07年重点--细节、习惯的力量

我的客户生病住院了，原本以为很多事要等到他好了，上班才能解决，可能项目要耽误一阵……
         我觉得自己已经很幸运了，第一个客户是华人，交流比较容易，给钱也比较爽快。我从8月22号开始我的外贸人生，在10月18号开始跟我的客户联系，11月初他就下单了，真的是很顺利，现在他把他的项目全给我做了，我一直觉得自己很幸运，我问他，你为什么这么相信我？
          他住院，不但没有中断与我的联系，反而，我们联系的更多了，反正不上班，所以他天天上网，我们天南地北，什么都说，大家是朋友之后，他告诉了我了很多关于他们采购的事。也让我明白了，怎样才能做一个更好的供应商……
         1。讨厌供应商说一切正常，有问题不及时解决。其实他们更希望听到我们说，可能有些小问题，但能解决。不要隐瞒事实，这样他们不好安排，出现问题也不能及时解决。他说“我很喜欢跟你做生意，虽然你是新手（我很坦白地告诉过他，我是刚毕业的，没有经验，刚开始他还是不太放心我的，时间长了就好了），也经常出错，但你很坦白，有什么事，会及时告诉我，让我有时间准备，也可以和你商量尽量解决问题”。就这么简单，他相信我，不是因为我什么都知道，而是我很多都不知道，但我没有隐瞒他，我的坦诚，他说是最吸引他的地方。“这个项目只是开始，我们还有很多产品要完成……我已经在为你准备下一个项目……” 我知道自己成功了，虽然四个月了，我只有他这一个客户，但他带给我的不仅仅是业务，还有工作的乐趣。

说起来，我并不算一个成功的外贸人，但我自信自己处在成功的起跑线上，这一点我从未怀疑过。

2001年，我求职进入了一家特大型的民营企业的总裁办公室，做个了名小秘书，那是家乡的一个经济发达的小镇。刚开始的工资是700元，我学的是中文秘书，专业还算对口，刚开始的时候，工作非常辛苦，除了写些豆腐干的文章投稿外，我还负责了企业的内部通讯组搞及编辑工作，企业的日常接待及摄影工作，领导对我的工作也总还算满意，不出半年，我已经在这个企业站住了脚，由于跟主要领导的关系好，一般的同事也对我还算客气，包括下属工厂的一些中层干部，也处处对我说好话，因为有许多事情需要我帮忙，毕竟我在老板的身边，这大半年，我学到了很多，包括如何与领导搞好关系（不包括女领导，我最讨厌的是女人对我指手划脚）。

到了10个月时，我接待了一位应聘者，就是他改变了以后的职业生涯。他50几岁的年纪，从西安外贸总公司辞职来到我们公司，在跟他后来的接触中，我发觉我应该改变自己的工作，我向他表达了自己想做外贸的想法，他只说了一句话－－做外贸，说难不难，说容易不容易。这句话，符合了我的一个人生观－－人家能做的，我也能做。

于是，我向老总提出自己想去做外贸的想法，当时，我们公司的外贸只是起步阶段，所以两个月后我进入了外贸部，正式开始了我的外贸生涯。

由于从未接触过外贸，而且自己的英语也一般，所以我非常用心，我的领导，就是那位副总裁也对我厚爱有加，这使得我更加充满信心，但当时的一位女同事，给我留下了非常差的印象，这也为我以后的离职打下了伏笔。一开始进入外贸部时，我问她FOB是什么意思，她冷笑着说，连这都不懂，还做外贸，当时我发誓自己一定要做出成绩来给她看，一个月后，我居然从网上找到一个PAKISTAN客户，并且下了4吨的小样，这在我们的外贸部是史无前例的，我们领导好好的夸奖了我，在接下去的日子里，我的单子也多了起来，也凭着自己的努力找到了许多客户。第二年，我的出口额就达到了100多万美金，那在当时应该是一个不错的业绩，当然，业务费也拿了将近10万块，成功的喜悦天天弥漫着我的内心。

后来，由于公司的外贸部关系越来越复杂，而且，那位女同事凭借自己的一些手腕挤走了那位副总裁，担任了我们外贸部的部长，而且她的老公也到了我们部门，一个小小的部门有多对夫妻一起共事，我忍受不了这样的环境，就提出了辞职，当时我们老总自己找我谈了，表示希望我留下来，并且他还委托招我进公司的另一位副总裁挽留我，我最终还是辞职了。

后来，我去了一家小企业，做得挺不错，一个月后我就为这家公司找了一个新西兰的客户，出了一整个集装箱，那是小产品，利润可以达到30－40%，老板也非常高兴，但由于真正当家的是老板娘，她心里认为花10万薪请我这样一个年轻人太高了，总是有意无意透露着这个意思，同时，她又不敢说话太过份，怕我离职，因为自从我进入公司，公司的生意是明显的好起来了，我并不是很在意她的想法，让我最不能忍受的是，她经常去讲我手下的几个业务员，说他们拿着公司的工资却做不出业务，这些业务员都是我刚招进的大学毕业生，我想谁都不可能一开始就能接到业务，尤其是他们没有经验，但老板娘不断地说他们，导致他们更加紧张，更加没有业务，后来走了两个，我想这样的环境不适合我，半年后，我干脆提出了辞职跟一个朋友办起了外贸公司。

