"Teamwork Lessons from the Geese" by Robert McNeish
This fall, when you see Geese heading south for the winter, flying along in ‘V’ formation, you might consider what science has discovered as to why they fly that way. As each bird flaps its wings, it creates uplift for the bird immediately following. By flying in ‘V’ formation the whole flock adds at least 71 percent greater flying range than if each bird flew on its own. When a goose falls out of formation, it suddenly feels the drag and resistance of trying to go it alone and quickly gets back into formation to take advantage of the lifting power of the bird in front.
“Clouds In Each Paper” by Thich Nhat Hanh
If you are a poet, you will see clearly that there is a cloud floating in this sheet of paper. Without a cloud, there will be no rain; without rain, the trees cannot grow: and without trees, we cannot make paper. The cloud is essential for the paper to exist. If the cloud is not here, the sheet of paper cannot be here either. So we can say that the cloud and the paper inter-are.
“Life is here to break your heart” by Jeff Foster
Life is here to break your heart
over and over again -
until you realize
that heartbreak is life too.
Then your heart can no longer be broken,
or fixed, for that matter.
“Ten Ox-Herding Pictures”
The ten oxherding pictures describe the Zen training path to enlightenment, Folk images are accompanied by poems and commentaries. They depict a young oxherder whose quest leads him to tame, train, and transform his heart and mind, a process that is represented by subduing the ox.
SOURCE: https://tricycle.org/magazine/ten-oxherding-pictures/
“Greatest Gifts” by Dianne Bautch
Would I know such joy
if I had never gotten lost in melancholy?
Would I know such peace
if I’d no need to overcome chaos?
"No-Mind" by Sokei-an Sasaki
One day I wiped out all the notions from my mind. I gave up all desire. I discarded all the words with which I thought and stayed in quietude. I felt a little queer—as if I were being carried into something, or as if I were touching some power unknown to me . . . and Ztt! I entered. I lost the boundary of my physical body…
“Little Me”by Keith Basar
Hey, I recognize these people — I think...
(I cling a little closer till the coast is clear)
My mom says everything’s just fine.
These people are family and friends.
"Holy Man" — Alok Jagawat
Word spread across the countryside about the wise Holy Man who lived in a small house atop the mountain. A man from the village decided to make the long and difficult journey to visit him. When he arrived at the house, he saw an old servant inside.
"Putting It All Together" from The Sage's Tao Te Ching by William Martin
Many in our culture
regard youth as good
and old age as bad.
But is this true?
In the sage, youth and age are married.
Wisdom and folly have each been lived fully.
Innocence and experience now support one another.
Action and rest follow each other easily.
Life and death have become inseparable.
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“Authentic Awakening” by Amoda Maa
“Authentic awakening has nothing to do with the accumulation of good feelings or with identification with a role, albeit a spiritual one. It’s not about being happy when things are going your way; it’s about being anchored in the light of awareness, come what may.