An ancient gnarled tree: Too fibrous for a logger's saw, Too twisted to fit a carpenter's square, Outlasts the whole forest.

A funeral is for those left behind. Sometimes, one wonders if the weeping is more out of fear for ourselves than it is sympathy for the deceased.

Once we make our decision, all things will come to us. Auspicious signs are not a superstition, but a confirmation. They are a response.

When it is time to part, then it is time to part. There should be no regrets. The beauty of marriage is like the fleeting perfection of a snowflake.

Those who don't know how to suffer are the worst off. There are times when the only correct thing we can do is to bear out troubles until a better day.

Even on the road to hell, flowers can make you smile.

It is too facile to say that the way to follow Tao is to simply go along with the flow of life. Sometimes, like the carp, we must know when to go it alone.