love the moment

Natural action brings fulfillment Forced action brings exhaustion Tao 30 Square peg, Round hole Phillips head in a straight edge world It doesn't matter Water doesn't flow uphill Blood doesn't come from a turnip Everyone knows how this works And yet The world is full of damaged pegs Toolkits full of mismatched screws No matter how many times I hear this song I still forget the words Practice, practice Bit by bit Each time I remember more Until the next time Practice, practice dg 10/31 Sent from my iPad

A stage of human development That understands Things continue to exist Even when they cannot be seen, heard or touched I supposedly learned this lesson at the age of two I would call it a partial success I do not doubt the sunshine, even when evening comes I do not doubt the summer, when winter blasts cold I do not doubt love, even when mine is away But I do, sometimes doubt Tomorrow's goodness When I fail to see Today's joy dg Learn to be at home in the universe. No more loneliness. No more sense of isolation. See God in everyone - the same God with a different face, the same animating Principle with a different form, the same Divine Presence clothed in individual expression. From "This Thing Called You", page 121, by Ernest Holmes. Copyright 1948 Sent from my iPad

This is what I tell myself on Monday's... I am in the right place Everything that came before Both good and bad Has brought me here To this Now Everything I need to live and grow Is here Love, Beauty The joy of knowing that god is everywhere He is in the breeze that blows the cloud He is in the rain, resting on the fallen leaves God is in me, god is in you She is whispering the very words I need to hear She is pointing my feet in the way to go She is saving a seat in the crowd for me to sit And rest All of the problems I will face are merely Questions with answers They are adventures to take, they are paths to follow All this is here And waiting All I need to do is see, believe And live Without fear dg 10/25 Sent from my iPad

Muir Beach, Marin County, CA - November 2005 Although I aim to be like water, although the goal is to be in the flow, I am more times like the blast of the fireman's hose Rather than the peace of the breezy ocean wave. I guess that's why I write so much on Tao 8.   I'm hoping that if I keep repeating the words, if I hear them long enough - eventually - I will become like them. Tao 8  In life, it is best to be like water Water will refresh anyone - it does not strive or contend Water will go anywhere It will wash even places rejected and despised In this way, it is very near Tao Live life grounded, stay near the earth Let your heart go deep, do not deny the stillness When you give, let it be only from the heart When you speak, let the words be true When you govern, always seek justice When you work, be efficient and focused When you act, make your move to the rhythm of the moment A good man does not strive A wise woman does not contend Therefore, he is free of res...

4th of July Fireworks as seen from LP Field, 2010 Something formless, complete in itself There before Heaven and Earth Tranquil, vast, standing alone, unchanging It provides for all things yet cannot be exhuasted It is the mother of the universe I do not know what to call it, so I call it "Tao" Forced to name it further, I call it     "The greatness 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 touch, taste, feel bones, skin, eyes what are we? are we only a living machine a solitary figure in a game of no rules and no one watching? what is life? is it only the flash of a firefly in the desert night  or am i only one of many lights in the light show fantastiquè i cannot say for sure - maybe you can but i know this even if we are only a single burst in one fireworks display i believe that our light ...

Chatter, chatter, Squawk! Birds overhead Looking down from Their Electric Line Perch Always something to say... Do they use Outlook? Maybe Lotus Notes? Who keeps their agenda Who screens their calls? It's rather amazing Their capacity for noise Endlessly looking about Although a different species They & I There seems to be some Slight Family resemblance I really should get out more Sit And listen dg 10/21 Sent from my iPad

The words we use to divide time The cubbyholes we make to store the Broken pieces of days Monday, Deadline, or even Past Due What if we - like the solitary, soaring hawk - Could look down on life and Take it all in with a sweeping eye What would we call perfect fall days With crisp air and autumn sun What would we call today if we knew it was The only and last and best gift we would ever receive? I don't know But I bet we wouldn't call it anything We would just live it dg 10/18 Sent from my iPad

A man in a wheelchair He can't reach his coffee alone A young couple, holding hands Both tanned, fresh-faced, smiling A young mother doing her best To have a latte without an offspring disaster And me in the corner Watching and writing in my journal None of us know each other We appear strangers And yet All of us - making our way Through the everyday clutter In the bible story, Jesus asked the blind man, "What do you want?" "I want to see", he replies. Don't we all... dg 10/17 Sent from my iPad

