💫The ancients said, “Poetry expresses one’s will.”💫 A true poem is never just scenery — it reveals the poet’s heart and purpose. The Woodcutter’s Song may speak of chopping wood and selling wine, but in truth, it paints the realm of a cultivator — living free, at peace, in harmony with the Way. In Journey to the West, on his quest for a teacher, the Monkey King meets a woodcutter in the mountains. Calm in bearing, clear in spirit, the monkey instinctively greets him as “Old Immortal.” Only then does he learn the man is a dutiful son, chopping wood to support his mother. The woodcutter claims not to “practice the Dao,” yet his life already flows in harmony with it: free of greed, content, and filled with filial piety. Seeing the monkey’s genuine heart for the Way, he directs him to seek the great Master Subhuti. 💫 Like the woodcutter in The Woodcutter’s Song, he appears ordinary, yet walks within the Dao. The chance to cultivate never falls to the careless — for the one who truly seeks, Heaven will send a guide. Music Credit 🎵 *Dream Angus* Arranged by Angela Boraston Performed by Rebecca James