Wise Effort

Eyes veiled by a past

Skewed by hopes and fears

Bodies cloaked in mortality

Minds amazed by birth

Terrified by death.

Feverishly we cling to life’s treasures

Satisfying fleeting desires

Imperceptibly departing from

A radiant awareness

Always abiding.

Apply effort

Settle in an awareness

Luminous and knowing

Melt away icebergs of

Delusion and ignorance

Keenly navigate life’s imminent perils

Abandon naivety.

Continuously cultivate an intention

Eyes guided by wisdom

Gaze upon faint glimmers of truth

A world reflects

Our state of mind

Obstacles arise from within.

Grasp the view

Unwholesome actions

Bring torment

Swiftly blaming circumstances

Wholesome actions

Seasoned with ethics

Drenched with discipline

Foster peace.

Renounce a fleeting peace

Breed a fierce concentration

Steadied by effort

Serving to awaken

Liberate our minds

Seeing the world

As we are.

Unwavering effort

Unites a view with intention

To glimpse reality as it is

Flavored by faith to

Awaken in this moment.

A path of eudemonia

Renunciation reveals understanding

Nurture mindfulness

Hone concentration.

Forge a path

Too few travel

Grappling with actions and their effects

Embedded in the crucible of living.

All rights reserved. John Fulan.

A Path of Work

A carpenter's steady grip
A sugeon's delicate fingers
A plumber’s agile knees

A dancer’s nimble feet.

Human beings

Equal and unique

Following our own calling

Being of service

Moving along the path of work

Encouraging our world

Be a saner place.

Let work’s daily routines

Transform us all

Give of ourselves

Shape a kinder world.

Different skills we offer

Reducing us to equals

We all desire the same--

Happiness and wanting to reduce discomfort

Let us serve a greater good

Our common welfare can come first.

Our paths of work

Fill the sky with a vast rainbow

Each color shows a range of pay

Reflecting a beauty of talents

No one more gifted than another

We support each other

Along the way.

Let  work

Humble us

No matter poor or rich

We depend on each other

It’s possible to help our world thrive.

Work mirrors life

Such little control over who and what we encounter

A constant emerges—our state of mind

It shapes the choices we make

Minute by minute our life unfolds.

Dive deep into an inner path of work

We shape our work

As our work shapes us.

Let’s become more caring and unselfish.

Greed divides us all.

Stop drawing divisions between

Work and life

We are the crafters of both

Freedom shines

Right where we work and live. 

All rights reserved. John Fulan.