Looking Down the Well

When the well is empty,
it pays to dig deeper.

When the well is full,
it pays to fill barrels.

When the well is silent,
it pays to bend an ear.

Waking Up

To wake up grateful is enough
to bring light for the whole day.

To wake up hopeful is enough
to open the shutters of the sky.

To wake up curious is more
than enough to fill up a lifetime.

Solid Floor

Nothing is as solid as faith when it is the only thing you have left to stand on.

Breathing on My Own

Only I can breathe my own breath.
Only I can hear my own blood in my ears.
Only I can step in my own footprints.
Only I can live in fear inside my own skin.

When I let go of breathing and blood,
I let go of the fear of their absence.
When I let go of footprints and skin,
I let go of the fear of being alone.

Seeing the Real Moon

One night as the moon is passing across the night sky, it loses its flat-coin appearance, and we suddenly see it for what it is.

A massive sphere of rock and dust orbiting hundreds of thousands of miles away in black space.

Suddenly, we can see the distance between us.

The vastness shrinks us to dust, and we discover the universe inside us.

When Do I Not Have Time?

Do I have time for this moment?
Do I have time for this task at hand?

When do I not have time for this moment?
When do I not have time for this task at hand?

The Perfect Illusion

Maybe perfection is an illusion.

How can anything be perfect
when everything is different?

How can anyone be perfect
when everyone is one of a kind?

How can one moment be perfect
when every moment is unique?

If perfection exists, how can it be
anything but what already is?

Watching Each Moment

When we watch the clock,
the clock lives our lives for us.
When we worry about the calendar,
the calendar lives our future for us.

When we watch each moment
arise when its moment comes,
the Tao is living our lives,
and we are living the Tao.

Left or Right?

Inside the gate or outside the gate.
Which is more useful?

In the sunlight or in the shade.
Which is more natural?

In the valley or on the peak.
Which is more vigorous?

Open hand or closed hand.
Which is more wise?

Writing and Telling

Writing out our journeys is useful. Telling our stories is as natural as rain.

When we pass along to others what we've experienced and learned, our experiences and lessons become theirs, too. Their world enlarges.

To write and tell also helps us understand our own journey more deeply.

No two journeys are the same. We can only pass along our own stories. This is why everyone should have stories to tell.

Don't forget to read and listen.

Something About Yourself

Remember something about yourself you'd forgotten, and you will duck your head.

Discover something about yourself you hadn't known before, and you will be startled.

Recognize something about yourself you hadn't seen before, and you will be flattered.

Decide something about yourself you've never decided before, and you will be grateful.

Community Project

When I am one, I know myself one way. When we are more than one, we begin to know ourselves in more than one way.

Learning ourselves is our life's work. Learning who we are also means learning who we are not.

Communities help us do this by showing us different points of view of who we are.

Wherever two or more are gathered together, a community is born.

We are all community projects.