Dirty Hands

I can have dirty hands,
but a clean conscience.

I can have muddy feet,
but a clear view of the way.

I can have a cluttered mind,
but an open, empty heart.

Filth is determined by context.
Clarity comes from within.

Honors

Self-virtue
before virtue.

Self-acceptance
before acceptance.

Self-respect
before respect.

Every honor
begins within.

Pieces

What I eat.
What I wear.
Where I sleep.

Are these not
pieces of my
daily bread?

What about
what I see?
What about
how I see?

Are these not
pieces of my
daily bread, too?

Bitter Enemies

All enmity is bitter.

To See Light

The dark we bury inside
will dig its way out,
if only to see light again.

Swimmers

We all swam
to this moment
on the currents
of evolution.

We are only
its latest wave.
Where it goes
after it passes us
isn't up to us.

What is up to us
is the swimming.

A Way In

It doesn't matter
where we build the fences.

It doesn't matter
how we set the borders.

It doesn't matter
where we draw the lines.

Tao always finds a way
in.

Faith. Trust. Devotion.

Look for God and see nothing.
Listen for Tao and hear nothing.
Search for Allah and find nothing.

Without a willingness
to see, to hear, to find,
there can be none of these.

Faith is what sees.
Trust is what hears.
Devotion is what finds.

Destination

How does the journey begin?

Does it start with a purpose?
Or does it simply start?

Does it set out for a destination?
Or does it simply set out?

The true goal isn't a destination.
Each journey finds its own end.

Sunrise

Spiritual awareness
doesn't enter from outside.

Spiritual blindness
doesn't arise from within.

Point of View

Depending on only one
point of view is like
sitting on a chair
with only one leg.

Balance is everything.

The Big Reach

We are always reaching for
something outside ourselves.

Prosperity. Heaven. A lover.
Health. Time. Escape. Respect.

The things we reach for
don't tell us about what we lack,
but only what we think we lack.

Big difference.

The Flow of Change

I live in the flow
of constant change.

I can try to fight it and
bend it to my will.

Or I can accept it and
bend myself to its turns.

One leads to frustration.
The other leads to awareness.

Change continues either way.

Antidote

Even as we look away
from one another in fear,
we forget that we both
grow out of the same soil.

Even as we turn away
from one another in disgust,
we forget that we both
depend on the same air.

Our fears drive us apart.
Tao calls us back from fear.

Tao can cross any barrier
and will defeat any interference.

To Be Whole Again

A river makes a land two lands.
A bridge makes two lands one.

One rains down from heaven.
The other seeks to be whole again.

Trinity

Source.
Example.
Guide.

When I ask,
I receive.

When I watch,
I see.

When I listen,
I hear.

When I don't,
I don't.

So Much More

There's so much
to see in what I do see
that I forget
there's so much more
that I don't see.

Bored

How could a tree grow bored
along an ever-changing stream?

How could a river grow weary
below an ever-changing wood?

If my life feels boring,
it's because I'm not looking.

If my spirit grows weary,
I'm not paying attention.

Daily Bread

Patience.
A hard struggle.
Family time.
A warm place.
Five more minutes.
Silence.

My daily bread
consists of
whatever I need
as I go along.

When I learn
how to see,
I never go hungry.

Next Lesson

One becomes two.
Two become four.
Four become ten thousand.

Seeking the One
in the ten thousand
is my next lesson in math.

Brightest Light

The old quiet ones.
The wise ones.
The ones who know,
but know better
than to try to tell.
The seekers.
The discerners.

These are the ones
who shine
the brightest light
on the path ahead.

Choices

I can get lost in what I possess.
I can get lost in what I don't own. 

I can get lost in what I believe.
I can get lost in what I don't know.

I can get lost in what I do.
I can get lost in what I haven't done.

I can get lost in the flow of this moment.
I can get lost in Tao mind.

Choices, choices, choices.

Anniversary

Every day is an anniversary
of one sort or another.
A finger pointing back in time.

What makes the past compelling
isn't what we remember
but what we choose to carry forward.

Dividing Line

Before,
my truth had to come
from outside to be true.

After,
the only truth that matters
is the wisdom that rises within.

Before,
I never knew where to turn
to save me from my fears.

After,
my fears fade whenever
I turn my mind to Tao.

Before,
heaven always came later.

After,
heaven has always been now.

Eye of the Storm

A minute of silence
is like a full night's rest.

A sudden stillness
is like a deep, full breath.

A few seconds of quiet
are like a world at peace.

A moment of calm
is like the eye of the storm.

Nourishments

Rain nourishes the land.
Runoff carves the land.

Water follows its own way
and returns to where it started.

Tao flows through my life,
nourishing and carving as it goes.

Just Because

Just because something is beautiful
doesn't mean it isn't poisonous.

Just because my prejudice feels right
doesn't mean it isn't rotting me from inside.

Bones of Winter

The bones of winter
have their own beauty.

The hard cold of winter,
not so much.

Forward or Back

When I discover I have
the power to open my own mind,
do I run forward or do I turn back?

The power to open my mind
offers the power to change myself.

The power to change myself
offers the power to change others.

The power to change others
should give me pause,
before deciding forward or back.

Yin and Yang

Growing up.
Growing down.

The yin and yang
of my spiritual journey.

Heartfelt

I can see the hearts
of those I agree with,
but not necessarily
the hearts of those
on the other side.

But everybody has one.
A heart.

Mine grows when
I remember this.