crossroads district, originally uploaded by sparrowsfall. back when the crossroads was cool and unruined.)

gas up three cents nationally overnight. nothing to see, nothing to report. move along, people. move along.

xiv. mystery, originally uploaded by sparrowsfall.

Looked at but cannot be seen - it is beneath form;
Listened to but cannot be heard - it is beneath sound;
Held but cannot be touched - it is beneath feeling;
These depthless things evade definition,
And blend into a single mystery.

In its rising there is no light,
In its falling there is no darkness,
A continuous thread beyond description,
Lining what does not exist;
Its form formless,
Its image nothing,
Its name silence;
Follow it, it has no back,
Meet it, it has no face.

Attend the present to deal with the past;
Thus you grasp the continuity of the Way,
Which is its essence.

xiii. self, originally uploaded by sparrowsfall.

Both praise and blame cause concern,
For they bring people hope and fear.
The object of hope and fear is the self

For, without self, to whom may fortune and disaster occur?

Therefore,
Who distinguishes himself from the world may be given the world,
But who regards himself as the world may accept the world.

xii. substance, originally uploaded by sparrowsfall. (nathan’s hot dogs on coney island.)

Too much color blinds the eye,
Too much music deafens the ear,
Too much taste dulls the palate,
Too much play maddens the mind,
Too much desire tears the heart.

In this manner the sage cares for people:
He provides for the belly, not for the senses;
He ignores abstraction and holds fast to substance.

xi. tools, originally uploaded by sparrowsfall.

Thirty spokes meet at a nave;
Because of the hole we may use the wheel.
Clay is moulded into a vessel;
Because of the hollow we may use the cup.
Walls are built around a hearth;
Because of the doors we may use the house.
Thus tools come from what exists,
But use from what does not.

On the bus, originally uploaded by sparrowsfall.

i took this photo of myself a little after 9-11, riding north one weekend on the old (defunct) 56 to YJ’s.*

did i complain about the downtownization of downtown? yes, the hell i did. bitterly. just yesterday. i’m not a fan. i’ve spent a great deal of time at yj’s, and at the crossroads generally, and the creeping hipsterization of the area distresses me. i didn’t believe in gentrification when someone mentioned it to me in the summer of 2000, but lo, they were right and i was wrong.

but on the bright side, gas is up to $3.37 a gallon nationally, 3.22 here in missouri (record highs both, but kansas city lingers a full thirteen cents below its may ‘07 high.) so to arrive, at least the hipsters will have to take the bus. or walk. except for the ones stuck there in their upside-down condos.

is it ironic i live in brookside now? yes, it is. but at least there’s a grocery store to walk to, which can’t (yet) be said for electric avenue.

_______________
* i hate internet video, but this one is worth it.

ix. retire, originally uploaded by sparrowsfall.

Fill a cup to its brim and it is easily spilled;
Temper a sword to its hardest and it is easily broken;
Amass the greatest treasure and it is easily stolen;
Claim credit and honour and you easily fall;
Retire once your purpose is achieved - this is natural.

leedy voulkos lights, originally uploaded by sparrowsfall.

seriously, does anyone cool go to first fridays anymore? or is it just johnson county refugees and 20-something nouveau riche? because it used to be cool, and i was kind of hoping that the recession would collapse all this downtownery and allow the cool to come back so my daughter could see it someday.

but i guess not.

viii. water, originally uploaded by sparrowsfall.

The best of man is like water,
Which benefits all things, and does not contend with them,
Which flows in places that others disdain,
Where it is in harmony with the Way.

So the sage:
Lives within nature,
Thinks within the deep,
Gives within impartiality,
Speaks within trust,
Governs within order,
Crafts within ability,
Acts within opportunity.

He does not contend, and none contend against him.

vii. complete, originally uploaded by sparrowsfall.

Nature is complete because it does not serve itself.

The sage places himself after and finds himself before,
Ignores his desire and finds himself content.

He is complete because he does not serve himself.