由于当时我刚买了车，而且花钱大手大脚的，根本没有什么积蓄，所以，开公司的钱基本上由我的朋友出，但业务都由我负责，说好了55分成，当三个月后，我们接到了第一笔业务，利润大约有80000万，我朋友跟我说，他觉得55分成不公平，他觉得他出了所有的钱，所以，应该重新谈这个分成，我答应了，但这个8万块必须平分，拿到钱后，我走人了，我觉得跟这样的人在一起，绝对不可能做出什么大事来，我走后，由于没人，他的外贸公司就关门了。

一个月后，我应聘到一家韩国的大型贸易公司的上海代表处，在世界上有几十个办事处，我负责从事进口销售工作，向中国客户销售金属原材料，一年后，我的业绩排在了公司的第一名，当然，工资也是整个公司最高（中国员工中），但我很快发现，在这里学不到很多的东西，大公司的分工很细，绝对不可客户与供应商由你一个人掌握，很多名牌大学毕业生，一开始就进入到了这家公司，几年下年，竟然连单证和出口流程都不懂，因为单证和报关都是由韩国总部去负责的，他们根本接触不到，我感觉他们就是在做一个MESSAGE　BOY的角色，我真的感觉到了这些所谓的白领的可悲，一年辛苦赚不到几万块钱，并且永远学不到好的东西，想想浙江的一些小老板，一年赚上几十万的人多如牛毛，我心里暗暗下决心，一定要自己干。

于是我在自己不辞职的情况下，自己开发了一种家用产品，兼职帮我一个朋友的工厂找出口生意，又一年过去了，我积累了12个客户，做成了两个，光我拿的利润有25万左右，我朋友邀我去全力开发世界市场，经过前思后想，我决定在明年合同期满时自己开公司，自己当老板，那样我就成了那个工厂的客户，不需要看工厂的眼色，我现在就处于这样一个时候，等站好在这家韩国公司的最后一班岗，就回浙江自己干。

我每天都在思考，人如何才能成功？　不断地寻找成功人的秘密，也看了世界一些有名的成功人物的传记，我发现他们都有一个共同点－－都是偏执狂，只要是自己认定的，就会坚持走下去，而且有过这样的经历，即使是失败了，第二次创业也会容易的多。

写到这里再回头看看，自己的文笔是真的是退步了，写出来的东西根本不像中文系毕业的，就像是一篇流水账，不过，我想在这里写日志，最重要的是详细的记录自己的经历，以供朋友们参考，至于文笔，也管不了那么多了，几年不写东西，写成这样也没办法了，希望大家谅解！

我既做客户也是供应商，老实说，做客户的感觉很好。我把我做客户的经验拿出来和各位分享，如何接到理想生意，不足之处不要见笑。

 

客户要的：合理的价格(注意：不是最低价)，专业的供应商(不是转手、中间人)、供应商的生产规模与能力、质量管理体系、配合(态度)度。客户会在一个比较短的时间内形成对你的看法，下面的就请注意了：

 

有的人，要不没有自信，要不盲目自信，在这里，我需要做个提醒：不是你规模大、价格低，你就一定会接到单。大小各优势，关键是你是否意识到自己拥有的优势，你怎么展现你的优势？

 

作为采购一方，通常相对强势。但事实上，很多时候，采购商需要得到供应商的支持。这也就是为什么不少人搞掂一个客户就能长时间做下去，并发财的原因——一个好的供应商，可不是随便替换得了的。

 

怎么算是一个好的供应商？为什么你就接不到单？千万不要骂客户，客户不是笨蛋，通常也不会比你蠢。如果你把失败归为客户的话，那你就不是一个合适的供方，反过来也证明客户正确——把单给你，他才是傻子。

 

通常一个没有经验的供方，遇到一个单时，尤其是有吸引力的单时，会显得兴奋。马上全情投入，聊、吹、谈、报价，不亦乐乎，你要是老手，你就不会这样做。

 

你需要先看自己有没有这个能力并全盘审视自己，至少在心中形成一个整体思路与计划，你要从多方面分析自已，你还需要集体的支持。没有这个能力，就别浪费时间了，客户是要从多方面了解你的。你首先要说的是：请给我XX天时间分析。

 

你需要与潜在客户确定时间并守约，一定要在保证的时间内答复。切不可说：我们还在分析、还在讨论、我厂工程部还在核算。面对大堆的供方，客户不会有太好的耐心。期间工作进展，你应当适时知会客户，让他知道你在有计划的进行工作。

 

你需要在恰当的时间，用适当客气的语言，愉快地和客户交谈。你不要占用他太多的时间，每次几分钟的沟通就够了。你不要牛、也不要嗲，你要真诚!至少你要让客户觉得真诚。俗话说，买的没有卖的精，客户最怕就是被骗。

 

