The Quest For The Emerald Leaf

At the beginning of this wonderful fantasy novel, there is a poem. It is a poem well worth reading, and reading again.


A Point In The Dark

A point in the dark
Through the frozen air
Fixed in the mind
By the penetrating stare
Of ages of wisdom
And will to care.

Saplings to trees
And trees to dust
The cycle continues
As all cycles must

The blind that can see
And the deaf that can hear
Know the truth of the secrets
Kept hidden and near

Still afraid
When there is nothing to fear
Death does not stalk
You choose your own tears.


E.G. Oliva

Evil Landlord 2

Tonight Evil Landlord had an opportunity to show his true colors.
A poverty stricken tenant called with a sad story.
He had locked himself out of his apartment!

Evil Landlord had his own sad story to tell.
He said that the keys were at his office, a 20 minute drive. He said that helping locked out tenants after hours was not a service he provides!
What an outrage!
He mentioned that the tenant could call a locksmith. That would cost at least a hundred dollars.Probably more!

But Evil Landlord made a proposition. What a greedy bastard! He would go get the keys and let the tenant in. It would take him about an hour. But he felt he needed to be given some compensation. Say, 25 dollars?

What an outrage. What greed. What is the Evil Landlord doing at night that he can't drop it to rescue a needy tenant? He expects to be paid! 25 dollars. Moneygrubber!

But the story has a happy ending. An agreement was struck. Evil Landlord was about to leave to get the keys when the phone rang.

The tenant had managed to get in without a locksmith and without the help of Evil Landlord!

O Happy Day!

More Than Enough

So we each have more than enough
and there is a unity
we really are all one
and the infinite power is everywhere
constantly actualizing our desire,
our appetite, our preferences

Looking outward at the world we see people striving and
fighting
they choose that
that is their desire
not a problem

be at peace
don't take sides
in the dance of ocean and shore
you don't need to favor either
the dance will go on of itself
forever

we say most of the troubles are caused by
greed and envy
and the will to power

but how can that be?
why want when you have more than enough?
why envy when you and your neighbor are one?
why seek power when you already are one with
the infinite power and love
that is the source of all things?

there are no troubles
there are no problems
there are no conflicts
only love
everywhere and always
and the dance and the games and the bounty
everywhere and always

Evil Landlord

These are the tales of the evil landlord. His mission is to take away any chance of happiness from anyone so foolish as to be a tenant.

Today he noticed a cat up on the balcony of a unit. NO PETS ALLOWED!
But he decided it would be better not to mention it. Live and let live, after all.
Not to mention the unauthorized occupant.

And he called a tenant whose rent was 5 days late to ask why. Politely he asked and was satisfied with the answer and apologized for disturbing the tenant.

Finally he went upstairs with his drain opening tools and snaked the bathroom basin for a tenant. Evil landlord prefers to do this work himself because plumbers have been known to break drain lines with their rough electric snakes. Oh, and there was also an unauthorized occupant in this unit.

Meanwhile, tomorrow the floor men will come and put in new vinyl in a bathroom for another tenant.

Evil landlord never rests in his quest to make tenants miserable!

The First Punch

Who threw the first punch?

Was it your father?
Was it your mother?

Who hit that man?
Was it his neighbor?
Or a stranger?

I think it was a long time ago. I think it happened before we were even men.
But the debt must be paid!
Revenge!
JUSTICE!
punishment

the cycle of violence and hatred down the generations
but wait....
if we only knew who started it!

We could KILL THEM!

That will not help
just forgive
think of your enemy as a child
or as your mother
look at them in truth
and the truth will set you free of your need for revenge

How sweet it is to forgive
How happy we are when we forgive
When we are no longer angry
When we no longer see injustice everywhere.

As we are all one, there is an answer

Who threw the first punch?
Why.... I did!
And you did
We both did
We all did
And now
we will all forgive each other and
be happy together
and live in peace

Sacred Books

Is any book sacred?

There are no sacred objects
There are no sacred statues
There are no sacred locations
There are no sacred people
There are no sacred books
unless
they
are
ALL sacred

No book is sacred, unless all books are sacred.
When idolatry is forbidden, what does that mean?
It means we are only to worship the one god.
We are not to worship objects, or people, or places.

Only to worship the one spirit.
And if we see all as spirit
Then we may worship all.

And might not our beatitude be to stand always in worship of the spirit in all and of all?

To always be praising
to always be thanking

PRAISE!
THANKSGIVING!

forever

"Use it up. Wear it out."

"use it up
wear it out
make it do
or do without" This is an Irish saying.

total health
is
being in
accord with
the
totality

the all

the problem wasn't the tornado
it was the buildings falling
the structures built by man

I do what I do in order to live
Living is my purpose and goal
just to live
"It's just beautiful here."

The truth is
you are free

always have been free
you cannot surrender your freedom(paradox)

you are free right now

you are making your reality

you always have been and always will

easy to practice

Happy Forgetting Day!