“Does the road wind uphill all the way?”
You’ll never reach the top,
The peaks are endless.
Going upstream, against the grain,
Uptight and restless, upstaging Sisyphus
(He’d be lost without rolling his boulder),
Keeping up with all the latest –
Upgrading, updating, up to the minute,
Uppity upstarts on the up-and-up
After one-upmanship.
Why all this upheaval, this uprooting?
Come down to the valley, where life is fertile;
Centre down; be still.
Be gentle and yielding!
Dare not to be ahead of others;
Be the valley of the universe!
The valley is whole and full.
The valley spirit never dies.
J.S., April 2012.
Lines in italics are from the Tao te Ching
