Changed But Not Reduced

I can be changed by
what happens to me,
but I refuse to be
reduced by it.

Maya Angelou

[maybe god]

maybe god

is a child
's hand)very carefully
bring
-ing
to you and to
me(and quite with
out crushing) the

papery weightless diminutive

world
with a hole in
it out
of which demons with wings would be streaming if
something had(maybe they couldn't
agree) not happened(and floating-
ly int

o

e.e. cummings

Moved by Everything

And when you think about it,
poets always want us to be moved
by something, until in the end,
you begin to suspect a poet is
someone who is moved by everything,
who just stands in front of the world
and weeps and laughs and weeps.

Mary Ruefle

No Place for Using Effort

There's no place in Buddhism for using effort.
Just be ordinary and nothing special.
Relieve your bowels, pass water,
put on your clothes, and eat your food.
When you're tired, go and lie down.
Ignorant people may laugh at me,
but the wise will understand.
As you go from place to place,
if you regard each one as your home,
they will all be genuine, for when
circumstances come you must not
try to change them.

Alan Watts

Your Path Will Appear

When life is spinning you around
and everything is in flux, knowing
the pattern of the hero's adventure
places you in the calm eye of the storm.
You know you must walk into the storm wall;
you must cross that threshold, but
you also know the path forward -
your path forward - will appear.

There is great comfort in this.

You are not alone. And while there is

never a guarantee of a desired outcome,

whatever the outcome is, if you walk

the path with integrity and courage,

you can embrace it as someone

who is now more than you were

before the journey began.

Michael Lambert

The Call Awakens the Hero

The call often comes at an important moment.
Old life values have often been outgrown
and a certain sterility has set in.
Parsifal's quest for the Holy Grail
was set in motion by the Fisher King's realm
having become a wasteland.
Whatever its form, the call awakens
the hero to his or her special destiny.

Joseph Campbell

Together We Can

Alone we can do so little;
together we can do so much.

Helen Keller