the cliff

the steeper
the path
the brighter
the cliff

Unmoved

Rain or snow
Heat or wind
Unmoved
A friend

Am I important?

My Lord, am I important or am I not?

My son, you are important and at the same time you are not!

How is that possible?

Just look at the tree over there. One leaf is not really important. But when combined with the other ones, they give shade, they give oxigen, and together with tree they feed families for years and years. 

I want

I want the sun to rise
by itself
I want the moon to shine in the night
by itself
I want the rain to water the lands
by itself
I want the wind to blow and cool the summer days
by itself
I want the crop to grow
by itself
And the forest to clean the air
by itself

But, I want to be in control

Unexpected poem of titles...

you cannot
little water drop
beautiful
the way
silence
who do you think you are
trying
are not
thinking
freedom
the fastest path
the sun
what you are
you get
winter
if the rain would stop
bad event
new job

You cannot

- Lord, I would like to know myself
- You cannot

- I would like to find the purpose of my life
- You cannot

- I would like to become enlightened
- You cannot

- Lord, I would like to come closer to you, be one with you
- You cannot

- But what is it that I can?
- Just knock at the door!

- But the door does not have any handle
- It does, on the inside...

Little Water Drop

Water Drop was upset
A bit of ink changed its colour
What to do, how to be clean again
As she was at the beginning of times?
The ink was the worse that could happen
Such a terrible thing was happening
To her
She asked other drops
And all had ideas and wisdom and rules and methods
And she tried them all
But then she noticed that none of them
Was cleaner than herself
If they cannot clean themselves
How can they teach me how to do it?
Tired, she just stopped trying
She let it go
Slowly she fell into a stream of water
And hoped that by this it would become clean again
But alas, the stream united with other streams
And none of them were cleaner
The speed increased
The stream became a small river, then a river
Speed increased and increased
Water Drop was just taken by the water current
No more she was in control
No more could she do anything about it
At times she was sorry for trying to get clean
Among infinite others drops
She was not herself anymore
She was not cleaner for sure
On the contrary
The speed increase and increased
Up in the air sometime, at the bottom of the river some othertime
Water Drop hoped this would finish soon
And it did
The Ocean received Water Drop
There was no speed
Just the slow movement of the waves
And Water Drop noticed that
The cursed ink disappeared into the ocean
All that was left of her was the crystal pure water
And she saw infinite other drops
That, just like her, were in pain on the trip
Now just like her, were enjoying the ocean
Those droplets were now one with the ocean
And one with her
And then her life started...

beautiful

beautiful, majestic, unclear
dancing in the water
the sun

the way

From my house to the bus,
the way is like this:
turn left
then left
then right
then left
then right
then straight for a while
then right
and right
and left ...

complicated?

not really
because every turn
was explored
at a time
and enjoyed
for a while

what if I asked my master
in the beginning
and he told me the way?
no use

silence

the tree is growing
into the silence
the sun is dawning
into the silence
the stars are dancing
into the silence
noise is outside
and so is inside
going nowhere
just moving in circles

who do you think you are

who do you think you are
you think you are very important
that the whole world was built for you
that everything through the day is there just for you
that the whole universe is moving around you
you think God is caring about you every second
and angels are there to protect you every step you take

you think nations depend on you

is that what you think?

really?!?

well you are right...

trying

trying to find me
I tried to find You
I looked in the books
and churches and dreams
outside and inside
in the past, present and future
but you were not there
then I gave up
You knocked at my door
Who's there I asked
It is you, You said
And then I found You
and I found me

are not

The eyes are not for seeing
The ears are not for hearing
The mouth is not for saying
The hand is not for touching
The brain is not for understanding
For all that
There is the heart

thinking

the way

to think straight

is to stop thinking

altogether

freedom

there is only real freedom
the freedom
to let it be

the fastest path

the fastest path
is not the straight one
but when I close my eyes
and You lead the way

The sun

Looking at the sun
My eyes were blinded
By its beauty
Now the sun is gone
But the eyes
Still remember
The sun

Feb. 23rd, 2015

what you are

what you do, what you say
cannot change
what you are

You get

You get
what you get
you don't get upset

Best life strategy, taught in my daughter's kindergarten

winter

frozen light
flying with the wind
a snowflake

If the rain would stop

If the rain would stop
Who would raise the plants?
If the wind would quiet
Who would clean the leaves?
If the lightening would disappear
Who would guide us in the dark?
If the clouds would vanish
Where would be the beauty if the sun?
Who could even see it?

