Fear

It is said that before entering

the sea a river trembles with fear.

She looks back at the path

she has traveled, from the peaks

of the mountains, the long winding road
crossing forests and villages.
And in front of her, she sees
an ocean so vast, that to enter
there seems nothing more

than to disappear forever.

But there is no other way.

The river cannot go back.
Nobody can go back.
To go back is impossible in existence.
The river needs to take the risk

of entering the ocean because

only then will fear disappear,
because that's where the river

will know it's not about

disappearing in to the ocean,
but of becoming the ocean.

Kahlil Gibran

God Spoke in Flowers

God spoke today in flowers, and I,
who was waiting on words,
almost missed the conversation.

Ingrid Goff-Maidoff

Accept vs. Resist

What you resist persists.
What you accept transforms.

Carl Jung

The Greatest Miracle

To simply be is
the greatest miracle

of all.

Alan Watts

Blooming is Their Nature

Flowers do not bloom to impress the passerby.
They bloom because blooming is their nature.

Alan Watts

Free from Fixed Concepts

When you get free from certain fixed concepts
of the way the world is, you find it is far more subtle, 
and far more miraculous, than you thought is was.

Alan Watts

Myths Come from the Artists

What we are taught today mainly
has to do with economics and politics.
We are not nurturing our spiritual side.
So we are left with this void.
It's the job of the artist to 
create these new myths. 
Myths come from the artists.

Joseph Campbell

The Empty Boat

If a man is crossing a river
And an empty boat collides with his own skiff,
Even though he be a bad-tempered man
He will not become very angry.
But if he sees a man in the boat,
He will shout at him to steer clear.
If the shout is not heard, he will shout again,
And yet again, and begin cursing.
And all because there is somebody in the boat.
Yet if the boat were empty,
He would not be shouting, and not angry.
If you can empty your own boat
Crossing the river of the world,
No one will oppose you,
No one will seek to harm you.

The straight tree is the first to be cut down,

The spring of clear water is the first to be drained dry.

If you wish to improve your wisdom

And shame the ignorant,

To cultivate your character

And outshine others,

A light will shine around you

As if you swallowed the sun and the moon:

You will not avoid calamity.

A wise man has said:

"He who is content with himself

Has done a worthless work.

Achievement is the beginning of failure.

Fame is the beginning of disgrace."

Who can free himself from achievement
And from fame, descend and be lost
Amid the masses of men?
He will flow like Tao, unseen.
He will go about like Life itself
With no name and no home.
Simple is he, without distinction.
Too all appearances he is a fool.
His steps leave no trace. He has no power.
He has no reputation.
Since he judges no one
No one judges him.
Such is the perfect man:
His boat is empty.

Chuang-Tzu

One Thing to Rely On

There is one thing in life
that you can always rely on:
life being as it is.

Charlotte (Joko) Beck

Lose Yourself

Photography is not documentary,
but intuition, a poetic experience.
First you must lose yourself,
then it happens.

Henri Cartier-Bresson

Forget Yourself

I find you have to blend in like a fish in water, 
you have to forget yourself.

Henri Cartier-Bresson

Become What We Photograph

If we do our job right,
we in a sense become
what we photograph.

Henri Cartier-Bresson

Take Good Care of It

Monks did very little sitting for a while.
The whole thing they learned was to
face whatever was in front of them
and to take good care of it.

Charlotte (Joko) Beck

Learning How to Work

Traditional Zen training
is primarily learning
how to work.

Charlotte (Joko) Beck

Breaking Out

Breaking out is following your bliss pattern,
quitting the old place, starting your hero journey,
following your bliss.

Joseph Campbell

Our Calling Keeps Calling

Because what calls to us is timeless, 
the calling can come at any time.
At each turn in the road our life's work
awaits us; thus our calling keeps calling
no matter our age or position or
condition in life.

Michael Meade

The Treasure You Seek

The cave you fear to enter
holds the treasure you seek.

Joseph Campbell

A Sense of Humor Saves You

Getting a comedic view of your situation
gives you spiritual distance.
Having a sense of humor saves you.

Joseph Campbell

The Goal of the Journey

The goal of the journey is
to discover yourself as consciousness.

Joseph Campbell

Everything is of the Moment

The great thing about growing old is
that nothing is going to lead to anything.
Everything is of the moment.

Joseph Campbell

The Essence Moves On

Do not fear death.
Spill your jug into the river.
Your attributes will disappear,
but the essence moves on.

Rumi

Finding Yourself

The goal of the hero's journey
is yourself, finding yourself.

Joseph Campbell

A Message of What Life Is

Hearing the song that is beyond that
of your own individual life cycle
is the thing that opens you to wisdom.
You can hear it in your life, interpreting it,
reading it, not in terms of the calamities or
boons of your individual existence,
but as a message of what life is.

Joseph Campbell

Permanently Unimpressed

Once you hit a certain age,
you become permanently
unimpressed by a lot of shit.

Morgan Freeman

The Cleverest Trick

No better love than love with no object.
No more satisfying work
than work with no purpose.
If you could give up tricks and cleverness,
that would be the cleverest trick.

Rumi

The Power Not to Suffer

If you knew how to suffer,
you would have the power
not to suffer.

Thich Nhat Hanh

Cluttered vs. Empty

If a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind,
of what, then, is an empty desk a sign?

Albert Einstein

Sit for an Hour

You should sit in meditation
for twenty minutes a day.
Unless you're too busy.
Then you should sit
for an hour.

Zen Saying