Sunday, June 30, 2013

Doubly Blind


If you're too busy
to notice the flowers
blooming around you,
you're doubly blind.

Even the blind can smell
what they cannot see.

Saturday, June 29, 2013

The Road of Time


The road of time
leads out of darkness
into darkness.

This moment is
where the light is.

Friday, June 28, 2013

Forest Walk


Spring wet leaf.
Summer dry leaf.
Fall mountain leaf.
Winter ground leaf.

I watch my life
play out before me
season after season
on every forest walk.

Thursday, June 27, 2013

Old as the Hills


Money is not a ruler.

To have a lot of it
doesn't make us more.

To have the least amount
doesn't make us less.

Everyone should know this.
It's as old as the hills.

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Inside Job


When we are young,
we think Tao is outside.

When we are older,
we think Tao is inside.

When we are ancient,
we know there is no outside.

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Simple and Profound


The simplest things
are profound within.

The profoundest things
are simple within.

Wisdom gives us
the eyes to see this.

Monday, June 24, 2013

Owner


See mountains in the distance
and own them with your eyes.

Hear birds in the trees
and own them with your ears.

Touch stones along a wall
and own them with your fingers.

Experience each moment in full
and own more than enough.

Sunday, June 23, 2013

Broken


Not every broken tie
should be mended.

Not every broken oath
should be condemned.

Not every broken bone
should be avenged.

Saturday, June 22, 2013

Double Path


Some paths run
in two directions.

If you travel one,
you travel both.

To realize this
requires attention.

Friday, June 21, 2013

The Slit of Time


Time is a slit in the paper
of our separateness.

We press our eye against it
to watch what lies beyond.

Thursday, June 20, 2013

Feeling Age


The body feels age
in the bones, 
in the joints,
in the tissues,
in the mirror.

The mind feels age
in the obituaries,
in the invisibility,
in the defeat of dreams,
in the fragility of life.

The spirit feels age
in a deeper wisdom,
in the thinning of worry,
in the bliss of being, 
in the comfort of silence.

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Our Communal Life


From family to tribe
to settlement to nation.

When we work together,
anything is possible.

When we work at odds,
prosperity dwindles for all.

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Three Sisters


Forgiveness has three sisters.

The first is named Grace.
She gives without being asked.

The second is named Charity.
She leaves stones unturned.

The third is named Hope.
She counts nothing as lost.

Monday, June 17, 2013

Cleft


We cleave ourselves
into different tribes
like a mountain shot
through with fault lines.

Some fissures run deep.
Some are mere chalk lines.
Yet every tribe overlaps others.
We're members of many tribes.

My freedom of movement
expands with every tribe
that counts me as a friend.
Why would I not want this?

Sunday, June 16, 2013

Flowing in Tao


Time stops and eternity begins.
What looks common is anything but.
Answers are waiting for the questions.
Each encounter advances all sides.

Saturday, June 15, 2013

Undone


An agile brain can
neutralize a stronger body.

An elegant touch can
win over a clever mind.

A curious spirit can
undermine a bitter heart.

Friday, June 14, 2013

Reflection


A lake with a rocky bottom
can still reflect a perfect sky.

But only when it remains still.

Thursday, June 13, 2013

Money Pools


Money flows
toward money.

It accumulates
where the greatest
fear lies.

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Caterpillar


A grandparent.
A predator's victim.

Fascination of children.
An ancestor.

A survivor.
A parent's child.

By these common bonds,
a sibling of humanity.

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Body Snatcher


Tao walks with my legs,
breathes with my lungs,
watches with my eyes,
listens with my ears,
thinks with my brain,
believes with my heart.

Tao and I create my life
moment by moment.
When I look, Tao sees.
When I listen, Tao hears.
When I touch, Tao feels.
When I ask, Tao answers.

Monday, June 10, 2013

Judgment Day


Judgment Day
comes every day
we forget we are
children of the Divine
and lack nothing.

We judge others
against our own desires
and refuse to help
those who are hungry,
those who are thirsty,
those who are naked,
those who are sick,
those who are in prison.

It's our own judgment
we should learn to fear.

Sunday, June 9, 2013

Rain Tao


Tao is like rain.

Too little dries us out
and makes us brittle.

Too much soaks deep
enough to reach the heart.

Saturday, June 8, 2013

Tour of Homes


Each life has many homes.

First is the home
of our earliest memories.

Second is the home
 where we learn about power.

Third is the home
that shows us about pain.

Fourth is the home
we call our own.

Fifth is the home
we discover inside.

Sixth is the home
that holds our bones.

Seventh is the home
we never lose.

Friday, June 7, 2013

No Room


Tao needs no
room to be present.
Tao needs no
clock to exist.

The walls of space
and the roof of time
are gifts of the Divine.

They make us possible.

Thursday, June 6, 2013

What They Carry


Mountains carry darkness.
Forests carry light.

Both carry Tao.

The source of all
light and darkness.

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Cave Dweller


Empty stomach.
Empty mind.
Empty spirit.

What was it
that drove
our ancestors
out of their caves?

Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Descendants


Stars into dust into
planets into plants into
people like trees walking.

It's taken the universe
billions of years
to bring us into being.

Shouldn't we be
taking better care of it
while we're here?

Monday, June 3, 2013

Sunday, June 2, 2013

Spend It Now


What is the future?

A hand-drawn map
of unknown territory.

What is the past?

A ledger of accounts
impossible to balance.

What is this moment?

The only wealth that
never accumulates.

Saturday, June 1, 2013

Tao Calling to Tao


Belief brings Tao
into existence.

Belief comes from Tao.
Tao calling to Tao.