bad event

A bad event is something that is bad at one time and that becomes a good thing with the time passing. It eventually becomes the best thing that ever happened to someone.

new job

My master called and said:
I have a new job for you:
You have to go on this trip.
I will be around you, providing all you need in your life.
I will provide food and a house.
I will create nature around you and will keep you from harm.
I will give you clothes to keep you warm and the breeze to cool you down.
I will arrange for parents to teach you what you need to know and also for a wife and kids.
I will provide you with a job to keep you active.
If you have any wish and it is good for you, I will fulfill it.
The only think you will have to do is to enjoy.

And I was born here on earth...

Second proof our mind is strange

We are sure somebody created this:

but we are sure this came randomly:

Proof that our brain is strange

I think I am right about a topic

Whoever thinks different is wrong

There is a topic about which I think today different than yesterday

As I am one, I am right and wrong at the same time

I wanted to know

I wanted to know if there was life before life and after
I wanted to know what I was doing here and why
I wanted to know how the heart worked and how the brain thought
I wanted to know about others
I wanted to know what philosophers said and to get wiser reading their books
I went to all the churches and temples and mosques and listened to the teachers
I looked inside and outside and I tried to make sense of all
I tried to love and be loved, to make myself clean and worthy
I helped my brother and tried to be there when one needed me

And yet I looked ahead and I was still at the bottom of the mountain
Not even a step higher, not even a bit wiser.

You then came and held my hand
And my journey started...

a hard life

He did a good job previous life, so he could choose what kind of life the next one would be.

"I want a very difficult life, next one.

One where I would be very confused about who I am, what is my purpose and what should I do.

I want to have people around me posing as friends but be otherwise.

I want to have my life organized about the others so it is difficult to find my own path.

In this way, I am sure I will learn a lot and I will come stronger."

His journey started. He was born as the son of one of the richest people on earth.

the prayer

I used to pray day and night.

Every little second I was thinking of you and I was longing for you and praying.

My prayers were pure prayers: I wanted to know you, I wanted to have you in my life, to have you close.

Day after day, I prayed.

In the morning, at noon and before going to sleep, I prayed.

My life eventually passed and I got to meet you after all.

"What did I do wrong, that you never answered my prayers?" I asked.

"I tried", you said, "but your mind was always working, I could not find a moment of silence to come near you, to talk to you, to give you what you were asking for..."

photo credits

two horses...

... were pulling a heavy wagon full of grains.

One was happy, one was very unhappy.

"What's the matter", the first asked.

"What do you mean?!? We are both pulling this heavy wagons every day. Day after day, sweating for these human beings. The sun is burning our skin and the flies are biting us day and night.

And if now is bad, wait until we get into the autumn and the path will become muddy and the rain will become a daily event.

This life is a miserable one and I wish I died tomorrow... I have no idea how you keep smiling all day long. You have probably lost if from this hard work."

"Well, you might be right. I kind of lost it as I don't know what you are talking about.

It is true we are pulling this heavy wagon, but it is full of grains and part of them will be our daily food now and all through the winter when we'll spend long days without any work.

Also these grains are providing food for the family of our master and for many more. Because of us, lots if people will have what to eat and they will work hard on the fields so we have what to eat and drink as well.

When we get home, our master is calling his children to clean us and play with us. They sometime ride us and their laughs is music in my ears.

Also before going to sleep, our master always come over and checks on us: if we had enough food, water. He is even cleaning after us.

He speaks nice words to us, plays on his flute sometime.

His love for us is so precious that the least I can do is to help him feed his kids and see them grow happy and healthy..."

When I created you...

... I put inside your heart a piece of me. It is an ocean of love in the tiny space of your heart so you have enough to distribute it to the world.

When you come back to me, that is how I am going to see if you did a good job or not, depending on how much of that love you distributed around.

Spread it around and your life will be a beautiful and joyous one.

Keep it to yourself and your life will be miserable and you would have lived in vain...

photo by Romel

The leaf

A leaf was born and for a while all was perfect. Sun rays were falling all day long, the tree was feeding her whenever she needed.

But soon many leaves were born of the tree and our leaf was not that happy anymore. The sun light needed to be shared now and also the food was distributed among maybe others so, while enough, was not plenty like before.

