contemplation

  • Circles

    Within your heartspins a circle of longing,an emptinessaching to be filled. It frightens you;what if you brave this nothingnessand disappear? But how can you not enteryour place of Ultimate Yearning? Welcome the Mysteryyou were created to embrace. Text and image ©… Continue reading

  • Wisdom

    We embrace wisdomwhen we turn our attentionto whatever is.  Text and image © 2013 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved. Continue reading

  • On the Strip

    Clearly,Vegas is not for me–at least not the Strip. I imaginethere's a meditative sideto Las Vegas. But here among the casinos,no one on the sidewalkhands out cards for retreat centers,just cards for call girlsand strip clubs. Snap, snap–they flick the… Continue reading

  • Peepshow

    Peepshow?Don't think so. It's difficult to finda quiet place for contemplationon the Las Vegas Strip. Entrepeneurial opportunity,perhaps? Text and image © 2012 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved. Continue reading

  • Luke 10:38-42

    Martha:    Words do not the windows wash. Mary:     But words the weary soul can cleanse. Martha:    Words do not the dishes clean. Mary:    But words both time and fear suspend. Martha:    Silent contemplation bores. Mary: … Continue reading

  • Gray

    A scene washed with January gray:gray squirrel lurchingfrom gray stone to gray stone;gray sparrow spading through gray mulch. Yes, there are spots of muted color–pale green winter-grass,the dulled red and yellowof the lodge-like building across the courtyard,but this is spare… Continue reading

  • I Love Winter

    The avenue on which we live,which carries us to and from the worlds of work and commerce,has disappeared beneath a soft overcoat of white. Nothing moves, nor wants to.Frozen respite. I love Winter. Text and image © 2011 by Dirk… Continue reading

  • Interpenetration

    Interbeing. Interpenetration. All things have their past in me. All things contributed to me. I do and shall contribute to all things. As Thick Nhat Hahn says, "This is not philosophy, this is reality." I recall reading somewhere (probably in… Continue reading

  • Hot Blessings

    In A Diary of Readings, Thomas Fuller uses the pairing of the words hot and blessing,which, written in the 17th century, meant "hot" as in "fresh" (like freshly baked, not stale). But I like the contemporary juxtaposition of the two… Continue reading