Thousands of candles can be lit from a single candle, and the light of the 

candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.

- Buddha

-o0o-

Out back, behind the yard

in the brush and scrub at the edge

a world unfolds for those willing

to stop and look, crunch and tread

where squirrel and ant, snake and fox

hunt and work, amongst the deadfall

Wonder of nature in the back, beyond

the cut lawn and past the leaf litter

a bend of a branch held by ivy

a curl of birch bark

a spider’s leg showing below the

lip of a fungus on an old trunk

patterns in the ground, beneath the

newness of spring in the woods

before the full greening of the

new shoots and leaves

in between time in early April

in New Hampshire

- Raymond A. Foss b.1960

-o0o-

The lotus is the most beautiful flower, whose petals open one by one. But it will only grow in the mud. In order to grow and gain wisdom, first you must have the mud, the obstacles of life and its suffering. . . . The mud speaks of the common ground that humans share, no matter what our stations in life. . . . Whether we have it all or we have nothing, we are all faced with the same obstacles - sadness, loss, illness, dying and death. If we are to strive as human beings to gain more wisdom, more kindness and more compassion, we must have the intention to grow as a lotus and open each petal one by one. 

- Goldie Hawn

-o0o-

-o0o-

This blog is now being updated on Tuesdays and Thursdays

NEW - starting on Saturday 9th May - NEW
JOHN'S POETRY PAGE
http://johnspoetrypage.blogspot.com

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-