So the leaf started complying:

"Why I am not on the top of the tree? Why do I have to share the light with others? I am a special leaf, I was here first and I should be offered special attention.

Also why do I need the tree? There is nothing special about it. I am the one that nicely moves in the wind and gives the tree its beauty.

I wish I could detach myself from the tree and from all the other useless leaves. Then everybody will see how special I am."

She asked a bird that had the nest in a tree: "I beg of you, please pull me out of the tree and give me the freedom!"

The bird listed to the request and pulled the little leaf and let it be. She travelled for few minutes on the wind but quickly fell on the ground. A rain started and the ground was full of mud. Also lots of people and animals travelled through the area and stepped on it.

The leaf was now even more unhappy: "Only if the people would pay more attention, they will notice what a special leaf I am..."

photo by Anne Davis

he is, she is

He is not smart
She is talking too much
He is too short
She is too tall
He is too thin
She is too fat
He is showing off
She is too quiet

So how was your today? my lord asks me.

Not good, said I.

I wasted yet another day.

Image by Kristina Alexanderson

The cages

Like a mad man, I tried to break the cages around me. Thick, metallic bars are all over.

I push them, I hit them, I throw my body against them.

But in vain. I am hurt, my hands are scratched with blood dripping from my fingers.

Now I am tired. I try no more.

But I realize. As you created me, you created the cages as well. I don't understand why, but I am sure you had a reason.

I abandon my cages, I abandon my life, my thoughts, myself. I give it all to you...

Like magic, the cages disappear, one after another, they dissolve into thin air. So does the pain.

So do I. I am back into the ocean where I started from. I am back to you.

Being back feels so good... and that is only because of the cages.

Photo by John Dalkin

Mount Kailash

Day after day, week after week, the life is passing in total confusion.

Why this, why that? - I ask at every turn. There is no logic whatsoever, no meaning in all this.

Beauty and ugliness, happiness and sorrow, gain and loss, where is this taking me? - I wonder.

So the years pass and so the life does.

Now I am sitting here tired, almost exhausted and I look ahead and I see, not far away, the peak of the mountain Kailash.

I wanted it and longed for it but in my confusion I did not know where it was nor how I could reach it.

And then I look back and I see my life’s long passed events and the zigzagged trail I followed in my confusion and I notice that at each turn I was unknowingly closer to the peak.

And then I see You in front of me showing me the way, pulling my hand without my knowing. In the time of despair I see you behind me helping and pushing me. In the time when I was down I see you carrying me in your arms.

I fold my palms thanking you…

my heart

My lord, how is it that, even if I have everything, I am not happy?

The answer is simple: you are not using the gifts I have bestowed upon you.

What is the gift are you talking about, my lord?

I have gifted you the heart and you are not using it as it should used.

But I did used it to love my parents, my brothers and sisters.

That is true, but not enough.

I love my wife and my children.

A bit better, but still the heart is mostly unused.

My country I love and I try to help the people here.

Yes, that is good. But you know the country is only what people created. God never created countries.

Then teach me how I can use my heart, I beg of you!

I cannot teach you, nor anybody can as it is nothing to be taught.

The heart and the love that flows from is nothing of your doing. I have gifted it to you but it does not belong to you. It is just a fountain through which I can be known in the world. Through your heart and through all the hearts of all the people in the world, I am sending My love.

Lord, then I am offering you my heart. I am offering you my being, I am offering you myself.

Silence came then and my heart became a fountain of divine love, flowing, spreading, reaching everybody. People drenched in it became messengers of the same love.

And then there was nothing left of me that belonged to me.

And then I was happy...



Art by Julie Jensen

beauty is really inside?

Beauty is to be found inside, they say.

Is it?

I looked outside and I saw:

A leaf, a flower, a tree
A field, a hill and a mountain
The wind, the rain and the snow
A cat, a tiger and a lion
A butterfly, a dragonfly, an eagle
Heard the sound of a drum, the music of a piano
The laughter of a child
The smile of his mother looking at him

I looked inside and I saw a river of thoughts
Envy and jealousy and wish for riches
Longing to be appreciated and to be praised
Desire to gossip and many the same

So, I am sticking with the outside for now.

The Voice

I was never good at singing, so I never sang when others could listen.

I loved music though and I envied the singers.

When I met you and you asked me to sing, I was so ashamed, as my voice was not fit for a regular human being, let alone for a king.