你需要及时与客户约好面谈的机会。不要逼客户见你，客户不会与每个潜在供方见面，他只会挑他感兴趣的。他不愿见你，你去了也没有效果。一旦客户欢迎你去坐坐时，请你做好准备工作!你不懂技术的话，你要代上一个内行的人，请你作好聆听的准备，请不要急不可待、长篇大论，请细言慢语，有礼貌地提出自已专业见解。

 

你应该尽早有诚意邀请客户访问你，展示你的实力(如果你有这个实力)，客户可不会自己坐公共汽车去，你应该客气的问他的交通方式，他不方便的话你应该亲自去接他，还要送他回来。你要提前做好迎接的准备，如何接待？路线？最忌到时告诉客户，我老板很忙，所以不在。如果你老板在一个客户的打工仔前摆谱，损失的可不是别人。此外，环境，你的厕所，你的办公室，员工和着装等等。你在这时，要展现你对客户高度的配合度，让他体会你一个负责任的供应商。

 

切勿怠慢你潜在的客户，当你花了大量的精力报入没有回报的，一个好的客户通常会记得你，下次有机会的时候，他会想起你。

 

提回扣的时候，你要特别小心。不是人人都要回扣的，小心就因为这个你被客户否了!

 

总有人说不知道怎么报价，这里就有一个心理期望值的问题。你想多赚钱，可你忘了现实。报价就大大方方报，你想赚多少你就怎么报，你想报高也不现实，毕竟不是只有你一家做。通常是：行业内正常价。客户肯定不要最高报价，但不意味最低价就会被选中。

 

业务人员很困惑：那就是为什么别人的报价永远比我低？为什么客户老是说我的报价太高？老实不客气的说，那就是你还没有入门啊！在我的供应商系列中，同一类产品报价可以差到5倍，那价高的岂不是没饭吃了？非也。你的锅子有多大，你就做多少的菜；你的锅子是金子的，也有人要吃金锅炒的菜。没听说过微软会找一个不足100人的小厂做加工，也不会有做大路货的去找富士康代工。

 

通常所见的是，业务人员容易把失败归咎于报价失败。这是很正常的，但不完全是。你的报价是以你公司能力决定的--即你公司整体营运成本、你公司期望利润。越是大厂、正规公司运作成本越高，报价也高一些，但也越有机会接到合适的单。当你与和你不是一个档次的同类型工厂、公司竞争时，你不觉得你本身就犯了目标不清、方向错误吗？正确的方法是：接适合你做的订单。

 

现在的市场，成本还有什么保密的？切忌故做神密，把价格明细摊给客户，客户还不会相信你？

 

与你条件相差不多的同行竞争时，你要做大量细致的技术工作、还有大量人的工作，你不会，那说明你太嫰，你不用足你的大脑，你没有敏税的反应，你没有多次失败积累的经验，你就不具备在这个行当中争胜的资格。这个是最没有办法教的，你能找到一本真正在这方面教你的书吗？

 

谨慎地展示你个人魂力(当然如果你有的话)，尤其你自认是帅哥美女。真诚永远是你最大优势。不要沉迷于所谓谈判技巧，只要会正常的说人话就行了。

 香港展会是和老总一起去的，晚上住在同一个房间。

他说他会给我机会，不会给我现成的业务，一切让我自己去闯。谢谢

我想从他那里学习做问自己工作的人的行为方式，思考问题的方式。学到了，我就走人。他是我的老师！

Think Creatively——and then leverage that creativity

    Are you comfortable in the world you live in?

    Try imagining expanding your world to include new adventures, new friends and new places.

    As you expose yourself to new experiences, you will generate new ideas. You will see new problems that you can find solutions to.

    And you will see how to use those solutions in many ways to serve many other people. 

 

Reading this book is really a great help to me. This book was brought to me directly from western civilization to me by a man who thought this is a not-bad book. My point is, Mark's buying this book certainly approved this book is popular nowadays in western world, or simply USA.

And reading this book really shocked me greatly. My 16-year education spent in traditional Chinese schools doesn't do me any good. We are far less competitive than the western youngsters. Thinking this, I was a little annoyed. After that, I thought of changing.

From this Cone of Learning. We can learn much.

I want to introduce this Cone of Learning to my readers. 

The Cone is very very simple.  The more your involvement, the more you learn from the activity. 

What can you indicate from this Cone.

1, Action speak loud than words. In the future, do as much as you can on the activities which you think is crucial to the thing you want to exceed.

2, The power of simulation. Simulation is very near Doing the thing itself. We can simulate before and after our action.

3, Passive reading is less important than the other forms of participation.

4, Active attitude helps we learn more quickly.

5, Make slides when you read. This will help a lot.

6, Read import information slowly. Scan through information age.

If something is going to affect your life,

it's best to know as much as you can about it.

要把挣钱看成是一场游戏。但是对待游戏的心态一定要积极、要抱着精益求精的心态去玩这场游戏。游戏有输赢，游戏有很多场，输了的可以卷土重来，赢的人也有很多会不再游戏，去享受赢得的一切。

还是看看Robert教给我们些什么吧。 I study and practice because I love the game and because I want to win. I have read and studied the history of the game, knowing I will never know as much as I need to know. I study the rules, and I study the players. I know my competition, and I study them because I respect them. Long before I met Donald Trump, I read his books and followed his successes as well as his failures. I also studied Steve Jobs, founder of Apple, and Richard Branson, founder of Virgin. As you can tell, I studied the rebel leaders of business, not the conformists. To me, conformists are boring.