Boulder, CO - Fall 2009 Tao is empty - yet it fills every vessel with endless supply Tao is hidden - yet it shines in every corner of the world With it, sharp edges become smooth Twisted knots loosen The sun is softened by a cloud The dusty wind settles into place Tao 4 The Daily Grind So-called by some A possible misconception How does the marble feel As it is carved and chipped and polished Is it full agreement or only grudging acquiescence As older me's fall away, some pieces I still cherish The sculptor's hand does not falter or faint The grinding continues Until I shine like the sun dg 10/15

Life and death are born together Difficult and easy, long and short High and low - all the exist together Sound and silence blend as one Before and after arrive as one The Sage acts without striving And teaches without speaking All things flourish around him And he does not hinder them Tao 2 The Days Endless phone calls Automated emails from no one in particular Moments flash by like telephone poles I watch them through the side window When the trip is over I hope to god I have more to show for it Than rushed potty stops and fast food I hope I remembered to stop Take a side road, take in some sights Ideally, I stop every day Breathe And have a cup of Joe with myself My god, aren't the leaves beautiful today Just like memories They fall and gather Slowly at my feet dg 10/14 Sent from my iPad

Begin your task before it becomes a burden Put things in order before they get out of hand Remember A tree that fills a man's embrace grows from a seedling A tower nine stories high starts with one brick A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step Tao 64 Gum wrappers Crumpled notes from forgotten meetings Phone numbers we will never call All the things we carry Stuff Once useful, now only extra bags It takes quiet moments Strung together To make a space An open heart has room For new seeds to be planted A quiet heart has space To love those things once thought hateful dg 10/13

The existence of hell is hotly debated Most everyone believes in Heaven But I know I've seen them both The everyday hells we create The unforgiven sins, continually listed But we forget that Heaven awaits at any moment Like shifting shadows of the breeze blown tree When we let go Release what came before Who we once were, but no longer are Heaven is in the Now dg 10/11 Sent from my iPad

Everything is As it ought to be Rivers run to the sea Even if I forget to tell them Birds sing and search for food They prepare for winter without my instruction Coal turns to diamond Mud turns to stone In the deeps, things always change Just as others stay the same I, too, shift and flow A kaleidoscope of emotion against a still blue sky Days come and go But I remain In the deeps, some things change While others stay Forever the same dg 10/10/10 Sent from my iPad

She was standing on the corner, near the crossing guard. Her sweatshirt was teal, with pink lettering. It said something cute, but I can't be sure - passing so quickly. I bet she pretends a lot, just like me. Making it up as we go along. Yes, we've learned, but there's so much more. What will her day bring? Oh! The Places You'll Go! - says Dr. Seuss. She has no idea, says I. Just ask her young daughter, holding tightly to her hand on the way to school. To remember. How big the world is when you're small. http://www.teamhope.com/seuss.htm dg 10/6 Sent from my iPad

The most yielding thing in the world will overcome the most rigid The most empty thing in the world will overcome the most full From this comes a lesson - Stillness benefits more than action Silence benefits more than words Tao 43 What we know Those things unshakable Love, trust, forgiveness - Are both timeless and fragile Like fog on the bathroom mirror They sometimes fade in drier times The good news is they return Opened with the mist of morning The heart remembers what the mind forgets dg 10/6 Sent from my iPad

Become totally empty Quiet the restless mind Only then will you see everything Unfolding from emptiness Tao 16 How do you find quiet? Is it in a walk in the park Or is it over coffee at sunrise For me, some days It is like an Easter egg hunt I know it's there - somewhere I just haven't found it yet The choice I make is To keep looking or Call it a day Hopefully, we keep looking The joy is in the finding The journey is the looking dg 9/30 Sent from my iPad

Tao and this world seem different But in truth they are one and the same The only difference is in what we call them Tao 1 All the things we say That we speak into existence Gods, we are, of our own little worlds We make wars where peace once was Or we bring light into darkness We sing songs into sorrow We live love into the Abyss Millions of things we make Days built on the flimsy of time We call things by names We make artificial divisions Oneness is Separate parts an illusion The trick is Deal or No Deal Only we can choose Quiet over Chaos dg 10/2 Sent from my iPad

To love To reach out and give a hand To someone in need Without hesitation or reservation A heart moved without judgment or long explanations Because love the sinner, hate the sin Still hates something I find that such unruly emotions - hate and fear -  Begin to creep like stubborn weeds They eventually invade the most beautiful garden Only vigilance protects the flower's beauty Only persistence preserves the garden's innocence dg 10/1