Compassion
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The Cat Shop
There is a small shopin my obscure little neighborhood,staffed solely by cats. They sell cans of cat food, or course,and a variety of toys made of feathers, yarn and strips of colored foil.They also carry catnip,from the run-of-the-mill, Petsmart kindto… Continue reading
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Amazing Grace 2
"Amazing grace, how sweet the sound,that saved a wretch like me…" These words, by English poet John Newton, cause some people to cringe when they sing them; who wants to refer to themselves as a "wretch"? Modern hymnals even change… Continue reading
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Amazing Grace 1
Nancy's favorite hymn,"Amazing Grace,"was what she wanted sungat her funeral. Several days after her deaththe family sat downwith a patient funeral directorto settle on the details. "No," my father said,"That's such a cliche;there are better hymns." No doubt there are,and… Continue reading
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Forgive Me
Forgive me:I have belittled you.I have mocked and laughed at you.I have imagined your shortcomings were not my own,and freed of responsibility for our shared insanity, made it yours alone.But it isn't yours alone– it may not be yours at all.… Continue reading
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Namaste
"Namaste":this simple Sanskrit greetingboth opened and closed our yoga class.I was told it meant,"The divine in mewelcomes the divine in you,"a sentiment I experienced then and honor now. In the years since,I've discerned there are many ways of understanding "Namaste,"just… Continue reading
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Ataraxis
In the land of Ataraxis,in a village made of stonestands a cottage built by practiceof compassion slowly honed. On a hill of Ataraxisin a cottage built of brickson a table set for mourninglies a man whose eyes are fixed not… Continue reading
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Job II
And what would you have said?"Life sucks"?"There is no answer"?"God is capricious and uncaring"?"God? What God?""Try meth instead"? I would have sat beside himand wept. Text and image © 2011 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved. Continue reading
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If I Am to Serve
If I am to serve,then whom?when?where? Asking the questionsdelays the answers. Text and image © 2011 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved. Continue reading
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I Could Have Used You Today
I could have used you today. I needed you: a stillpoint, a saner pivot, a rock to cling to while the currents pushed and pulled, someone to click download, arms to cry in, acceptance of the mess I am. I needed another perspective, a… Continue reading