作者就是抱着一种玩的心态去生活，挣钱。但是他的态度，是真诚，认真，契尔不舍。我也能玩好这个游戏！

引用一段

I also believe that simple is better. Not that simple is so easy. Distilling something down to its essence can take time and a great deal of thought. That's a  good reason to read great thinkers and writers----in many cases they've already done the distilling process for us.

我现在都不敢再做什么翻译了。很多词都不可以立即想到，很多已经离我远去了可能。还是尝试一下。

我同样相信简单最好。但要做到简单真是不易。提炼浓缩一些事情需要很多时间和苦苦思索。鉴于此，我们不妨去读一些伟大思想家还有作家他们的作品——很多情况下，他们已经为我们做了思索和提炼的过程。

学校教育应该教会我们怎么思索，而不是单纯的教育知识。这个是我离开学校的一个原因。我想教会他们如何去思考东西。而不是教一种技能，知识。而我自身就不擅长思考问题。原因是我接受的教育和他们现在接受的一样。我并没有能力对这个实际作出改变。所以我选择改变自己。自己先改变了，然后去影响别人。说不定以后自己会擅长思考，在这个世界游刃有余，我就会去一些讲座，可以影响到一些人。不过那都是后话。

我现在在做的是，以最短的时间弥补学校教育给我带来的现实世界优秀思维方式的真空。继续努力！

吴总不喜欢员工为错误寻找理由。 错了，首先把追查责任放在一边，解决错误造成的后果。问题解决好了之后，再去追查责任。 这个是我在香港展会第一天学到的。 那时候，他狠狠地批评我， 我感到面子上过不去，就想找个理由推卸自己的责任。结果引来的是更多的责备。以后我会一直守住这个原则！它非常有用！这是重视结果的人，有事业心的人因该培养并遵循的一个原则。

07年1月16日，Mark来我们公司。 主动上去打招呼，有力的握手。有力的握手在西方文化中表示对对方的重视，表明你的热情。接下来就是四天的谈判。 第三天早上是我和同事一起去酒店接Mark过来。 途中聊了些我们这边的经济，和他家的情况。主要谈的是富人的生活。 他本人原先是开工厂，很了解我们公司的运作。后来谈到成功讲座。他给我一本书，是robert Kiyosaki(穷爸爸，富爸爸系列的作者)， 还有美国著名地产商Donald Trump合著的一本书， Why we want you to be rich. 拿到书之后有时间就开始阅读。 结合自己这几天和老板一起在谈判桌上学习到的一些思维方式。老板的思维方式。 我想，富人的思维方式可能没有国界限制。 我的英语能帮助我学习到英语国家的一些好的思维方式。 这样说来，我应该比只能用一种语言感知学习的人要强一些。 我喜欢比较不同的东西，特别是来自不同文化的不同的事物。

书本的宗旨：为什么要成功。

作者认为我们知道了为什么要成功，我们就会去寻找成功的途径，我们就会成功。

投资使你成功！

2003年3月是我读大二的时候在黄石的一家小旧书店买的. 不是什么好版本,  很便宜就买到了.  书在买的时候看上去很新, 看上去就廉价的那种新. 现在已经过了三年了. 书看上去才有点古书的味道了. 读古书有个好处就是让你知道, 古人虽然没有能够接触到今天我们享受的文明, 他们同样有着自己时代的喜怒哀乐. 我们的生活中虽然多了很多古人没有见过的事物, 逃不出的仍旧是名利需求. 只是我们现在把名利更加细化分析, 并冠以很多琐细的名称. 读<菜根谭>我们还是可以从中获得很多启发.  这本书读的如果晚上读, 就会有读曾国藩那段关于人生宇宙看法一样的感受.  我把<菜根谭>里对我有启发的话句写上一遍, 加深自己的感受, 也希望读的人能有启发.

  一, 观物外物, 思身后身

      栖守道德者, 寂寞一时; 依阿权势者, 凄凉万古. 达人观物外之物, 思身后之身. 宁受一时之寂寞, 勿取万古之凄凉.

      ***这个世界上衡量人的东西很多, 我们真正坚持的是什么? 简单的信念(道德观), 可以支撑人走一辈子. 很多成功的人都感谢自己的母亲, 父亲. 他们在孩提时代给他们灌输了很强的, 但是形势简单的信念. 比如不能撒谎, 不能做对不起人的事情. 这些简单的信念随着时间的流失并没有改变太多. 他们因为他们的坚定而成功.   相反, 太过复杂的形式, 会扰乱行动的方向. 

