life

Competition

The finest athlete seeks a worthy test,
A general knows his foe the best.
Businessmen serve the common good,
Leaders follow where the people stood.

They compete with a playful heart,
Like children, they embrace their part.
In harmony with her natural way,
They shine in every game they play.
1

Content

In knowing all, they falter and stray,
In knowing none, they find their way.
To lead, seek neither wealth nor fame,
The simplest path will show the same.

Content in life’s most humble art,
You guide them to their truest heart.
In ordinary ways, we see,
The nature of our being, free.
2

Master

Rooted, easy to nourish,
Recent, simple to correct.
Brittle breaks at slightest touch,
Small things scatter, unchecked.

Preventing trouble before it starts,
Ordering chaos before it appears.
A giant pine from a sprout does grow,
A thousand miles begin right here.

Rushing, you falter,
Grasping, you lose.
Force spoils the near-complete,
Letting be is the wiser muse.

The Master acts by not acting,
Calm in beginning and end.
Owning nothing, nothing to lose,
Desireless, his wishes transcend.

He learns by unlearning,
Reminds of true being within.
Caring not for the world,
Thus, for everything, his care extends.
2