The 2nd Friday in May is the warmest day so far in the week. The four “seasons” are linguistic conveniences: spring, summer, fall and winter. Nature is mute, except for us humans. It is our job to label, and we continue upon our crafting of symbols, which fit within the already existing universe of…
Wednesday is midweek. Another day of magnificent light… Perhaps I will be able to transport what remains of my mulch pile to a proper location somewhere in the yard. Life is a matter of making small adjustments, is it not? Small adjustments accumulate. The big picture is effected, transformed, made otherwise than if we’d…
A Springtime Tuesday rushes onward, a wave-force concealed under the surface. The wave builds and if you choose to ride you are uncertain as to what the veiled pulse of energy will become at the moment of crest. Do we need to know though, in order to enjoy the ride? Saturday of the past…
Saturday morning. My gaze is drawn to the window, to sunlight that streams into the room. The blue sky beckons me, thin gray clouds scuttling southward, drawing away from the dim glow of this screen (a necessary tool). Desire. What is desire? Desire is inclination for movement, for pleasure of bodily movement, the wind…
Zizhang said,“In the past Jie and Zhou reveled in being sovereignand possessed all the wealth in the world.If you now say to a grasping man, ‘Your conductis like that of Jie and Zhou,’ he will look contriteand will object to the charge,for even the smallest men despise them. Confucius and Mo Di, on the…
I have enjoyed taking photographs since I was a sophomore in high school. I borrowed my fathers box camera, (shutter speed of 1/30 th second) which I used to capture black-and-white photos of the racing action at a North Carolina drag strip. I have owed many cameras since. Photography and images endure as important…
Duke Huan sat in his hall reading a book. The wheelwright Bian was making a wheel in the courtyard below the hall. Putting down his hammer and chisel, Bian went up the steps and said, “I venture to ask your Grace what words are you reading.” “The words of the sages,” replied the duke….
One week before Thanksgiving. The weather has been distinctly unfall-like. The days have been comfortable, nearly too warm for a jacket along the Fox River valley just west of Chicago. There has been no frost to speak of. Yesterday with almost seventy degree weather I busied myself raking and mulching leaves. The ideal is…
48 In the pursuit of knowledge,every day something is added. In the practice of the Tao,every day something is dropped.Less and less do you need to force things,until finally you arrive at non-action.When nothing is done,nothing is left undone. True mastery can be gainedby letting things go their own way.It can’t be gained by…
45 True perfection seems imperfect,yet it is perfectly itself.True fullness seems empty,yet it is fully present. True straightness seems crooked.True wisdom seems foolish.True art seems artless. The Master allows things to happen.She shapes events as they come.She steps out of the wayand lets the Tao speak for itself. Tao Te Ching by Lao Tsu,…