You insisted and I sang and true enough I did not sing well.

But you called my brother and asked him to sing.

And he did but his voice, even if way better than mine was not good enough either.

Then you called a sister and another brother and many others and you ask each of them to sing.

Some better, some worse, their voices were not as you would deserve.

Then you did something unexpected: you asked us to sing together.

And we did.

And the result was divine.

And I was not ashamed anymore as I understood.

While we are singing out of tune when alone, we are great together.

And maybe we are not really singing.

Maybe you are?!?

life

Birth
Education
Disintegration
Confusion
Pain

Seeking
Trying
Struggling
Pain

Stretching
Fasting
Pain

Not finding
Not believing
Pain

Not seeking
Renouncing
Praying
Grace
Awakening

Understanding
Accepting
Cleaning
Joy
Loving
More joy
More love
Only joy
Only love

I am what I am

Some say I am not good, regular and maybe not even
But I don't feel bad, nor good, nor proud
I am what I am
A traveller to the peak of the mountain

Some say I am special and look up to me
But I don't feel bad, nor good, nor proud
I am what I am
A traveller to the peak of the mountain

Some ignore me and turn around when I come
But I don't feel bad, nor good, nor proud
I am what I am
A traveller to the peak of the mountain

Some help me and love me and push me ahead
I thank them
But I don't feel bad, nor good, nor proud
I am what I am
A traveller to the peak of the mountain

Some rely on me and their life depends on me
And their trip depends on me
But I don't feel bad, nor good, nor proud
I am what I am
A traveller to the peak of the mountain

Manning Park, BC, 2014

No way

no way
it's gonna be today
if it was
what else?

it's all right

it's all right
if all looks lost
the sparkle inside is not
and it is showing you the way

it's all right
if all looks dark
it's just before dawn

it's all right
if you feel alone
look around
at the trees and flowers and bees
at the wind and rivers and rain
and Mother Earth
they all work for you
and are with you
and love you

it's all right
you are just a piece of light
through the night

Aim of my life

Today I am in good mood
so I am going to look for the purpose of my life

Partying is fun, let's do just that
It works for a while but then the fun is gone

Knowledge is fun
So book after book after book
I read and study and remember
But I realize:
This people did not find the meaning of their life
They are still confused more or less, just like I am.
How can they help me?

Spirituality is the way to go
So I visit churches and temples and saints and teachers
They all know the way, but they are not walking it
But they agree the way is towards You
So I start

Then I ask: "When I am going to find and know You?"
And I hear a laughter
"You can never do that. Your aim in life is not to know Me
but to know you."
"How can I do that?"
"Just walk towards me. The closer you get,
the better you'll know you."

Shri Kalki

At the beginning of the times, God created people as mirrors by which to see Himself.

As a lovely father, He gave them a spark of Himself and put it in their hearts. He called it Spirit.

He created joy, love, friendship, care and many other good feelings and He started teaching them to people.

For that, He sent his messengers, one by one, hundreds of them, as teachers on this earth.

Calling them prophets, incarnations, saints, people got their message, organized it and lost it after a while.

But it was not for nothing, as each time people got a bit closer of knowing themselves.

"This time I will do it differently," God thought. "Instead of sending a teacher, I will make them teachers."

So He came among the people and showed them the spark in their hearts.

He taught them that the spark, this Spirit is who they really are.

Some of them connected with each other in a way they never had before.

They realized they were not that different from each other and that they were all a part of God.

They became one body.

And God called this Kalki.

I don’t get it

I went to school
and I did not get it
I met people and
I still did not get it
Married, had kids and grand kids
I partially got it, but still...
I then met You
And I understood
that understanding
was not the aim
Knowing you
was.
And then
I got it!

after life

"What's gonna be after?" I asked him.

"Close your eyes", said he. And I did.

"Think of the best moments of your life."

I thought of my daughters, how cute they were, how much love they brought and how much better life was with them.

"Now stop thinking", he said.

And I did. All that was left was that feeling, the full of joy heart, the peace, the realization that somehow without understanding anything, it really made sense.

"There..." he said, "that is the heaven we'll go to, if we are good guys..."

birds

photo credit

the oak

painting on the sky

Photo by Saad Faruque

offshore

the shore: waves are furious

offshore: the lake

is peaceful

Happiness is not something you find, it is something you build

Agile programming for families