The Tricky One

It's easy to feel sad.
It takes a little more to feel happy.

To find exuberance in sorrow
is the tricky one.

Tao for the Body

Water
feeds us,
bears us,
washes us,
soothes us,
heals us.

It is like Tao
for the body.

The Next Turn

Winter hillside.
Birds and bare limbs.

Green river waiting
for the next turn.

It snows again today.
Not yet.

The Light Behind Me

When all I see
is my own shadow,
then I should know
the light is behind me.

Conformity and Diversity

Conformity keeps us all
heading in the same direction.

Diversity scatters us
along many paths,
but leads us to richer lives.

Earth Care

The earth can
take care of itself
without our help,
but it does us good
to do what we can.

Growing Vines

Vines are seekers.
They seek structure
to cling to as they grow.

Do they know this?
As much as any
living thing knows itself.

Where there is no structure,
the vine keeps seeking.

Whether finding or seeking,
the vine continues to grow.

The Acorn's Challenge

Yes, a mighty oak
grows from a single acorn,
but many others cooperate
to make it into a tree.

Cooperation is
the acorn's challenge.
To go it alone
is a fool's errand.

Tangle

All of life is a tangle.
Death cuts only one thread.

Given

Forgiveness is given,
never taken by force.

Love is also given,
never taken by force.

Twin gifts from
the forces of mercy.

Loves

To need love
is a curse.

To have love
is a mystery.

To enjoy love
is a blessing.

To give love
is a journey.

Bare Trees

When I look up at a bare tree,
I see roots burrowing into blue soil.

I see blood vessels branching
out to every cell of my body.

I see rivulets and creeks and
streams coursing into rivers.

I see the neural pathways
of my own wondering brain.

The one becomes many.
The many become one.

Nature repeating
and never repeating.