The 60-Second Sabbath

Growth

  • Self-Acceptance

    You can spend decadeswaiting to becomethe person you thinkyou ought to be,never satisfiedwith the person you are. Could it be, however,that you never becomesomeone you loveif you startas someone you don't? What ifnow,then,and at all points in betweenyou accept yourself… Continue reading

  • The Wounded Child

    Somewhere in the woodsa wounded child wanders.His survival dependson your kindness and compassion.     Can you find him in time? He's a good child,a boy whose heart has great capacityfor joy and trust,for delight and laughter,but now he hides… Continue reading

  • Abandoned Heart

    The heart I abandonedwaits where I left it.It knows its painand understands that I was unequippedto handle a troubled heartand therefore had to leave. But I cannot livewithout my heart;incomplete,I live unconsciously.I go back;I shall find and comfort by heartand… Continue reading

  • This Quiet

    This quietembraces,wraps me in stillness; in our new spaceI welcome silence,long-lost friend,and hear thingsfor the first time– the metal wall clock that I purchaseda decade agoticks audibly–tick, tick, tick, tick;ten years passedwithout hearingits heartbeat– when the cats pad across the… Continue reading

  • Toward Healing

    I peeled back the bandage."This is my wound,"I said. "It looks like it's healing,"he said. "Yes, it is.It still hurts some,but nothing like before." "What's made the difference?" "I stopped pretendingit didn't exist,stopped telling myselfI shouldn't be hurt that badly.I… Continue reading

  • The Woman of the Woods

    She always says thingsI don't want to hear: "Your most signficant questsare always the hardest.Perseverancedemonstratesworthiness.Your destination will tasteall the sweeterfor the hardship." And with that,she pulled the hood of her cloak,back up over her graying hair,and disappeared among the pines.… Continue reading

  • Transmutation

    The ancient alchemistslong soughtthe philosopher's stone,which could transmutelead into gold. I have found it.It is simply this:kindness. Text and image © 2013 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved. Continue reading

  • Dream

    And as I dreamed,my skin dissolvedand I expanded,spread outward,a being of refracted lightsurrounded by beings of refracted light,no longer divided entitiesbut all part of a greater,    glittering,    interconnected whole. I knew my separate selfas illusion,and this wondrous, webbed oneness    as life, … Continue reading

  • The Heart in Pieces

    Is this your heart,in pieces on the entry tile?Ah, it broke last nightjust as you made it home… I am sorry–I recall the pain of it,and the need to leave the pieceswhere they fall,perhaps to pick up later(which we almost… Continue reading

  • Three Sorrows (Three Liberations)

    I.We mustheal the wounds of childhoodto find freedomfrom the constricting storieswritten there.  II.Wake up tomorrowno longer rememberingyour personal narrative,all its falsehoods forgotten:    "I'm too…"    "I can't…"        "I'll never be good enough to…"    "I'm this way because…"  What if… Continue reading