A Quality Life

Not a famous life
Not a rich life

A giving life
An experienced life

A productive life?
What's to produce?
Life provides us everything
When we give to her

Even death.

A gentle wish--turned inward

That those who may have deprived me
Or despised me
Or ostracized me
Or said or did something I thought wasn't fair
At least might have enjoyed themselves
As they did so...

But really,
No one ever did such things.
They were always acting out of the logic of their circumstances.

Something about the logic of my circumstances
Kept me from appreciating that.

And in light of all that

I meet you
And there is a tension.
Loving kindness, loving for all
Never let anyone out of your heart
Even as they look down on you
Or flip you off
Or doubt, fundamentally, that anything could come of you.

The vast stillness

And so much to do
The vast stillness
All around
The vast stillness
And plans and making plans for planning
The vast stillness
And another book to write
The vast stillness
And those great urges
The vast stillness
And so much suffering

Sitting, Lying down, standing

Wherever you are

Enjoying it.

The endless denial of nothing

And the endless quest to fill it

Can be painful to behold.

Separation and Suffering

All separation is attachment
All attachment is separation
The release from suffering
must be somewhere between