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Can you coax your mind from its wandering 

and keep to the original oneness?

Can you let your body become

supple as a newborn child’s?

Can you cleanse your inner vision 

until you see nothing but the light?

Can you love people and lead them

without imposing your will?

Can you deal with the most vital matters

by letting events take their course? 

Can you step back from your own mind

and thus understand all things?

Giving birth and nourishing, 

having without possessing,

acting with no expectations,

leading and not trying to control:

this is the supreme virtue.

- Tao Te Ching (Chinese text written c.6th century BC)

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From "Summoned by Bells"
John Betjeman 1906-84

Walking from school is a consummate art:
Which route to follow to avoid the gangs,
Which paths to find that lead, circuitous,
To leafy squirrel haunts and plopping ponds,
For dreams of Archibald and Tiger Tim;
Which hiding place is safe, and when it is;
What time to leave to dodge the enemy.
I only once was trapped. I knew the trap -
I heard it in their tones: “Walk back with us.”
I knew they weren’t my friends; but that soft voice
Wheedled me from my route to cold Swain’s Lane.
There in a holly bush they threw me down,
Pulled off my shorts, and laughed and ran away;
And, as I struggled up, I saw grey brick,
The cemetery railings and the tomb.

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Going with the Flow

A Taoist story tells of an old man who accidentally fell into the river rapids leading to a high and dangerous waterfall. Onlookers feared for his life. Miraculously, he came out alive and unharmed downstream at the bottom of the falls. People asked him how he managed to survive. "I accommodated myself to the water, not the water to me. Without thinking, I allowed myself to be shaped by it. Plunging into the swirl, I came out with the swirl. This is how I survived."

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The music is "Serenata" by Enrico Toselli

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The greatest gift to others
is to freely relinquish yourself.
- Bodhidharma  5th or 6th cent AD

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TAKING THE ONE LESS TRAVELLED BY
will be updated
Every Saturday, Tuesday and Thursday

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