We Should Tread Lightly on the Earth - lyrics


We should tread lightly on the earth.

A soft imprint leaves no trace of who has gone before

And keeps the way clear and undisturbed

For those who must come later. 


We should look outwards, never in.
We should keep our minds absorbed with what our senses read.
And all that we create should rise
From what we find outside ourselves. 

Beauty, for example, cannot be improved upon.

It can be transformed,

It can be diminished,
It can be eliminated altogether
But it cannot become more beautiful. 


When one finds beauty in the natural world,
One catches his breath and knows
It is right as it is.
To see beauty at all,
One must attend. 


So: we should tread lightly on the earth
For what is the purpose in treading large?

To insert yourself in a time and place,
Draws undue attention to you. 

It perverts your needs,
It unbalances desires,
And it isolates the mind.

It prevents the natural unfolding of your life.