The Old Man Looking for His Center

I've had just enough time...   to look for my center

I saw the old man walking unsteadily on edges...

The old man

Walked on edges

Struggling to maintain

A balance, not

Too much right or

Too much left

Might fall off

Into the abyss

He is trying to find his center.

I asked “Why?”

Almost causing his fall

He brushed me off

Walking unsteadily forth

Then stunned me

Left me pondering

What his voice carried

With his departure

“How can I find my center,

Walking on level ground?”

_______

What's Your Center?

A Child Becomes A Man

I've had just enough time to...   see a child becomes a man

Taken at a temple in the Durbar Square in Bhaktapur, Nepal...

Yesterday a child starts a fire

The smoke rises

An old man puts it out

The master said –

Neither be too happy nor too sad

Don’t be so attached

For change is the season

Not the reason

A child becomes a man

...where I saw an old man who was once a child

Nothing is permanent. Everything changes. Whether it starts and ends and begins again, man’s life is a straight line from birth to death, a constant change – with an end? But what makes a child a man, the wrinkles on his skin, the years of his life or the wisdom he gained? If he is wise, he is a man. If he is not, he is still a man. What then must he seek in the midst of these relentless changes? How does he find his balance? Where does he seek his centre in the turmoil of his joy and sorrow? I saw the old man who was once a child. I saw the child who will be an old man. I see myself in all of them.

Have You Ever Heard Of A Snail Having A Heart Attack?

I've had just enough time to...   have a slow conversation with a snail

Early morning shooting of a snail in action in Ampang, Malaysia

To understand a snail, go slow

Speed is not the way to do it

You may use it on the rabbit

Or the road runner

But it did the fox no good

So slow may be the answer

For speed too.

If you do not have the patience

Don’t count the stars

Just try to follow the comet

And see where that gets you

Einstein may have ridden its tail

But he did it slowly, slowing down

Time to travel the speed of light

 The virtue of a snail is its lack of speed

The only reason to do it fast

Is to get out of danger

But we have already  

Been wired for that

And the white coats tells you

Slowing down your heart

Lengthens your life

And the swami tells you

Slowing down your pace

Preserve your balance

And your mum tells you

Eating slowly

Improves your digestion

And mums are never wrong

We won’t argue with that.

And have you ever heard

Of a snail having a heart attack?

The Turtle and the Stone.

I've had just enough time to...  hear the turtle's question.

Taken in Gunung Lang, Ipoh.

I carried the heaven on my back

And the earth under my belly

And made them my home.

I lived through the ages with balance,

In passive tolerance,

And harm no living creature.

But for all my wisdom,

I’ve an unanswered question,

The turtle asked the stone –

“Why, and What are you?”.