Looking Back

We continually
remake our past
as we learn more
about ourselves
in the ever-present,
ever-changing now.

Life After Calamity

Calamity can strip us to the bone,
but even a bare tree will leaf again
after winter has finished its work.

Necessary Blessing

From rage to bliss, 
my emotions are like
the weather at sea.

To trust there will be
calm after the storm
is a necessary blessing.

One True Path

The only true path
to the safe haven of God
is the path before you.

It's the same path
that will take you
many other places, too.

But one thing never changes.

The only true path
to the safe haven of God
is the path before you.

Four Choices

First is the choice of habit.
Second is the choice of friends.
Third is the choice of god.
Fourth is the choice of ignorance.

The first determines my daily life.
The second determines my contentment.
The third determines my prejudices.
The fourth determines my limits.

Stormy Wisdom

Valleys make mountains.
Rivers make valleys.
Storms make rivers.

Insight brings wisdom.
Experience brings insight.
Difficulty brings experience.

Denial

Denial allows us
to believe there are
always enemies
hidden in the fog.

Clear skies take
away that option.

The New Hell

There is no hell.
There is only fear.
Fear is the new hell.

Come on in.

Merely Observed

Apathy scatters us.
Disaster draws us together.

Shared suffering heals faster
than suffering merely observed.

Three Flowers

One flower rides
down into the grave
with the dead.

One flower lights
the faces
of newlyweds.

One flower fades
when Tao
breathes upon it.

Each flower marks
a turning point.

A Whole Life

After forgiveness comes acceptance.
After acceptance comes appreciation.
With appreciation comes compassion.
With compassion comes a whole life.

Forgiven for Being

The more likely I am to forgive
others for being who they are,
the more likely I am to be
forgiven for being who I am.

Finding Their Own Way

From flesh and bone
to ash and rock,
our bodies wither
into stepping stones
for those who
have not yet arrived.

We make a path
until they find
their own way.

Silent Voices

There are two
silent voices.

First is the voice
that cannot speak.

Second is the voice
that will not speak.

We carry both
voices within us.

Unleashed

Every created thing
wants to express itself.

Whatever we create,
we unleash into the future.

Already There

No one path to God
is the only path to God.

No one way to Tao
is the only way to Tao.

In the end, we discover
it doesn't matter anyway.

The journey is unnecessary.
We were already there.

Followers

True leadership comes
from following the Way.

For others, following
the follower is enough.

So Many!

God must
really love
stupid people.

There are so
many of us!

The Stopping

The journey is more
than the destination.

The journey is more
than the journey itself.

The journey is also
the stopping to help
others along the way.

What Salvation Isn't

Salvation isn't about tomorrow
and what may happen after that.
Salvation isn't about what isn't yet.

Salvation happens here and now.
If we can't experience it here, now,
we will never be truly saved.

Complete

What is crooked
when there is no straight?

What is broken
when there is no whole?

What is false
when there is no true?

One makes the other.
Tao completes both.

Barriers Everywhere

Barriers are everywhere,
but the most effective ones
are the ones in my mind.

Making Room

If we don't make
room for others,
the room we expect
for ourselves will
already be taken.

Walling off Heaven

It seems so simple,
but apparently it isn't.

When we wall off heaven from
those who follow another way,
we wall off heaven from ourselves.

Fear Response

Nothing wrong
with being afraid.

It's how we respond
to fear that matters.

A response out of fear
always draws more fear.

A response out of trust
stands a better chance.

Dangerous

Dangerous times.
This present moment.

Dangerous places.
This piece of ground.

Dangerous people.
This face in the mirror.

Danger starts within,
but we don't want to see this.

Three Turns

Deep reflection
turns the mind.

Deep sorrow
turns the heart.

Deep pain
turns the spirit.

What Remains

When I put limits
on what God is like,
I'm putting limits on God.

When I get rid of limits,
God is what remains.

Possessed

The more possessions I have,
the more important they become.

The more important they become,
the more powerful they become.

The more powerful they become,
The more I become the possessed.

Fear Lovers

Eliminate fear, and wars cease.
Soldiers drop their weapons.

Nations open their borders.
Cities open their gates. 

Families open their doors.
People open their hearts.

What a shame we love
our fear so much.

Expectations

The more expectations
we place on the future,
the less satisfying
our present will become.

Seeking to Control

Honor isn't high.
Dishonor isn't low.

Each carries the seed
of the other within.

Both are ways we seek
to control each other.

Only the Seeking

I can look and look
and not see.

I can listen and listen
and not hear.

Seeing doesn't depend
on the eyes.

Hearing doesn't depend
on the ears.

In the end, only the seeking
truly matters.

Eye Level

The horizon is
always at eye level.

Every boundary is
a matter of perspective.

Deeper Reflection

There is what you see.
There is what I see.
There is what is unseen.

The unseen leads
to deeper reflection.

Separately Whole

Separately whole,
we are islands of
a common ground.

The ocean between us
covers over this
and teaches us fear.

Killers

No food or drink.
No spiritual journey.
No pious life.

The first kills the body.
The second kills the soul.
The third kills the ego.

My Whole World

When I listen only to myself,
when I look only at myself,
when I care only about myself,
my world shrinks until
I'm the only one in it.

On the other hand,
I'm a member of
a communal species.
I can't survive without others.

When I discover this,
I start listening to others,
I start looking at others,
I start caring about others,
and my world becomes whole again.

The Last War

We are no longer
warring over territory.
We are no longer
battling over possessions.

Our new wars are fought
over hearts and minds.

They should be fought with
compassion instead of killing,
but the only war we know
how to fight is the last one.

Harder Lesson

Every hand reaches for something.
Our desires are without end.

To reach is not the problem.
Our desires teach us who we are.

To fear what we want also teaches us.
But it is a harder lesson to learn.

Three Weapons

Disappointment.
Displeasure.
Disapproval.

Three of the
sharpest weapons
we use against ourselves.

Overcome them within,
and they cannot pierce
from without.

What Should Matter

No color is perfect.
No pigment is pure.

What flows from within
is what should matter.

Playing with Tao

Competition
focuses my mind,
but not my attention.

Awareness
sharpens my attention,
but not my compassion.

Service
hones my compassion,
but not my joy.

Only playing
with Tao can do that.

No Travel

There is no road
to inner peace.

The journey
requires no travel.

Ten Thousand Homes

Darkness within darkness.
Light within light.

Tao needs no dwelling place.
Ten thousand homes are enough.

The Powerless

You may
have the power
to threaten us
and intimidate us
and terrorize us
and kill and maim us,
but you are powerless
to stop us from forgiving you.
You are powerless
to keep us from asking
our God to heal your fear.
You are powerless
to end our compassion for you.

Powerless against powerless.
Guess which one will win in the end.

Carrying a Mystery

The body is a shell
that carries a mystery.

Unravel the mystery,
and the body
becomes a body again.

It Takes Two

It takes two
to start a community.
It takes only one
to disrupt it.

More weapons
aren't the answer.
It takes community
to save us.

The Innocent

Violence scatters the innocent
and draws into itself more violence.

Violence may grow and grow,
but innocence cannot be destroyed.

Without Strings

When we stoop
to help those in need,
how often is it because
we want to serve them,
and how often is it because
we want to control them?

Help without strings
is true service.

Easy to admire.
Hard to do.