The Ones with Fear

Tao has no need to eavesdrop.
God has no need to spy.
Allah knows we're finding our way.

We are the nosy ones.
We are the ones who have to know.
We are the ones living in fear.

Win Loss

Every win breeds challenges.
Every loss kindles opportunity.

Bad Investment

The best government
that corruption can buy
will always turn out
to be a bad investment
in the long run,
but that doesn't stop
people from putting
their money down.

Two Lights

I live by two lights.

The first shows me that
I'm only one among many.

The second shows me that
the many are still only One.

Pair of Hells

Hell comes in pairs.

First is the hell we make
for those who aren't like us.

Second is the hell we make
for ourselves when
we cast others into hell.

The first is delicious.
The second is deadly.

Trust and Faith

Trust is backed
by experience.

Faith is backed
by expectation.

Trust looks forward.
Faith looks back.

No Excuse

Poverty is no excuse
for irresponsibility --
whether the poverty of the poor
or the poverty of the rich.

We all feel better
when we contribute
to the whole.

When we take
more than we give,
our days grow darker.

The Hell We Create

No angry God.
No fiery pit.
No sinners dangling.

The only hell
is the hell we create
for one another.

The Table of Ideas

Everybody has a place
at the table of ideas.

Even bad ideas
can spark better ones.

We're smarter in community
than we think we are.

Which Fears

It seems that
every century
adds three zeroes
to what it takes
to be wealthy.

Millionaires
to billionaires
to trillionaires.

The numbers
don't matter, though.
What matters are
the fears that drive
the accumulation.

In Service

We are all servants.

We may not always
see our servanthood,
but we are all servants.

Even masters are servants,
although it's harder for them
to recognize this.

The question isn't
whether we're servants,
but rather to whom or what
we give ourselves in service.

Returning to Light

We're drawn toward light
because we're made of light.

Light returning to light.

Neglected House

The greater the span
between rich and poor,
the thinner the floor
on which the wealthy play.

Like a neglected house,
collapse becomes inevitable.

The Neighborhood

One does not
have to live
next door
to be counted
a neighbor.

Our neighborhood
is always larger
than we think.

Neighborly

Tolerant
neighborhoods
make a city grow.

Intolerant
neighborhoods
divide and conquer
until nothing is left.

Open Close

Open hands.
Open minds.
Open hearts.

Closed hands.
Closed minds.
Closed hearts.

Knowing
when to open,
when to close
is the work
of wisdom.

Straight and Narrow

The straight and narrow
is not straight and narrow.

No journey runs straight.
No path to truth is narrow.

The long and winding way
we've already come proves this.

What We Don't Know

The deaths we do not understand
are the ones that scare us the most.

From contagions to random violence,
we're victims of our own ignorance.

Death isn't what terrifies us.
It's what we know we don't know.

No Power

Wealth and power
have no power
over those
who truly have
no wealth or power.

What is left
to take away?
Only the spirit,
and the spirit
is only borrowed
for a time anyway.

Limits of Wealth

Money can't stop
a compassionate hand.

Greed can't silence
a merciful heart.

Power can't kill
a forgiving spirit.

Eyes on the Road

Since I can't see
the end of the road
from where I am
on the road,
I'm better off
learning how
to trust that
I'll get through.

Keeping my eyes
on this moment
is how I find my way.

Three Votes

If you vote your pocket book,
you'll never get enough.

If you vote your conscience,
you'll forever be disappointed.

If you can vote your heart,
you will have already won.

Dominion

To take dominion
over the earth and
its many creatures
means we are to be
good stewards,
not good rapists.

Evil and Good

Evil is the other side of good,
not the opposite of good.

But who gets to define evil?
Who gets to define good?

Evil is what takes us into fear.
Good takes us into compassion.

Beyond that, I don't know.

Not Required

Baptism doesn't require water.
Salvation doesn't require a savior.
Heaven doesn't require a death.

Where nothing is required,
nothing has to be earned.

Only passed along.

Cargo

I used to carry God around in a box,
but God outgrew the box,
so I carried God around in a book,
but God outgrew the book,
so I carried God around in a word,
but God outgrew the word,
so I gave up carrying God around at all.

Now God is everywhere.

No Dream

No dream fulfills itself.
The dreamer has to wake up.

Making Waves

Tao ripples out
from every action
like waves curling
across a pond.

Escape

If the past haunts you with pain
or the future laces you with fear,
your best escape is this moment.

Grief

Grief is a teacher.
It teaches us to let go.

Creative Mind

An open mind
is a creative mind,
full of possibility.

A closed mind is
a creative mind, too,
but an impotent one.