January, 2023

We live our life 
in and through and with
things that make no sense.

It is an utterly senseless world
as far as I can see.

And we make it work.
We bring balance and harmony
to bear on the absurdity of existence.
We make loose ends meet.
We square circles of confusion
time after time.
We take it in stride.
We keep going as though
everything is perfectly sensible
just as it is--
when nothing is sensible at all.

We take the appalling contradictions
of religion (and everything else)
and build our life around them

(For instance: "God loves us unconditionally
and will send us to hell
if we don't believe it
and come back next week"
to hear the preacher tell us
that "God loves us unconditionally,
and will send us to hell 
if we don't believe it
and come back next week"...).

This trick we do with managing 
mutually exclusive contradictions
is done unconsciously,
instinctively,
in an "Oh, I see," kind of way,
and we have been doing it all our life.

This is the life-art that is at the heart
of Taoism and Zen.

We cannot explain it.
We cannot make sense of it.
But.
We can live with it in ways 
that honor the opposites
and blend them into balance and harmony,
doing what needs to be done,
anyway/nevertheless/even-so,
and it works!

We don't have to make sense of it.
We are doing just fine as we are
in a "Life must go on,
I forget just why," kind of way.

I love that about us.
No one teaches us to do this,
we just do it,
naturally, spontaneously, intuitively.

We are beautiful, wonderful people.
I love us all.

Happy New Year!

–0–