Lao-tsu for president!

Today's wisdom from BigHappyBuddha:

• Let yourself be open and life will be easier. A spoon of salt in a glass of water makes the water undrinkable. A spoon of salt in a lake is almost unnoticed.

I meandered a bit (a bit!?) in yesterday's post, but the Buddha comes to my rescue. What are art, compassion, craft, friendship, and synchronicity but expansions of consciousness? Every purl makes the world a little larger. Every haiku. Every inky letter on every clean page. These things can change the world, and mindful attention can change ourselves.

If we feel small and vulnerable, we lose our sense of proportion and we over-react. Isn't that exactly what we have done in the Middle East? We responded to the brutality of September 11, 2001 by causing a much greater harm to a country that had nothing to do with the attack. We poured tons of salt into the wounds we ourselves inflicted.

Lao-tsu knew better. From the Tao Te Ching:

• Governing a large country is like frying a small fish. You spoil it with too much poking.

I hereby nominate Lao-tsu for president!