Hopes and Fears

[Zephonith Serpent Woman]

"Success is as dangerous as failure.

Hope is as hollow as fear.

What does it mean, that

success is as dangerous as failure?

Whether you go up the ladder

or down it, your position is shaky.

When you stand

with your two feet on the ground,

you will always keep your balance.

What does it mean, that

hope is as hollow as fear?

Hope and fear are both phantoms

that arise from thinking of the self.

When we don't see the self as self,

what do we have to fear?

See the world as yourself.

Have faith in the way things are.

Love the world as yourself;

then you can care for all things"

~ Lao Tzu

[Zephonith Serpent Woman]

"The Tao is infinite, eternal.

Why is it eternal?

It was never born,

thus it can never die.

Why is it infinite?

It has no desires for itself;

thus, it is present for all things."

~ Lao Tzu