Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes.
Don’t resist them; that only creates sorrow.
Let reality be reality.
Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like.
~ Lao Tzu
“In the pursuit of knowledge, Everyday something is added.
In the practice of the Way, Everyday 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.
Go up when the water goes up
and down when the water goes down.
There is a benevolent force flowing through all reality.
When you are aligned with that force, you move forward with tremendous power.” — Lao Tsu
Forget about enlightenment.
Sit down and listen
to the wind singing in your veins.
Feel the love, the longing,
and the fear in your bones.
Open your heart to who you are,
right now.
Not who you’d like to be,
but the being right here
before you, inside you, around you.
All of you is holy.
You’re already more
than whatever you can know.
Breathe out, look in, let go.
― John Welwood art © Kazuko Shiihashi
Hafiz the true lover of God
I sometimes forget that I was created for joy.
My mind is too busy, my heart is too heavy,
Heavy for me to remember that I have been called to dance,
the sacred dance for life
I was created to smile, to love, to be lifted up, and lift others up.
O sacred one!
Untangle my feet from all that ensnares.
Free my soul that we might dance,
and that our dancing might be contagious.
~ Hafiz
We are the inventors of our lives, and it’s our creative acts that radiate light, peace and compassion in the world. — Jan Phillips
Easy is right. Begin right
And you are easy.
Continue easy and you are right.
The right way to go easy
Is to forget the right way
And forget that the going is easy.
~ Chuang Tzu ~
We all wake up to an empty canvas of 24 hours every day, and we get to create what those days look like and feel like.
In dwelling, live close to the ground.
In thinking, keep to the simple.
In conflict, be fair and generous.
In governing, don’t try to control.
In work, do what you enjoy.
In family life, be completely present.
— Lao Tzu