love the moment

We doubt Calm, when in a storm Rain, when in a drought And, sometimes, If the day is dark enough We doubt Tomorrow But, mostly We doubt ourselves Will we be What we've dreamed Will we arrive At our storied destination But the coup de grâce Am I good enough But it is the asking The question itself That is needed For if we listen - and truly - It is the ever-changing answer that moves us It is the elusive reply of the Muse That leads us ever on dg 8/31 Sent from my iPad

When all the world recognizes beauty as beauty, this in itself is ugliness. When all the world recognizes good as good, this in itself is evil. Indeed, the hidden and the manifest give birth to each other. Difficult and easy complement each other. Long and short exhibit each other. High and low set measure to each other. Voice and sound harmonize each other. Tao 2, from the Shambhala Dragon Editions, translated by John C.H. Wu Dogma suppresses faith Judgment opposes acceptance Intention trumps results Sometimes, a person simply is Neither good nor bad Is a label required? Millions of suns So many blazing stars Wonder requires no category The singular boxes Right Wrong Cannot contain the infinite worlds Each of us are dg 8/29 Sent from my iPad

Who knows what fate may bring One day your loss may be your fortune One day your fortune may be your loss Tao 42 Things Are not always as they seem The calm waters, stilled from no wind Contain millions of teeming things Whole worlds live and die without our knowing Even in winter, quiet roots are growing Though the coming spring's bounty is months away The cold, dark days of winter cannot thwart their plans The harsh winter winds cannot stop The flower's sleepy intention To kiss us with its young, Spring beauty dg 8/25 Sent from my iPad

The movement of Tao is to return The way of Tao is to yield Heaven, Earth, and all things are born of the visible world The visible world is born of the nothingness of Tao Tao 40 E equals MC squared Einstein proved Matter never dies It only changes It returns to the beginning To the pure thought that birthed it The Taj Mahal The Sistine Chapel Both will someday crumble And their dust will blow away - Spread to the winds that brought them to us But the vision that spawned them Continues Like the burst of the supernova That began it's journey a billion years ago The light you create never dies Today, create your world Love a universe into being Then, you will never die You will live forever in the light you bore dg 8/24 Sent from my iPad

Long ago, kings and lords called themselves "orphaned", "lonely", and "unworthy" What honor can there be without humility? What heights can be reached without being low? The pieces of a chariot are useless unless they work together with the whole A man's life brings nothing unless he lives in accordance with the universe Playing one's part - in accordance with the whole universe - is true humility Tao 39 Many would say Greatness comes from fame and fortune For living large in TV eyes Such measures are cruel in their demanding This beast requires constant feeding A quieter way measures with a nobler rule Its scale marked in longer spans The fame that lasts is in lives loved or lost It is measured in memories and tears It is humble to love with no concern for the news It is honorable to act Caring only what the heart demands dg 8/23 Sent from my iPad

A knower of the Truth does what is called for then stops He uses his strength but does not force things In the same way, complete your task Seek no reward Make no claims Without faltering, fully choose to do what you must do This is to live without forcing, to overcome without conquering Tao 30 Agendas, Programs Plans to Change the World "I've a mind to rearrange this room" I've noticed people pushed into corners seldom enjoy the experience Arms twisted are unlikely to embrace No surgeon can bypass this disease A hardened heart must soften And heal on it's own Otherwise, a relapse is sure to come The scarred heart, worse off than before Martin knew Fear changes nothing Only love can move a world dg 8/22 Sent from my iPad

Hold your male side with your female side Hold your bright side with your dull side Hold your high side with your low side Then you will be able to hold the whole world Tao 28 The difference between a formal "yes" and a casual "yeah" - how slight! The difference between knowing the truth and not knowing it - how great! Tao 20 I'm thinking of, remembering, all of the "good/bad" and "right/wrong" declarations I've made in my life. And how most of them - lately reconsidered after more miles past and fewer years left - seem simply foolish. When I think of all the screaming voices - mostly disagreeing - about God/god or friend/foe, I feel similarly sad. Are we so small in our self-sense that we must always divide and conquer - simply to feel good about our own lack of joy? Must we constantly attack? Is it our only way to forget our fears? dg 8/21 Sent from my iPad

