The 60-Second Sabbath

Humility

  • Fearful Questions

    The trick, in uncertain times, is not to let your decisions be ruled by questions that arise from fear. As Thomas Merton points out, "A huge network of anxious questions surrounds us and begins to guide many, if not most… Continue reading

  • Duality? Meh!

    Contraries no longer interest me. Text and image © 2010 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved.   Continue reading

  • Letting Go

    Strive for nothingness, the point of complete surrender, of acknowledged helplessness, weakness, poverty, detachment. All ideas of self released. Paradoxically, ironically, in surrender we finally know freedom—from pretense, fruitless self-talk, dissatisfaction, fear, superiority, jealousy, anger. We enter peace, compassion, clarity,… Continue reading

  • Faith, Perhaps?

    Open up your New Testament to the gospels. Read the stories and teachings of Jesus. Most don't allow for easy resolutions; instead, Jesus invites us to struggle, to live in tension, to be comfortable not knowing what the "right" answer is.… Continue reading

  • God Talking

    Yesterday morning, five of the eight people with whom I work were told that their positions were being eliminated. Two will be gone by the end of the year, the other three at the end of March. All were then… Continue reading

  • Am I Worthy?

    "Am I worthy?"  The question is irrelevant! Boring! No one cares (least of all God). It's not about judgement, it's about transformation. There is no jury;There is no judge.Open and waitingAre the steady arms of love.    (from "Out in the Open"… Continue reading

  • Those Whom Others Would Discard

    A special reward awaits those who give shelter to God's most vulnerable creatures, those who love those whom others would discard. We all, at one time or another, will be discarded by the many and need the compassionate, attentive touch of… Continue reading

  • Halloween: Mystery

    Halloween offers appreciation for the mysterious, that which lies outside of logic and reason. This is, in fact, an important and necessary function of religion; embracing mystery and the inexplicable reflects healthy spirituality. Not everything can be–nor needs to be–sorted out, rationalized, categorized… Continue reading

  • Halloween: Hospitality

    "Trick of treat!" I remember cold Halloween nights when my siblings and I trick-or-treated back in my hometown in Michigan. With either my mother or my aunt following behind, we'd run door to door through our neighborhood and those beyond,… Continue reading

  • Drawing Lines

    When we draw lines to separate ourselves from those who are different, from those whom we don't understand, what we're really doing is protecting ourselves from our own weakness, fear and failure. But our weakness, fear and failure unite us… Continue reading