For one human being
to love another; that is perhaps
the most difficult of all our tasks, the ultimate,
the last test and proof, the work for which all other work
is but preparation. I hold this to be the highest task for a bond
between two people: that each protects the solitude of the
other. This is the miracle that happens every time
to those who really love: the more
they give, the more they
possess.
A moment of kindness
can produce a mood of harmony
between heaven and earth. Purity of
heart can leave a fine example for
a hundred generations.
Because
she is one with the mother,
her roots go deep, her foundation
stands firm, her life lasts
long, her vision
endures.
from The Tao te Ching of Lao Tzu,
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Yongjia said,
“Without leaving where you are,
there is constant clarity.” No words come closer
to the truth than these. If you start seeking, then we
know that you are unable to see. Just cut off any duality
between “wherever you are” and “constant clarity”,
and make yourself peaceful and serene. Avoid
concocting intellectual understanding
and seeking. As soon as you seek,
it is like grasping at
shadows.
We
drove her aqua
Ford convertible into the country
with a sack of red apples. It was a perfect day
with her sun-brown legs and we threw ourselves into
the future together seizing the day. Fifty years later we hold each
other looking out the windows at birds, making dinner, a life
to live day after day, a life of dogs and children and the
far wide country out by rivers, rumpled by
mountains. So far the days keep
coming. Seize the day gently
as if you loved
her.