人与人的相遇是浩瀚宇宙中的奇迹，

     我在学校里边的时候是疯狂地看书，觉得看书能够增强分析能力；提高感知这个世界的能力。这一点到现在我依然是相信的。所以现在我依然经常地光顾书店，几天不读书真是觉得自己面目可憎（几天未洗脸可能还不会产生这种对自己厌恶的感觉）。 但是现在有了对书本的另外的看法。

    书本往往描述的是世界的一个方面。因为作者描述的世界是他通过自己的视角所感知的世界，总结的世界。作为读者的我们最初的时候却会迷信地把书本当作宝典，来指导自己的人生。我现在总是喜欢记录自己的言行，因为我想在走过一段路之后能够更好地反思。当然里边也有虚荣心在作怪。现在我对经济分析这样的文章比较感兴趣。因为这是关于世界的学问。关于我们正生活在其中的圈子的学问。

    不管怎样，书还是要就读下去，书还是得努力把它用出来。

我的新年愿望很简单，就是愿我能保持现在这颗上进的心，一直到我老去，回去的那一刻。希望我的后辈在我的墓碑上刻上简单的几个字：他曾经奋斗过。

静中，细思古今亿万年无有穷期，人生其间，数十寒暑仅须臾耳。大地数万里不可纪极，人于其中寝处游息，昼仅一室耳，夜仅一榻耳。古人书籍，近人著述，浩如烟海，人生目光之所能及者不过九牛之一毛耳。事变万端，美名百途，人生才力之所能办者，不过太仓之一粒耳。知天之长而吾所历者短，则遇忧患横逆之来，当小忍以待其定；知地之大而吾所居者小，则通荣利争夺之境，当退让以守其雌；知书籍之多而吾所见者寡，则不敢以一得自喜，而当思择善而约守之；知事变之多而吾所办者少，则不敢以功名自矜，而当思举贤而共图之。夫如是，则自私自满之见可渐渐蠲除矣。

