The 60-Second Sabbath

Compassion

  • Pinning Blame

    Who's responsible for this mess?     The "mess" in question is me. Who's to blame?Someone must pay!     Who is it    that wants    to pin the blame? Is it Stillnessor is it Ego?     Why… Continue reading

  • That Which Remains Buried

    I live withthe nagging feelingthat there remainsburied within me(not far from the surface–like a hastily interred body,in a dollar-store grave)something I thoughtwas dead,that wants–nay, needs–to come out,not to resurrect,but to be given a proper burial. Whatever the identityof this corpse,it's… Continue reading

  • Thinning Walls

    How thin these walls have become,the walls between youth and age,    between the conscious and the unconscious,    between this world and the next,    between my heart and yours,    between our hearts and theirs. Permeable.Translucent. Through ever-thinning wallsI hear other voices.I… Continue reading

  • The New Question

    For a very long time,the question of spiritual identityhas been,"Who are you?" Now is the time for a new question:"Whose are you?" We are God's.We belong to one another. As Desmund Tutu said,"I am because you are." Text and image… Continue reading

  • Virgin

    So I sat at the dinner table,a boy too young to know about sex,its power and complexity,but already a student of the Bibleand therefore, for me,a young woman pregnant without being marriedreflected, echoed the virgin Mary. When my brother announced… Continue reading

  • Your Opinions

    Why do you insiston judging every circumstanceas good or bad? Circumstances just are. Imagine the freedomof not evaluating,not formulating yet another opinion.* You exhaust me. You exhaust yourself. *unnecessary, unsolicited Text and image © 2012 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved.… Continue reading

  • J.O.Y.

    I was taughta three-part formulafor pleasing God,for achieving success,for finding happiness:J.O.Y:     Jesus first,    Others second,    Yourself last. For a child first forging identity,this is bad advice;developmentally,the child's primary taskis to put herself first.Forcing her to do… Continue reading

  • Betrayal

    I was taught:it's better to betray myselfthan to disappoint others. Now I believe:to betray myselfis to betray God. Text and image © 2012 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved.   Continue reading

  • Turning Rocks

    I am slowly(so slowly)learning that… My fear of what liesunder the rock is far more debilitating than what actually liesunder the rock. Text and image © 2012 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved.   Continue reading

  • Mere Visitors

    I can observe my thoughtsand realize that they are only thoughts,without actuality or substance,momentary visitors,some familiar, some strange,some welcome, some not. I can stop mistakingthese thoughts for me. "Hello," I say,and more so,"Goodbye.Goodbye." Text and image © 2012 by Dirk… Continue reading