Sometimes I wonder...

...if I've said anything worthwhile –– not just here, but anywhere in my whole life.

I've only recently been an adherent to the maxim, 'Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt.' Unfortunately for me, I have forgotten that adage in recent times when it was crucial for me to remember it.

I can look back now on a whole lifetime of imparted 'wisdom' and realize that often, people, though saying nothing, were marvelling at what a fool I was.

Again I think of Han-Shan, alone in the hills, keeping his own counsel.

What can I say that is of any value? What can I say that is of any use to anyone?

If the old Zen master can tell his hopeful student, "I know nothing. I have nothing to tell you," how much easier should it be for me, who knows far less than the Zen master, to stay quiet and keep my supposed 'wisdom' to myself?

iTunes: Morning Moon, Kitu Mitsumishi & Toshiko Yonekawa