The path of the Sage is called "The Path of Illumination" The one who gives himself to this path is like a block of wood that gives itself to the chisel Cut by cut it is honed to perfection Tao 27 Give yourself to life Give yourself, without conditions, to the path The stone does not bargain There is no negotiation by the fallen tree To become, to change into They must yield The sculptor sees what they do not The freeing blade cuts Kindly removing What they no longer need dg 8/20 Sent from my iPad

Thirty spokes of a wheel join at a center Yet only the hole allows the wheel to spin Clay is molded to form a cup Yet only the space within allows the cup to hold water Walls join to make a room But you must cut out a door and window to enter and live there Tao 11 Make a place For cool breezes Make a place for butterflies Make a place for lilies, white and fragile Make a place for imagined fairies and elves In the midst of all the pressing things Make a place for the unexpected For those things that - in deference to the Angels - Will never demand or insist dg 8/19 Sent from my iPad

We may choose one over another but to Heaven and Earth all are the same The high, the low, the great, the small All are given light, all get a place to rest Tao 5 We decide, proclaim sometimes With ponderous tone the should Should haves Shouldn't I wonder if the Northern Winds feel slighted That many turn away at their approach But, thank Heaven that warm days Make no judgment Who knows what heart has turned Simply by the unexpected smile Lightly landing on a solemn face Like a butterfly Loving indiscriminately dg 8/18 Sent from my iPad

Grabbing and stuffing - there is no end to it Sharpen a blade too much and it's edge will soon be lost Fill a house with gold and jade and no one can protect it Puff yourself with honor and pride and no one can save you from a fall Complete the task at hand Be selfless in your actions This is the way of Heaven This is the way to Heaven Tao 9 "I shouldn't be here, but I am I'm here, I made it!" Although the sentiment may be genuine, it may not be completely accurate. Because, there were days where the outcome was uncertain. There were days where the prognosis was bleak. Or so I thought. But there were others who disagreed. There were friends whose sight was clearer than my clouded eyes. Because, God knows, we all have days where our light is dimmed, and the skies look so much darker than wisdom sees. And memory is sometimes misinformed. Because we may not remember the man who held the door for us - we with our arms full of groceries and worries. Or we may have onl...

Tao is empty Yet it fills every vessel with endless supply Tao is hidden Yet it shines into every corner With Tao, sharp edges become smooth Tangled knots loosen The glaring sun is softened by a cloud Even the dust settles into place Tao 4 How is it Goodness never tires Who decided that Wild flowers return in abundance Even after a drought or fire I don't know where goodness goes when the day is done I'm only glad - She always returns Even if sometimes I wonder why she tarries dg 8/17 Sent from my iPad

I find it interesting, instructive how perceptions shift over time. I'm thinking of Monet's series of haystack paintings. http://www.webexhibits.org/colorart/dh.html In one, the hues are pink, in one red, and in another, yet, varied shades of green. Did the grasses change, chameleon-like, throughout the day? Or was it the seer who shifted? Take on difficulties while they are still easy Do great things while they are still small Step by step the world's burden is lifted Piece by piece the world's treasure is amassed Tao 63 What will today bring us? Will it be a bright blue day - or one presenting a darker hue? Whether the changing light or changing eye, the artist sees the change. The challenge is to know - which? Today, be the one who sees - who thinks - who paints. Be the change you want to see. dg 8/16 Sent from my iPad

