The 60-Second Sabbath

authenticity

  • The Creative Process

    So you'd like to write a poem?     Use common words    in uncommon ways.     Only say    what's authentic for you    or it will land false.     End with a punch,    not below… Continue reading

  • The Hope of Failure

    Everything outsidehas to fail you,disappoint you,stop functioning,no longer be true. Then, finally,you go insideand find the depth of things…grace and mercy,God,your uncomplicated, worthy, gently held self.  Text and image © 2013 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved. Continue reading

  • Preachers and Poets

    I know a womanwho writes beautiful words,words of healing and encouragement.Her meditations inspire.Her reflections open closed hearts. But in daily life,she speaks with harshness and cruelty,slashing and burning.She spews verbal napalmthat strips the foliagefrom human hearts. This is a dangerfor… Continue reading

  • The Meaning of Life

    Two martinis now within,just east of my usual filters,I'm close to asking the waiter,"What do you think is the meaning of life?What, in you opinion, is the point?" My notebook and penwait open beside my now-empty plate. But alas,perhaps a… Continue reading

  • Go Within

    "Go within." But I am afraid. "I would be too,given what you're likely to find." That's not helping. "Go within." Hold my hand,and I shall go. "I will,but I know from experience,that you will release itat soon as you realizethat… Continue reading

  • It’s Easier

    It's easier to say, "I'm superior,"than to say, "I'm afraid." Text and image © 2012 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved. Continue reading

  • The Prophets

    See that manlying crushed beside the road?He was a prophet,run over by someonetoo terrified to hearhis words of liberation. See that womanstrung up on the fence?She was a prophet;they used her rainbow ribbonsof equality and unityto bind her to the… Continue reading

  • Losing

    Defeatbrings me back to authenticity.When I am vulnerable,I am awake.  Why seek successwhen successmost certainlyself-deceives? Text and image © 2012 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved. Continue reading

  • Pridefest 3

    If I am not being authentic,not speaking my mind,voicing my opinion,being fully, absolutely myself,then I am denyingwho and what God embodied me to be. Hesitating,hiding,holding back,harbors death. Text and image © 2012 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved. Continue reading

  • Authenticity

    Let's imagine you find your voice,you speak your mind,and you do so from a place of utter ownership,not defensiveness or accusation. And because of this,you lose your job,or a significant friendship,or even your spouse. Congratulations!You've just succeeded–as few do–at life.… Continue reading