Free Will

Free will is the ego thinking it is separate from Tao.

Not the Done

A root will burrow a long way for water.
A branch will stretch a long way for light.

Where does the water come from
to power the burrowing search for water?

Where does the light come from
to power the stretching search for light?

When I do what is already in me to do,
it is the doing that matters, not the done.

If You Pray

When you encounter what could be either a coincidence or the answer to a prayer, which do you choose to believe?

Permanent Crisis

What is necessary this morning
will not be necessary in a year.

What is pressing this afternoon
will not be pressing in a week.

What is urgent this evening
will not be urgent in a day.

What is crucial this moment
will not be crucial in an hour.

No crisis is permanent.

Creating Opposites

How often do we unwittingly make war
to bring peace into being?

How often do we unknowingly inflict pain
to bring mercy into being?

How often do we blindly create chaos
to bring serenity into being?

Learning Patience

Patience is what we learn
when we live in the future
instead of the present.

This moment
is a cup overflowing.

What patience
is needed for that?

Crossroads

Crossroads matter more to us
when we're lost than when
we know where we want to go.

Unfamiliar Ground

When I enter unfamiliar ground,
I slow down and step carefully.

When the unfamiliar becomes known,
I move quickly without even looking.

What a pity it is to forget that
the universe is new every moment.

Why Not Want to Like?

What makes one person likable
and another person not?

If I like someone,
is it because
of something in me
or because
of something in the other?

If part of it is because
of something in me,
why wouldn't I want to try
to like everybody I meet?

Two People

When two adults are
in love with each other,
why should it matter
what color they are?

When two adults are
lifelong companions,
why should it matter
what gender they are?

When two adults are
committed for a lifetime,
why should the rest of us
have any say in that at all?

Just Show Up

Rolling slowly through
another cloud-soaked day
under an absent sun.
Restlessly at rest.
I hear rain dripping
and worry about the roof.

I forget I'll be okay.
I forget I have
nothing to fear.
I forget I can handle
whatever comes my way --
assuming I show up for it.

What I Don't Know

Knowing what I don't know is more important than knowing what I do know.