persistence

  • Training

    This is practice,and I am in training. I meditate,and the mind jumpslike a caffeinated kangaroo. This is practice,and I am in training. I breathe,feel the equanimity,until someone in the officepushes one of my several buttons. This is practice,and I am… Continue reading

  • Failure

    Success buildson the rubble of repeated failure. No collapsed venture is wasted. Art, relationship, occupation–it's all the same:only those who gleefully fail,succeed. Text and image © 2012 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved. Continue reading

  • Rheumatoid Arthritis

    On a scale of 0ne to ten,his pain hovers at eight. "Why complain." It's not a question;it's a statement. Even his partner can forgethis love's daily struggle for normalcy. The only logical option?Carry on.  Self-pity denies life,and life is what… Continue reading

  • The Game, Part 2

    I was tackled;no one said there would be tackling.I was chased down the field;no one said I'd be running scared.I swung bats at imaginary balls;"Whose side am I on?" I cried. "Life!""Work!""Relationships!" Something wooden whacked the back of my head.I… Continue reading

  • Belonging

    I want the one I loveto find his place,his happiness,his passion. I know he has found his home,as I have found mine,here where our hearts rest together. But like us all,he yearns to be neededby the world beyond. We are… Continue reading

  • The Workout

    Every morning for 90 days,I've committed to working outwith a man on a set of DVDswho at times seems like the devil incarnate(ironically, with a god's body),whom I'm trusting with my life,as he attempts to whip me into shape.Some mornings… Continue reading

  • Balm

    Our Garden of Edenis realand waits for uswithin a circleof burning fields. Reaching Paradisedemands sacrifice–a long walk through searing heat,watching our skin char and peel,smelling our blackening flesh,knowing the burn of loss. And then…the cool shade of ancient elms,the sloshing… Continue reading