High Math

Numbers have made it possible for us to construct -- literally -- the modern world we live in. Arithmetic. Calculus. Mathematics in general. Without these, we would still be living in caves -- and there are too many of us to go back to that.

Without math, we don't even know how many of us there are.

But math is just a symbol system we use for seeing the world a certain way. Language is the same thing -- a tool we use to see and "understand" the world a certain way.

The deepest "world," though, is the one that cannot be reached through numbers and words.

One Thousand Steps

One thousand steps make you tired.
One hundred steps make you exhausted.
Ten steps make you nigh unto death.
One step makes the next one possible.
No steps make the journey complete.

The Nomadic Life of Money

Money has no home of its own. It travels a nomadic life from pocket to pocket. This is as it should be.

In a healthy land, money flows back and forth from those who need to those who have. The needs and the haves change, too. Some days, I need. Some days, I have. When I need something, money flows from me to those who have it. When others need what I have, money flows from them to me.

In a sick land, money stops flowing. Its nomadic wandering ends. It hardens into numbers on balance sheets designed to secure the future.

The future is not about security, though, and life is not about money.

We create the future right here in the present, moment by moment by moment.

We become the true nomads -- nomads of time.

Center of the Universe

The concept of infinity
allows anything to be
the pivot of the universe.

How does it feel
to be the center point?

Turning Point

A turning point
at the right moment
is a blessing.

A turning point
at the wrong moment
is a tragedy.

A turning point
at any other moment
is probably not.

Why Go to the Trouble?

Why sew a coat
if you don't want
anyone to wear it?

Why plant an orchard
if you don't want
anyone to eat from it?

Why build a house
if you don't want
anyone to live in it?

Why seek the truth
if you don't want
anyone to have it?

What We Do

What we do
in this life matters.

It matters at
that point where
our separateness begins.

It matters how
we treat others.

It matters because
we are there, too,
inside their skin with them,
even when neither of us
realizes it.

What Separateness Brings

Separateness brings fear.
Fear brings suffering.
Suffering brings guilt.
Guilt brings pain.
Pain brings wisdom.

The Pointing Finger

By pointing to one thing
as a way to understand
something else, we can
help others understand.

On the other hand,
when we turn one thing
into a symbol
for something else,
we lay the groundwork
for misdirection.

Best to remember
the symbol is not the thing.
The pointing finger
is not the moon.

The Snake and the Mouse

The snake said to the mouse one morning in the corner of the field, "You have eaten well, my friend. You're quite a tasty morsel."

"Gout," answered the mouse. "It's a misery to live so high."

"Then let me dispose of your misery for you, sir," said the snake.

"Oh, but I would be gone with it, and you would inherit a terrible pain in your tail. I'm not worth the trouble," the mouse replied as he slowly turned and waddled away.

The snake flicked his tongue and followed not far behind.

When the Teacher Is Ready

When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.

This is true.

It is also true that when the teacher is ready, the student will appear.

A good guide is the secret to good teaching.

Newborn

As we discover who we are,
our perspective changes.

As our perspective changes,
we are born into a new reality.

As a newborn in a new reality,
we explore our new world.

We discover more of who we are,
and our perspective changes again.

In this way, we are resurrected
countless times before we die.