Remember

Everything I eat, everything I wear, everything I use; everything that sustains me and makes my life easier and more comfortable; everything that educates me, everything that stimulates me intellectually and inspires me in the realm of art — these are all proof of how directly my life is related to others, and of how completely I depend on people almost all of whom I will never meet and know. How, then, could I hate someone? How could I feel superior? How could I strive for gain at the expense of those who have helped put me in a position where I might act in such a selfish manner? And this does not even take into account the intricate environmental web that supports and keeps me healthy — the glorious bacteria, the miraculous water, the air and soil teeming with life that compose and test this tough yet fragile body. In this life, there is not a single thing I can do alone. My birth, my death, and all that lies between cannot be separated from this vast energy, this gentle waking dream in which I am but one momentary traveler.

July 15, 2021

Remember

This life’s the form
your teaching is to take.

Its meaning is a spirit
singing at the gate.

Recently Banned Literature, July 24, 2013

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