Rilke – The Book of Hours

God speaks to each of us as he makes us,
Then walks with us silently out of the night.

These are the words we dimly hear:

You, sent out beyond your recall,
Go to the limits of your longing.
Embody me.

Flare up like a flame
And make big shadows I can move in.

Let everything happen to you: beauty and terror.
Just keep going. No feeling is final.
Don’t let yourself lose me.

Nearby is the country they call life.
You will know it by its seriousness.

Give me your hand.

Here is one of my favorite from the 14th Dalai Lama.


-THE PARADOX OF OUR AGE-


WE HAVE BIGGER HOUSES BUT SMALLER FAMILIES; MORE CONVENIENCES,

BUT LESS TIME. WE HAVE MORE DEGREES BUT LESS SENSE; MORE KNOWLEDGE BUT

LESS JUDGEMENT; MORE EXPERTS, BUT MORE PROBLEMS; MORE MEDICINES BUT

LESS HEALTHINESS. WE'VE BEEN ALL THE WAY TO THE MOON AND BACK, BUT

HAVE TROUBLE IN CROSSING THE STREET TO MEET OUR NEW NEIGHBOR. WE BUILT

MORE COMPUTERS TO HOLD MORE COPIES THAN EVER, BUT HAVE LESS REAL

COMMUNICATION; WE HAVE BECOME LONG ON QUANTITY, BUT SHORT ON


QUALITY. THESE ARE THE TIMES OF FAST FOODS BUT SLOW DIGESTION;

TALLER MEN BUT SHORTER CHARACTER; STEEP PROFITS BUT SHALLOW

RELATIONSHIPS. IT'S A TIME WHEN THERE IS MUCH IN THE WINDOW

BUT NOTHING IN THE ROOM..............................