October 2025 (Vol. XXXVIII, No. 9)
Dear Friends ~ Is it strange to envy a turtle? Not just turtles in general—I'm referring to the specific Terrapene carolina Carolina (box turtle) who took up residence in the tall grasses behind the woodshed this summer. She and I often crossed paths, especially in the morning hours while she bathed and sipped from the puddles in the gravel road. I liked to crouch, peer into her wary amber eyes, and make small talk about the weather. My dog proved similarly excited about the turtle, though he tended to make more noise about it, barking and prodding her shell like you or I might knock on a neighbor's front door.
The small man
Builds cages for everyone
He
Knows.
While the sage,
Who has to duck his head
When the moon is low,
Keeps dropping keys all night long
For the
Beautiful
Rowdy
Prisoners.
The sea rises, the light fails, lovers cling to each other, and children cling to us. The moment we cease to hold each other, the moment we break faith with one another, the sea engulfs us and the light goes out.
in your holy mercy,
that I might be free of fear...
With boundless confidence,
I abandon myself to You...
For You deliver me from illusion,
and through Love,
my heart opens to Wisdom.
To create the world that exemplifies our values, we need to liberate ourselves from enemy images — the thinking that says there is something wrong with the people whose actions or values we don't agree with... Now, that's not easy to do. Why? Because it's hard to believe that those who are doing things far outside of our value system are human beings like the rest of us. It's very challenging.
... we should be careful
Of each other, we should be kind
While there is still time.
You cannot buy the revolution. You cannot make the revolution. You can only be the revolution. It is in your spirit, or it is nowhere.
blows terribly here,
the moonlight also leaks
between the roof planks
of this ruined house.
Either you will
go through this door
or you will not go through.
If you go through
there is always the risk
of remembering your name.
Things look at you doubly
and you must look back
and let them happen.
If you do not go through
it is possible
to live worthily
to maintain your attitudes
to hold your position
to die bravely
but much will blind you,
much will evade you,
at what cost who knows?
The door itself makes no promises.
It is only a door.