201
THE wasp thinks that the honey-hive of the neighbouring bees is too small.
His neighbours ask him to build one still smaller.
202
"I CANNOT keep your waves," says the bank to the river.
"Let me keep your footprints in my heart."
203
THE day, with the noise of this little earth, drowns the silence of all worlds.
204
THE song feels the infinite in the air, the picture in the earth, the poem in the air and the earth;
For its words have meaning that walks and music that soars.
205
WHEN the sun goes down to the West, the East of his morning stands before him in silence.
206
LET me not put myself wrongly to my world and set it against me.
207
PRAISE shames me, for I secretly beg for it.
208
LET my doing nothing when I have nothing to do become untroubled in its depth of peace like the evening in the seashore when the water is silent.
209
MAIDEN, your simplicity, like the blueness of the lake, reveals your depth of truth.
210
THE best does not come alone. It comes with the company of the all.
211
GOD's right hand is gentle, but terrible is his left hand.
212
MY evening came among the alien trees and spoke in a language which my morning stars did not know.
213
NIGHT'S darkness is a bag that bursts with the gold of the dawn.
214
OUR desire lends the colours of the rainbow to the mere mists and vapours of life.
215
GOD waits to win back his own flowers as gifts from man's hands.
216
MY sad thoughts tease me asking me their own names.
217
THE service of the fruit is precious, the service of the flower is sweet, but let my service be the service of the leaves in its shade of humble devotion.
218
MY heart has spread its sails to the idle winds for the shadowy island of Anywhere.
219
MEN are cruel, but Man is kind.
220
MAKE me thy cup and let my fulness be for thee and for thine.
221
THE storm is like the cry of some god in pain whose love the earth refuses.
222
THE world does not leak because death is not a crack.
223
LIFE has become richer by the love that has been lost.
224
MY friend, your great heart shone with the sunrise of the East like the snowy summit of a lonely hill in the dawn.
225
THE fountain of death makes the still water of life play.
226
THOSE who have everything but thee, my God, laugh at those who have nothing but thyself.
227
THE movement of life has its rest in its own music.
228
KICKS only raise dust and not crops from the earth.
229
OUR names are the light that glows on the sea waves at night and then dies without leaving its signature.
230
LET him only see the thorns who has eyes to see the rose.
231
SET bird's wings with gold and it will never again soar in the sky.
232
THE same lotus of our clime blooms here in the alien water with the same sweetness, under another name.
233
IN heart's perspective the distance looms large.
234
THE moon has her light all over the sky, her dark spots to herself.
235
DO not say, "It is morning," and dismiss it with a name of yesterday. See it for the first time as a new-born child that has no name.
236
SMOKE boasts to the sky, and Ashes to the earth, that they are brothers to the fire.
237
THE raindrop whispered to the jasmine, "Keep me in your heart for ever."
The jasmine sighed, "Alas," and dropped to the ground.
238
TIMID thoughts, do not be afraid of me.
I am a poet.
239
THE dim silence of my mind seems filled with crickets' chirp--the grey twilight of sound.
240
ROCKETS, your insult to the stars follows yourself back to the earth.
241
THOU hast led me through my crowded travels of the day to my evening's loneliness.
I wait for its meaning through the stillness of the night.
242
THIS life is the crossing of a sea, where we meet in the same narrow ship.
In death we reach the shore and go to our different worlds.
243
THE stream of truth flows through its channels of mistakes.
244
MY heart is homesick to-day for the one sweet hour across the sea of time.
245
THE bird-song is the echo of the morning light back from the earth.
246
"ARE you too proud to kiss me?" the morning light asks the buttercup.
247
"HOW may I sing to thee and worship, O Sun?" asked the little flower.
"By the simple silence of thy purity," answered the sun.
248
MAN is worse than an animal when he is an animal.
249
DARK clouds become heaven's flowers when kissed by light.
250
LET not the sword-blade mock its handle for being blunt.
251
THE night's silence, like a deep lamp, is burning with the light of its milky way.
252
AROUND the sunny island of Life swells day and night death's limitless song of the sea.
253
IS not this mountain like a flower, with its petals of hills, drinking the sunlight?
254
THE real with its meaning read wrong and emphasis misplaced is the unreal.
255
FIND your beauty, my heart, from the world's movement, like the boat that has the grace of the wind and the water.
256
THE eyes are not proud of their sight but of their eyeglasses.
257
I LIVE in this little world of mine and am afraid to make it the least less. Lift me into thy world and let me have the freedom gladly to lose my all.
258
THE false can never grow into truth by growing in power.
259
MY heart, with its lapping waves of song, longs to caress this green world of the sunny day.
260
WAYSIDE grass, love the star, then your dreams will come out in flowers.
261
LET your music, like a sword, pierce the noise of the market to its heart.
262
THE trembling leaves of this tree touch my heart like the fingers of an infant child.
263
THIS sadness of my soul is her bride's veil.
It waits to be lifted in the night.
264
THE little flower lies in the dust.
It sought the path of the butterfly.
265
I AM in the world of the roads. The night comes. Open thy gate, thou world of the home.
266
I HAVE sung the songs of thy day. In the evening let me carry thy lamp through the stormy path.
267
I DO not ask thee into the house.
Come into my infinite loneliness, my Lover.
268
DEATH belongs to life as birth does. The walk is in the raising of the foot as in the laying of it down.
