Water is the only drink for a wise man.

"Water is the only drink for a wise man."

Henry David Thoreau

"The poet's habit of living should be set on a key so low and plain, that the common influences should delight him. His cheerfulness should be the gift of the sunlight; the air should suffice for his inspiration, and he should be tipsy with water."

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Photos: Copeland Falls, Lodgepole Pine cones, and a bright yellow streambed, Rocky Mountain National Park, CO, April 11, 2015

The highest good is like water . . .

"The highest good is like water.
Water gives life to the ten thousand things and does not strive.
It flows to places people reject and so is like the Tao . . .
The great Tao flows everywhere, both to the left and to the right.
The ten thousand things depend upon it; it holds nothing back.
It fulfills its purpose silently and makes no claim.
It nourishes the ten thousand things,
And yet it is not their lord . . .
The ten thousand things return to it,
Yet it is not their lord.
It is very great.
It does not show greatness,
And is therefore truly great."

Lao Tsu,
China, 6th century B.C.E.

Photos: Lodgepole Pine cones and Copland Falls, Rocky Mountain National Park, CO, April 12, 2015

Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.

"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication."

Leonardo da Vinci 

Photos: Cottonwoods, cliffs, and the Poudre River, near Fort Collins, CO, October 25, 2014

Our lives are an embodiment of sacred rivers!

"Out of your innermost being will flow rivers of living water."

Jesus

When we view our lives as human expressions of rivers - which is easy to do, especially when our very blood is composed of the water arising from a local water source - then we don't take too seriously any of our mental or emotional states.

Whether feeling calm or turbulent, we realize that liberation comes from identifying with the seamless flow of the river itself, which in the case of our spiritual Source, has neither beginning nor end!

Photos: Cottonwoods flame along the Cache la Poudre River, near Fort Collins, CO, October 25, 2014