If the world
is chaos and destruction
then why does the wild finch
sing so sweetly?
Why does the newborn babe
have eyes so pure and wide?

Sit quietly
and return to the Source
where the stream
comes from beneath the ground

There you will find
the unharvested seed
the strength to be alive
Your eyes will open
and you will sing
like a bird flying
in the sunlight

— D.R. Streeter, journal of a
Zen mountain dweller