269
I HAVE learnt the simple meaning of thy whispers in flowers and sunshine--teach me to know thy words in pain and death.
270
THE night's flower was late when the morning kissed her, she shivered and sighed and dropped to the ground.
271
THROUGH the sadness of all things I hear the crooning of the Eternal Mother.
272
I CAME to your shore as a stranger, I lived in your house as a guest, I leave your door as a friend, my earth.
273
LET my thoughts come to you, when I am gone, like the afterglow of sunset at the margin of starry silence.
274
LIGHT in my heart the evening star of rest and then let the night whisper to me of love.
275
I AM a child in the dark.
I stretch my hands through the coverlet of night for thee, Mother.
276
THE day of work is done. Hide my face in your arms, Mother.
Let me dream.
277
THE lamp of meeting burns long; it goes out in a moment at the parting.
278
ONE word keep for me in thy silence, O World, when I am dead, "I have loved."
279
WE live in this world when we love it.
280
LET the dead have the immortality of fame, but the living the immortality of love.
281
I HAVE seen thee as the half-awakened child sees his mother in the dusk of the dawn and then smiles and sleeps again.
282
I SHALL die again and again to know that life is inexhaustible.
283
WHILE I was passing with the crowd in the road I saw thy smile from the balcony and I sang and forgot all noise.
284
LOVE is life in its fulness like the cup with its wine.
285
THEY light their own lamps and sing their own words in their temples.
But the birds sing thy name in thine own morning light,--for thy name is joy.
286
LEAD me in the centre of thy silence to fill my heart with songs.
287
LET them live who choose in their own hissing world of fireworks.
My heart longs for thy stars, my God.
288
LOVE'S pain sang round my life like the unplumbed sea, and love's joy sang like birds in its flowering groves.
289
PUT out the lamp when thou wishest.
I shall know thy darkness and shall love it.
290
WHEN I stand before thee at the day's end thou shalt see my scars and know that I had my wounds and also my healing.
291
SOME day I shall sing to thee in the sunrise of some other world, "I have seen thee before in the light of the earth, in the love of man."
292
CLOUDS come floating into my life from other days no longer to shed rain or usher storm but to give colour to my sunset sky.
293
TRUTH raises against itself the storm that scatters its seeds broadcast.
294
THE storm of the last night has crowned this morning with golden peace.
295
TRUTH seems to come with its final word; and the final word gives birth to its next.
296
BLESSED is he whose fame does not outshine his truth.
297
SWEETNESS of thy name fills my heart when I forget mine--like thy morning sun when the mist is melted.
298
THE silent night has the beauty of the mother and the clamorous day of the child.
299
THE world loved man when he smiled. The world became afraid of him when he laughed.
300
GOD waits for man to regain his childhood in wisdom.
301
LET me feel this world as thy love taking form, then my love will help it.
302
THY sunshine smiles upon the winter days of my heart, never doubting of its spring flowers.
303
GOD kisses the finite in his love and man the infinite.
304
THOU crossest desert lands of barren years to reach the moment of fulfilment.
305
GOD's silence ripens man's thoughts into speech.
306
THOU wilt find, Eternal Traveller, marks of thy footsteps across my songs.
307
LET me not shame thee, Father, who displayest thy glory in thy children.
308
CHEERLESS is the day, the light under frowning clouds is like a punished child with traces of tears on its pale cheeks, and the cry of the wind is like the cry of a wounded world. But I know I am travelling to meet my Friend.
309
TO-NIGHT there is a stir among the palm leaves, a swell in the sea, Full Moon, like the heart throb of the world. From what unknown sky hast thou carried in thy silence the aching secret of love?
310
I DREAM of a star, an island of light, where I shall be born and in the depth of its quickening leisure my life will ripen its works like the ricefield in the autumn sun.
311
THE smell of the wet earth in the rain rises like a great chant of praise from the voiceless multitude of the insignificant.
312
THAT love can ever lose is a fact that we cannot accept as truth.
313
WE shall know some day that death can never rob us of that which our soul has gained, for her gains are one with herself.
314
GOD comes to me in the dusk of my evening with the flowers from my past kept fresh in his basket.
315
WHEN all the strings of my life will be tuned, my Master, then at every touch of thine will come out the music of love.
316
LET me live truly, my Lord, so that death to me become true.
317
MAN'S history is waiting in patience for the triumph of the insulted man.
318
I FEEL thy gaze upon my heart this moment like the sunny silence of the morning upon the lonely field whose harvest is over.
319
I LONG for the Island of Songs across this heaving Sea of Shouts.
320
THE prelude of the night is commenced in the music of the sunset, in its solemn hymn to the ineffable dark.
321
I HAVE scaled the peak and found no shelter in fame's bleak and barren height. Lead me, my Guide, before the light fades, into the valley of quiet where life's harvest mellows into golden wisdom.
322
THINGS look phantastic in this dimness of the dusk--the spires whose bases are lost in the dark and tree tops like blots of ink. I shall wait for the morning and wake up to see thy city in the light.
323
I HAVE suffered and despaired and known death and I am glad that I am in this great world.
324
THERE are tracts in my life that are bare and silent. They are the open spaces where my busy days had their light and air.
325
RELEASE me from my unfulfilled past clinging to me from behind making death difficult.
326
LET this be my last word, that I trust in thy love.

