious winds.

Wayward mind.
Delinquent soul.
Curious skin.

Saturday, June 23, 2012

Why Sex Feels Good


Sex feels good
not because God or evolution
had to make sex feel good
to coax us into reproducing
like shy pandas.

Sex feels good
because God or evolution discovered
we just need to feel good sometimes.

Sometimes, sex is
the only pleasure we can find.

Friday, June 22, 2012

Field Work


Field of grass.
Field of rocks.
Field of corn.

Hard work
teaches patience.

Field of battle.
Field of victory.
Field of defeat.

Painful work
teaches wisdom.

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Hardest to See


There will always
be barriers between
here and there.

The hardest to see 
are the ones
I set up myself.

Monday, June 18, 2012

Well


When the well is full,
the danger is having too much.

When the well is empty,
the danger is having too little.

When the well is enough,
the danger is having enough.

Sunday, June 17, 2012

Discovering Compassion


Wisdom discovers compassion
in a sack of bones.

Flesh discovers compassion
in a searching heart.

Friday, June 15, 2012

Taken


Wealth is a strong chain,
good for binding things.

Money is a meandering stream,
following the easiest path.

Possessions are thieves,
eventually finding a way in.

Thursday, June 14, 2012

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Inner Light


What map do I follow
where none has been drawn?

Which direction do I go
when no sign points the way?

Where darkness prevails,
inner light becomes my guide.

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Body and Soul


Wisdom and muscle
need each other.

One wants a body.
The other wants a soul.

Monday, June 11, 2012

Two Minds


When one is
of two minds,
it helps if
one mind
faces inward,
and the other
faces out.

Sunday, June 10, 2012

Saturday, June 9, 2012

Not a Pleasure



It may not always
be a pleasure
to please others,
but it shouldn't
be a pleasure
to displease, either.

Friday, June 8, 2012

Heaven


This time will be
better than last time.
This time will be
better than ever before.

This time I won't fail.
This time I'll succeed
beyond my wildest dreams.

This time everything
will turn out perfectly.

This time will change
everything for the better.

This time will be enough
to save me from the future.

This time will be enough to save me.
This time will save me.

This time I'll finally be okay.

Thursday, June 7, 2012

The Creating of What I Create


No matter what I create,
it will decay and pass away.

No gate, no wall, no prison.
No work, no child, no art.
None will survive time.

It isn't what I create.
It's the creating of what I create.

Another reason to pay attention.

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Life Imagined


If I imagine myself
someplace else,
who is left here
to do the imagining?

If I picture myself
doing something else,
who is left here
to paint that picture?

Which life is richer?
The one imagined
or the one imagining?

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Pain Recycling


Like trash floating down a stream,
pain never goes completely away.

Best to recycle it into something new.

Monday, June 4, 2012

Prosperity


We become truly prosperous
when we share our prosperity.

We become truly wealthy
when we give wealth away.

As long as our possessions own us,
we will never escape our poverty.

Sunday, June 3, 2012

Fellow Travelers


Disaster and opportunity
travel along the same road.

One is a thief.
One is an ally.

Which is which is hard to know.
They both wear similar clothes.

Saturday, June 2, 2012

Real


Real healing
starts in the mind,
not in the body.

Real serenity
starts in the heart,
not in the mind.

Real compassion
starts in Tao,
not in the heart.

Friday, June 1, 2012

Two Gifts


To listen well
to another is a gift,
both for the listener
and the heard.