Something formless, complete in itself There before Heaven and Earth Tranquil, vast, standing alone, unchanging It provides for all things yet cannot be exhausted It is the mother of the universe I do not know its name, so I call it "Tao" Forced to name it further, I call it "The greatest of all things" "The end of all endings" I call it "That which is beyond the beyond" "That to which all things return" Tao 25 That elusive dream, softly framed in the glow of hope and wonder The misty wisps of half remembered joys - soft kisses, shadowy smiles from bedroom eyes The tender and soft skin that babies are - so different from workday wars and daily chores That firm, but quiet steel that braces a widow's heart The mystery is how such soft and strong things come to us The miracle is that they come at all dg 8/14 Sent from my iPad

What rises up appears bright What settles down appears dark Yet there is neither darkness nor light Just an unbroken dance of shadows From nothingness to fullness And back again to nothingness Tao 14 Our days The never-ending cycle of Ups, Downs, Turn-arounds Maybe an Ontological roller coaster But, too close an examination Of one tapestry thread Ignores somehow the pattern's knowing Upon distant reflection, a woven wisdom emerges Depending on the price The tapestry's weaving May require years before its shown dg 8/13 Sent from my iPad

Man's true self is eternal Yet, he thinks I am this body, I will soon die This false sense of self Is the cause of all his sorrows. Tao 13 I am this You fill in the blank This may be not enough Or too much Too late or Way too soon Then, consider How many times has This changed Or how many times has this Become irrelevant Maybe I should give it up And let it go Can you give me a hand With this? dg 8/12 Sent from my iPad

Heaven's way does not strive, yet it always overcomes It does not speak, yet it responds It is not summoned, yet it appears It does not hurry, yet it completes everything Tao 73 The vine creeping up my fence moves easily. It does not shout, it shoves no other plant aside in it's ascent. It is not discouraged when cut down, but gladly returns - only to be cut again. As far as I can tell, it bears me no malice. We play our roles - I cut, it grows. The vine follows it's path, I follow mine. I must confess, I suspect of the two of us, only I get frustrated. dg 8/11 Sent from my iPad

One who gives Freely and without attachment Gets a full life in return Tao 48 The trick is not the first line - we all give. All the time. We give to our jobs, our kids, our family. It is the price of admission to society. Everyone gives. No, the trick is the second line - freely and without attachment. Freely, as in from the heart. Not out of obligation or compulsion - and without attachment. As in without expectation. That is the rub, isn't it? To give without expectation, to love without conditions? Without sounding too idealistic, I am just thinking about what love is. I'm thinking of those few times in life I've been able to give to someone, when I knew there was no chance they could reciprocate - the homeless man, the traveler who needed gas money to get home. As I remember the joy and lightness I felt, the sheer wonder of serendipity that brought us together, I am thankful. And I think, you know, I need to do that more often. And now, the last line of the verse - ...

Forgive yourself For five minutes late For cluttered rooms For what you should Have done Forgive the world For storms, for stones Inconvenient For failing my expectations Forgive the moment For leaving too soon For things incomplete For failing my expectations Forgive, always Especially, expectations For what you should dg 8/9 Sent from my iPad

The Sage sees the world as an expansion of his own self So what need has he to accumulate things? By giving to others he gains more and more By serving others he receives everything Tao 81 Them, they Over there Strange words in an unknown cadence  Notes of a song we've never heard Stories, sorrows Different But somehow similar  Blood red, white bones Beating heart In spite of what you've heard Inside We are much more Same Than different in·con·gru·ity  ( in′kän gro̵̅o̅ ′ i tē, -kən- ) noun the condition, quality, or fact of being incongruous; specif., lack of harmony or agreement lack of fitness or appropriateness pl.   incongruities  -·ties  something incongruous http://www.yourdictionary.com/incongruities dg 8/8 Sent from my iPad

