The Intervals In-between

Bird chirp, vanguard for coming rain,

Dog skitters through twilight village.

Smoke raises a column through the pines,

Contented families dine in golden windows.

Life’s pulse is gauged in the hollows, the intervals between events. If you want to see Tao, you must discern these spaces. This requires leisure, the chance to sit and contemplate, and the opportunity to respond to inner urgings.

If you can find a place to retreat, you can make a life where Tao will flood into you. Out in the woods, or in the mountains, or even in small villages where the times are slow paced and the people sensitive to nature, there is the possibility of knowing the deep and the profound. Only when you have the time to accumulate an unshakable belief and faith can you glimpse the Tao in which there is restfulness and a natural sense of what is right.

-Deng Ming-Dao

*1st photo by John MacTavish on Flickr

*2nd photo found on http://natalienet.tumblr.com/post/13156864629

**This post is dedicate to two very special people in the twitter community:

@SusieAreYouOk and @lintychim