Crime Spree

You steal from the world
when you do not seek your potential.

You cheat the galaxy
when you do not explore your uniqueness.

You rob the universe
when you withhold the best that you are.

Wearing Away the Hard Stone of Pain

Forgiveness softens
the hard stone of pain
and wears it away
like a river over rocks.

Three Struggles

Sometimes a struggle is a battle,
one of many in a larger war.

Sometimes a struggle is the death of self,
another ego dissolving in the Tao.

Sometimes a struggle is a metamorphosis,
a butterfly escaping from its cocoon.

To Love Allah

To love Allah,
one must love the children of Allah.

To love the children of Allah,
one must love the family of Allah.

To love the family of Allah,
one must love the friends of Allah.

To love the friends of Allah,
one must love the enemies of Allah.

To do anything less is not to love Allah.

The Map of My Face

My face wears the marks of my life.
Where I have been. What I have seen.
How I have lived. How far I have traveled.
What I have gained and lost along the way.
It is the road map of my experiences.
The most accurate chart of my history.
Some lines are easy to read.
Others lie beneath the surface
where they can only be seen from inside.

Justice and Fear

On the surface,
justice is the rebalancing
of competing interests.

Underneath,
it is the mitigation of fear
and blind separateness.

Family Is More

Family is more than my mother and father.
More than my son or daughter.
More than my sister or brother.
More than my grandparents.
More than aunts or uncles.
More than cousins.
More than nieces and nephews.
More than the people I choose to be family.
More than those I love.
More than those I like.
More than those I struggle to understand.
More than those I share the earth with.
More than those who came before.
More than those who will come after.

Family will always be larger than I imagine.

Yellow Leaf Journey

A yellow leaf floats calmly on the surface of a river.

The river, swollen with weeks of rain, has overtopped levees and dikes for hundreds of miles. It has swept away farmhouses and barns, mansions and shacks, townhouses and shops. It has swamped Main Streets in valley after valley and submerged miles of highways and tracks.

It has carried away wealth and poverty, faith and hope, seeds and soil. It has drained off livestock and pets, snakes and beavers, rats and small children. It has broken families and left orphans in its wake.

It has fed thirsty ground, replenished deep aquifers, and guaranteed good harvests for the next seven years. It has cleared the land of the dead, the rotten, the diseased and infested. It has scoured the earth like a broom.

All of this, and still a yellow leaf rides comfortably on its back.

Can One Book?

Can one book hold the truth for you?
Can one friend sustain you for a lifetime?
Can one version of God last until you die?

Dig a Hole

Dig a hole,
and something
will fill it.

Build a bridge,
and something
will cross it.

Plant a tree,
and something
will call it home.

Keeping My Thumb off the Scale

When it is so easy to see selfishness in others,
why is it so hard to see selfishness in me?

If I want to live a balanced life,
it's best to keep my thumb off the scale.

Desire and Wisdom

Desire is an urge to explore,
to experience more deeply.

Some desires are best followed.
Some are best left undone.

Knowing the difference
is the work of wisdom.