Tuesday, March 31, 2015

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.


Monday, March 30, 2015

Honors


Self-virtue
before virtue.

Self-acceptance
before acceptance.

Self-respect
before respect.

Every honor
begins within.


Sunday, March 29, 2015

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?


Friday, March 27, 2015

To See Light


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


Thursday, March 26, 2015

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.


Wednesday, March 25, 2015

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.


Tuesday, March 24, 2015

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.


Monday, March 23, 2015

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.


Sunday, March 22, 2015

Sunrise


Spiritual awareness
doesn't enter from outside.

Spiritual blindness
doesn't arise from within.


Saturday, March 21, 2015

Point of View


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

Balance is everything.


Friday, March 20, 2015

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.


Thursday, March 19, 2015

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.


Wednesday, March 18, 2015

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.


Tuesday, March 17, 2015

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.


Monday, March 16, 2015

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.


Sunday, March 15, 2015

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.


Saturday, March 14, 2015

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.


Friday, March 13, 2015

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.


Thursday, March 12, 2015

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.


Wednesday, March 11, 2015

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.


Tuesday, March 10, 2015

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.


Monday, March 9, 2015

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.

Sunday, March 8, 2015

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.


Saturday, March 7, 2015

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.


Friday, March 6, 2015

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.


Thursday, March 5, 2015

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.


Wednesday, March 4, 2015

Bones of Winter


The bones of winter
have their own beauty.

The hard cold of winter,
not so much.


Tuesday, March 3, 2015

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.


Monday, March 2, 2015

Yin and Yang


Growing up.
Growing down.

The yin and yang
of my spiritual journey.


Sunday, March 1, 2015

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.