To wonder
and ponder
To clarify
and understand
To relate
and connect
To be present
and describe
To be grounded
and certain
To let anxiety
exist and float
To be uncertain
and unclear
To share
and comfort
To accept
and join
To contemplate
the great mystery
The great mystery
is in the universe
It is all round us and
in the air we breath
The great mystery is in
the wind and the earth
We are compelled
and directed by it
We are of the great mystery
as it is our being
We are free to ponder it
or be ignorant of it
The great mystery is the
question and the answer
It has no limits and
cannot be measured
The great mystery is
the means and the end
It is unsolvable yet
it may be understood
We live the great mystery
as it is us
without self
or envy
unattached
to outcome
present
in the moment
mindful
of assumptions
at peace
with what is
grounded
and still
drifting
in bliss
god is the stillness
behind confusion
the silence
behind sound
the resolve
behind uncertainty
and the grace
behind ignorance
we choose to distance
ourselves from god
but we cannot escape
bliss is a choice
we make in each moment
god is the bliss
behind our pain
The value of nothingness is unapparent
yet the source of meaning of everything
Our capacity to understand emptiness
places our lives in perspective
Unable to touch nothing clutters our minds
and everything seems more important
It is the place where there is nothing which
makes the window and the vessel useful
Unless we touch being centered we
can only be confused by everything
Being centered on nothing grounds us in
reality and clarifies our minds muddy water
Being uncentered our passions run away
with our minds and enslaves our decisions
Tethered to nothingness we can seek balance
with our hearts our minds and our souls
Adrift in everything we bob like
corks in a vast sea of daily choices
The gift of nothingness is available being
present in the moment and following our breath
Nothingness has existed
prior to the beginning of life
And to nothingness is
where all of life returns
There are countless beings and civilizations
swallowed up by nothingness
And there is no one alive with any
direct awareness of their existence
In spite of all we deem important
all these things will fade away
Nothingness is the emptiness of our being
and can be a source of great anguish
It is however a vital source of understanding
the essence of our existence
Without this grounding we can develop an
exaggerated sense of our own importance
We can come to believe that our
experiences are most important
When in fact we too in due time
shall disappear into nothingness
Life is eternal but has no name
The uncarved block
though seemly of small account
is greater than anything under heaven
If people would possess
themselves of it
creatures would flock
to do them homage
Heaven and earth would conspire
to sent sweet dew and
without law or compulsion
people would dwell in harmony
Once the block is carved
there will be names and
soon as there are names
know that it is time to stop
Only by knowing
when it is time
to stop can
danger be avoided
To life all
under heaven will come
as steams and torrents flow
into a great river or sea
Floating in so quietly
disguised as something benign
Its pressure ever present and
growing over with ease
Bathed in the fog
all is distorted and danger lurks
Ever present it is soon all there is
nothing else permeates
Removed from the fog by a miracle
is faint joy when stepping back in the fog
I have found the source of my pain
and it is me
The fog of anxiety is my lurking about
in my self imposed dogma
I can see my way out of the fog
just as clearly as I see myself
When I see myself I see compassion,
god's love and most certain grace
God's most certain love and grace
Love and grace
Sharing without expecting
Loving without desiring
Believing without anticipating
Trusting without depending
Finding without influencing
Listening without interpreting
Accepting without construing
Looking without judging
Living without suffering
The self so is of its own accord
and whatever is is
The self so was here long before us
and will be here long after
What we say about the self so is
usually correct until we discover it's not
The self so is in all living beings and
in all existence throughout time
The self so is present in every
moment and has no lust of outcome
Our consciousness is our access to
comprehending the self so
The self so is available by being
descriptive present and discerning
The self so exists outside our being
yet it includes us as well
Our struggle with our consciousness is our
struggle in being present with the self so
The self so is available in every breath
thought and choice we make
Friends and the self so leave us as they
find us and are free from interpretation
The self so makes apparent gods love
Gods love is self so
Why do we attach meaning to things and experiences?
Why do we look for people who will "complete" us?
Jobs that will give our lives meaning and purpose?
Why do we assume this is possible at all—
that happiness or fulfillment is something that can come from outside of us?
Perhaps to avoid the much more difficult truth that these things must come from within.
Everything is exactly what it is, no more, no less.
The meaning and purpose we attach to things is an indication of what we seek inside ourselves.