November 18, 2024

I refuse to be a part of conversations
that have nothing to say about them.

If you sit next to me at the lunch counter,
I'm going to ask you how your balance and harmony
(One thing, not two)is going these days.

Depending on how you respond,
I'm going to ask you what the most meaningful
things you do in a day are.

That could lead us into
what is the last meaningful thing
you remember doing.

And that could take us into how many
meaningful things you recall
about your life up to now.

And that could lead us into
how you pass the time,
and what keeps you going,
and what your relationship is
with emptiness, stillness and silence.

And what leads you to think about things
the way you do,
and where you get your information,
and what guides your boat on its path
through the sea,
and what centers and grounds you
day by day...

All of which is contingent on
the degree of energy with which 
you carry on your end of the conversation
and on what kinds of things you ask me.

And at some point,
I could ask you where you go 
to explore these questions
and others like them 
in your life...

And on, like that...