101
THE dust receives insult and in return offers her flowers.
102
DO not linger to gather flowers to keep them, but walk on, for flowers will keep themselves blooming all your way.
103
ROOTS are the branches down in the earth.
Branches are roots in the air.
104
THE music of the far-away summer flutters around the Autumn seeking its former nest.
105
DO not insult your friend by lending him merits from your own pocket.
106
THE touch of the nameless days clings to my heart like mosses round the old tree.
107
THE echo mocks her origin to prove she is the original.
108
GOD is ashamed when the prosperous boasts of His special favour.
109
I CAST my own shadow upon my path, because I have a lamp that has not been lighted.
110
MAN goes into the noisy crowd to drown his own clamour of silence.
111
THAT which ends in exhaustion is death, but the perfect ending is in the endless.
112
THE sun has his simple robe of light. The clouds are decked with gorgeousness.
113
THE hills are like shouts of children who raise their arms, trying to catch stars.
114
THE road is lonely in its crowd for it is not loved.
115
THE power that boasts of its mischiefs is laughed at by the yellow leaves that fall, and clouds that pass by.
116
THE earth hums to me to-day in the sun, like a woman at her spinng, some ballad of the ancient time in a forgotten tongue.
117
THE grass-blade is worth of the great world where it grows.
118
DREAM is a wife who must talk.
Sleep is a husband who silently suffers.
119
THE night kisses the fading day whispering to his ear, "I am death, your mother. I am to give you fresh birth."
120
I FEEL, thy beauty, dark night, like that of the loved woman when she has put out the lamp.
121
I CARRY in my world that flourishes the worlds that have failed.
122
DEAR friend, I feel the silence of your great thoughts of may a deepening eventide on this beach when I listen to these waves.
123
THE bird thinks it is an act of kindness to give the fish a lift in the air.
124
"IN the moon thou sendest thy love letters to me," said the night to the sun.
"I leave my answers in tears upon the grass."
125
THE Great is a born child; when he dies he gives his great childhood to the world.
126
NOT hammerstrokes, but dance of the water sings the pebbles into perfection.
127
BEES sip honey from flowers and hum their thanks when they leave.
The gaudy butterfly is sure that the flowers owe thanks to him.
128
TO be outspoken is easy when you do not wait to speak the complete truth.
129
ASKS the Possible to the Impossible, "Where is your dwelling place?"
"In the dreams of the impotent," comes the answer.
130
IF you shut your door to all errors truth will be shut out.
131
I HEAR some rustle of things behind my sadness of heart,--I cannot see them.
132
LEISURE in its activity is work.
The stillness of the sea stirs in waves.
133
THE leaf becomes flower when it loves.
The flower becomes fruit when it worships.
134
THE roots below the earth claim no rewards for making the branches fruitful.
135
THIS rainy evening the wind is restless.
I look at the swaying branches and ponder over the greatness of all things.
136
STORM of midnight, like a giant child awakened in the untimely dark, has begun to play and shout.
137
THOU raisest thy waves vainly to follow thy lover. O sea, thou lonely bride of the storm.
138
"I AM ashamed of my emptiness," said the Word to the Work.
"I know how poor I am when I see you," said the Work to the Word.
139
TIME is the wealth of change, but the clock in its parody makes it mere change and no wealth.
140
TRUTH in her dress finds facts too tight.
In fiction she moves with ease.
141
WHEN I travelled to here and to there, I was tired of thee, O Road, but now when thou leadest me to everywhere I am wedded to thee in love.
142
LET me think that there is one among those stars that guides my life through the dark unknown.
143
WOMAN, with the grace of your fingers you touched my things and order came out like music.
144
ONE sad voice has its nest among the ruins of the years.
It sings to me in the night,--"I loved you."
145
THE flaming fire warns me off by its own glow.
Save me from the dying embers hidden under ashes.
146
I HAVE my stars in the sky,
But oh for my little lamp unlit in my house.
147
THE dust of the dead words clings to thee.
Wash thy soul with silence.
148
GAPS are left in life through which comes the sad music of death.
149
THE world has opened its heart of light in the morning.
Come out, my heart, with thy love to meet it.
150
MY thoughts shimmer with these shimmering leaves and my heart sings with the touch of this sunlight; my life is glad to be floating with all things into the blue of space, into the dark of time.
151
GOD'S great power is in the gentle breeze, not in the storm.
152
THIS is a dream in which things are all loose and they oppress. I shall find them gathered in thee when I awake and shall be free.
153
"WHO is there to take up my duties?" asked the setting sun.
"I shall do what I can, my Master," said the earthen lamp.
154
BY plucking her petals you do not gather the beauty of the flower.
155
SILENCE will carry your voice like the nest that holds the sleeping birds.
156
THE Great walks with the Small without fear.
The Middling keeps aloof.
157
THE night opens the flowers in secret and allows the day to get thanks.
158
POWER takes as ingratitude the writhings of its victims.
159
WHEN we rejoice in our fulness, then we can part with our fruits with joy.
160
THE raindrops kissed the earth and whispered,--"We are thy homesick children, mother, come back to thee from the heaven."
161
THE cobweb pretends to catch dew-drops and catches flies.
162
LOVE! when you come with the burning lamp of pain in your hand, I can see your face and know you as bliss.
163
"THE learned say that your lights will one day be no more." said the firefly to the stars.
The stars made no answer.
164
IN the dusk of the evening the bird of some early dawn comes to the nest of my silence.
165
THOUGHTS pass in my mind like flocks of ducks in the sky.
I hear the voice of their wings.
166
THE canal loves to think that rivers exist solely to supply it with water.
167
THE world has kissed my soul with its pain, asking for its return in songs.
168
THAT which oppresses me, is it my soul trying to come out in the open, or the soul of the world knocking at my heart for its entrance?
169
THOUGHT feeds itself with its own words and grows.
170
I HAVE dipped the vessel of my heart into this silent hour; it has filled with love.
171
EITHER you have work or you have not.
When you have to say, "Let us do something," then begins mischief.
172
THE sunflower blushed to own the nameless flower as her kin.
The sun rose and smiled on it, saying, "Are you well, my darling?"
173
"WHO drives me forward like fate?"
"The Myself striding on my back."
174
THE clouds fill the watercups of the river, hiding themselves in the distant hills.
175
I SPILL water from my water jar as I walk on my way,
Very little remains for my home.
176
THE water in a vessel is sparkling; the water in the sea is dark.
The small truth has words that are clear; the great truth has great silence.
177
YOUR smile was the flowers of your own fields, your talk was the rustle of your own mountain pines, but your heart was the woman that we all know.
178
IT is the little things that I leave behind for my loved ones,--great things are for everyone.
179
WOMAN, thou hast encircled the world's heart with the depth of thy tears as the sea has the earth.
180
THE sunshine greets me with a smile. The rain, his sad sister, talks to my heart.
181
MY flower of the day dropped its petals forgotten.
In the evening it ripens into a golden fruit of memory.
182
I AM like the road in the night listening to the footfalls of its memories in silence.
183
THE evening sky to me is like a window, and a lighted lamp, and a waiting behind it.
184
HE who is too busy doing good finds no time to be good.
185
I AM the autumn cloud, empty of rain, see my fulness in the field of ripened rice.
186
THEY hated and killed and men praised them.
But God in shame hastens to hide its memory under the green grass.
187
TOES are the fingers that have forsaken their past.
188
DARKNESS travels towards light, but blindness towards death.
189
THE pet dog suspects the universe for scheming to take its place.
190
SIT still my heart, do not raise your dust.
Let the world find its way to you.
191
THE bow whispers to the arrow before it speeds forth--"Your freedom is mine."
192
WOMAN, in your laughter you have the music of the fountain of life.
193
A MIND all logic is like a knife all blade.
It makes the hand bleed that uses it.
194
GOD loves man's lamp lights better than his own great stars.
195
THIS world is the world of wild storms kept tame with the music of beauty.
196
"MY heart is like the golden casket of thy kiss," said the sunset cloud to the sun.
197
BY touching you may kill, by keeping away you may possess.
198
THE cricket's chirp and the patter of rain come to me through the dark, like the rustle of dreams from my past youth.
199
"I HAVE lost my dewdrop," cries the flower to the morning sky that has lost all its stars.
200
THE burning log bursts in flame and cries,--"This is my flower, my death."