Many of us have had the experience of hearing our name called as a teacher or group leader goes down the list. The typical response is usually “Here!” or “Present!” Sometimes this is accompanied by a raised hand to help identify ourselves. The person calling the roll is not asking anything of us at that …
Kiss gently with compassion All that come to you The babe and the crone The beggar and the king The wise and the foolish The angry and the meek The joyful and the grieved The fearful and the brave Touch all their hearts with love And smile sweetly to their soul Embrace them with forgiveness And send them on with blessing
My life has been full of terrible misfortunes, most of which never happened. ~Michel de Montaigne I must be getting old. Several people in the last year have asked me to offer some wisdom or insight gained over decades of living. It has proven more challenging than I might have anticipated. Indeed, the more I …
Open my eyes to the beauty that surrounds me that I may walk through this day with the kind of awareness that calls forth grateful living. ~Macrina Wiederkehr I’ve been using this quote recently to start my day. I like the idea of waking up with a blessing, an expression of gratitude for a precious …
I’m walking a labyrinth with some friends next week. I love this meditative practice. It models how we move through life in faith. Unlike a maze, there are no wrong turns in a labyrinth. Yes, there are twists and turns, but the path leads unerringly to the center. You cannot get lost. So you can …
Most of us have heard the saying that it takes a village to raise a child. After today, I’m pretty sure that all of us need a village, maybe not to raise each other, but to care for each other. The beginning of this story is that my zippered wallet containing my money, credit cards, …
You brought the music back Carried by trade winds and ocean currents You sing across the seas Now the music chants my days I dance my life In the arms of the Beloved
No one tells you There is a sadness When all is left behind Although shed willingly Touch lingers A last caress Of what was once a treasure There is no going back Nor would you want to Yet there were moments When happiness kissed your lips And longing stirred your soul When the dream sang …
This chapter starts with a description of a small country with few people. They live simply and in harmony with nature. (This chapter could have been the model for the back to the land movement of my younger years. Reading it brought back wonderful memories of living in a shack in the mountains of Montana!) …
When people do not fear powerGreat power appearsThese first two lines have been translated and interpreted so many ways, it’s difficult to find any footing in a particular meaning. Like many passages in the Tao Te Ching which seem to address governance, this couplet could refer to actual political government, and could also refer to …
Morning sunCasts tree star shadowsLight and dark dance in dewdropsEmbracing as lovers doJoyful in the green
As I explained in Part 1, this unusually long chapter resembles a string of proverbs. Picking up from the earlier post, here are some key passages from the rest of the chapter. Action leads to failureGrasping leads to lossThus the sage refrains from action and does not failRefrains from grasping and does not lose Once …
They paved paradiseAnd put up a parking lot~Joni Mitchell Every other weekend, I leave my urban home to spend a few days at my forest cabin. Two weeks ago, I missed my usual weekend because I was sick. So when I went this last weekend I had been four weeks away. I always savor the …
Tao is the honored source of all creationThe awakened person treasures itThe unenlightened are protected by it This chapter is an ode to the natural beauty and humble majesty of Tao. Similar to the Bible’s observation that the sun shines and the rain falls equally on the just and the unjust, here we are told …
I’m reading a book titled “What is Mysticism” by Jon Mundy. Yesterday I read this passage: Mostly, it’s a profound inner knowing and an awareness of the interconnectedness of all things – a sense that everything is perfect just the way it is. When I read it, I got chills because I was blessed to …
The chapter opens with an observation on dualism. Going out into life, entering death What causes this cycle of life and death? Because attachment to life is intense The character for intense has additional meanings of thick, solid, lavish. This contrasts with the description in the second part of the chapter, which is one of …
Fame or self, which is dearerSelf or wealth, which is greaterGain or loss, which is painful The first two lines remind me of a popular question – would you rather be rich or famous? Although here, we are asked to evaluate both fame and riches in comparison to our self. The character for self also …
He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge. ~Psalm 91:4 In the Hebrew Bible, God gives directions to Moses to build a temple. Within the temple, in the most sacred inner room, Moses is instructed to build a “mercy seat” of pure gold and to place it above …
One of my favorite movies of all time is King of Hearts, a 1960s film starring Alan Bates and a young Genevieve Bujold. The story takes place in a French village during WWI. The inhabitants flee the town, leaving behind the inmates of an asylum with the gate open. They filter out into the empty …
This poem by Rumi has come as a guest into my “home” recently. A series of events over last fall and the beginning of this year have left me at various times elated, terrified, energized, devastated, regretful, confused, excited, upset, exhausted, stunned, content, happy, and lost. This poem knocked on my door and offered me …
