The 60-Second Sabbath

balance

  • Dark Chocolate

    The bitter cuts the sweet,yields the richest, most satisyfing experienceon the tongue. So like life. Text and image © 2014 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved. Continue reading

  • Imagined Invaders

    Ego is a fine servantbut a dangerous master. Observe it–    a yappy dog    barking at imagined invaders–but do not make ityour identity. Never take ego(yours or mine)seriously. Text and image © 2013 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved. Continue reading

  • Yin-Yang

    I come upon the cats,sleeping as you see below–"yin-yang," I describe it,all things in balance,passive and active,female and male,nurture and creativity,earth and sky. Something in their naturally posed stillness,which I observe at least once a week,speaks to me of the… Continue reading

  • Don’t Be Led Astray

    Are you awareof the primary pillarsof Islam? Mercy.Compassion. Don't be led astrayby media coverageand the fanaticism at the fringe. Text and image © 2012 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved. Continue reading

  • The Edges of This World

    The edges of this worldare often slippery and unstable;I lose my balanceand fall within…to the voice of God,the sound of the thinnest silence. Text and image © 2012 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved. Continue reading

  • And God Created Rest

    One Jewish traditionsuggests that God,on the seventh day,didn't collapse of exhaustionand say, "That's it;six days and I need a break,"but rather,on the seventh day,still generative, still spinning forth,created tranquility, serenity, peace and repose. Having finished with spaceGod turned God's attention… Continue reading

  • Selfness

    Someone has suggestedthere is a third way: somewhere between selfishness and selflessness,lies a placewhere the need to care for ourselvesbalances the need to care for others. It is the way of selfness. I need to find this place of selfness,between… Continue reading

  • To Change the World

    To acknowledge life's sadness    is not to be conquered by it.One can nod one's head    to the inevitability of loss,but turn and embrace grace, compassion, hope, joy… This is the course of those who change the world–and the world yet to come. Text… Continue reading

  • Sunshine and Rain

    bright, clear days call me outward    to run    to relate    to create cold, rainy days  call me inward    to stillness    to awareness    to accountability I am given sunny, celebratory daysand I am given gray, growing days I need both Text and image © 2010 by Dirk deVries. All… Continue reading

  • I Watch the Cats

    I watch the cats. They are torn between the possibility of some time of affection with me and the desire for unrestrained play and interaction with each other. They move back and forth between these two possibilities during this early-morning hour… Continue reading