Wade-Giles romanization  te  in  Chinese philosophy , the inner moral power through which a person may positively influence others. Although the term is often translated in English as "virtue," de is not simply a desirable human trait or quality, such as goodness. The term is etymologically linked to and homophonous with the verb de, meaning "to get," "to grab," or "to take hold of."  One's de is therefore a charismatic power that influences others as if by grabbing them and eliciting a response or a change of mind and heart.  (Quoted from Britannica Online)  Those who have virtue do not look for faults Those who look for faults have no virtue Those who come to know It, do not rely on learning Those who rely on learning, do not come to know It Tao 81 Lists, Checklists Constant Tabulations Keeping Track, Keeping track Right, Wrong Right, Left Neither Lavender, Lilacs Daffodils Beauty has no Rules Would you rather be right Or happy? dg 8/7 Sent...

subversive below, behind beneath it all quietly lies truth jesus, ghandi, buddha did not scream their words revolutions always begin as whispers dg 8/7 Sent from my iPad

How is it Permission given, so unexpectedly That glimmer of sunlight I hadn't known On the darkest day And that sweetest smile that daughters give So free, trusting Unrestrained Or that single soaring bird So brave, utterly alone Yet, undeterred All these things, seemingly unconnected Secretly conspired Forever giving Joy dg 8/6 Sent from my iPad

"The Tao presents multicolored moments like threads caught on bushes waiting to be collected by someone passing by." From "The Tao of Forgiveness", p. 98, by William Martin Those favorite songs Those cherished photos To which we return Again & again It is to feel To recall the power of a moment It is the reason we live It is the power of love It is the joy of being To remember "Moments that could be woven with care and mindfulness into our own unique tapestry of life..." From "The Tao of Forgiveness" dg 8/6 Sent from my iPad

You Are here That big red arrow on the mall directory Corrects misunderstanding Historic markers beside the road Tell the significance When and why So convenient Informative To rule a country, have a known plan To win a war, have an unknown plan To gain the universe, have no plan at all Tao 57 Children pretend Actors act Builders build because Architects make plans Contented people Live one day at a time dg 8/5 Sent from my iPad

The highest virtue is to act without a sense of self The highest kindness is to give without condition The highest justice is to see without prejudice When Tao is lost, one must learn the rules of virtue The rules of conduct are just an outer show of devotion and loyalty And quite confusing to the heart When men rely on these rules for guidance - What foolishness abounds! Tao 38 Remember that story of the lost dog Accidentally left - faraway from home - on that cross-country move Or the swallows of Capistrano Who return each year to their refuge in the old mission How did they know - With no one telling What roadmap, what rule directed their safe return? Only one, ever true, led them They, like us, have that inner guide A voice, always clear, that - when heeded - Always leads us home. http://www.learner.org/jnorth/tm/swallow/OnAMission.html dg 8/4 Sent from my iPad

"Rescue the perishing, care for the dying Jesus is merciful, Jesus can save." A song I sung as a boy Words, I remember But, where was the Mercy, implied by the verse? If words have meaning, What about the notes in song? Childhood innocence Simply believes But, where did they go? To what country have mercy and compassion travelled? Does "Operation Rescue" picket failing schools? Do TV Preachers cry for the victim of the drive-by - Children innocent, just like me? Whatever happened to "We the People"? Such as men, themselves, are Such will God, himself, seem to them to be. John Smith, The Platonist dg 8/3 Sent from my iPad

The first step toward change is acceptance. Once you accept yourself, you open the door to change. That's all you have to do. Change is not something you do, it's something you allow. Will Garcia "Surrender brings perfection" The crooked become straight The empty become full The worn become new Tao 22 How many times Did you refuse How many times Said No To rest, to less To letting go Surrender the Idea That you know Let go  of How it Must Be All you'll lose Is that catch in your back Your clenched jaw What you'll gain A Mind Open to the Day Whatever it brings dg 8/2  Sent from my iPad

Why we do/Is it real That call you had to make That forced smile Spoken words, only half true Why? The heart knows what the eyes deny When the greatness of Tao (The Way) is present, Action arises from one's own heart When the greatness is gone, Action only comes from the rules of "kindness" and "justice" Tao 18 Why do, when it isn't true Why not wait Until you can give it all Don't you think they know? dg 8/1 Sent from my iPad