The 60-Second Sabbath

snow

  • Christmas, Day 8

    Small-town downtown,Christmas Eve:stores close at 5:00 PM–    less competitive spirit,    more desire for all all to be home,    to have this evening with family and friends,    perhaps to bask in the warmth of a candlelit service, … Continue reading

  • Christmas, Day 3

    Nine years ago this day,mother willed herself away. Grief blinded us to this gift,which she had so carefully wrappedand presented, privately, to herself. Guilt blinded us to this tender exchangeas spirit said to soul,"Here, for you…that best of gifts,the one… Continue reading

  • Christmas Wish #4

    Let'splunder lessandwonder more. Text and image © 2012 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved. Continue reading

  • Christmas Wish #2

    May you drop your toys.May you stop your noise. May you grasp the Other.May you gasp in wonder. Text and image © 2012 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved. Continue reading

  • What We Need

    I'll tell you what we need:    more ears    and fewer tongues. My cats will tell us what we need:    more purr    and less hiss. The snow-silenced woodswill tell us what us what we need:    less noise    and more glistening, listening stillness. Christmas tells you what you… Continue reading

  • Embracing Death

    Do you believe in death?Lots of us don't–or at least live as if we don't. People glibly say,"Live each day as if it's your last,"but that's nearly impossible to do:    Would you make the bed?    Would you empty the dishwasher?    Would you close… Continue reading

  • Missing Winter

    Where are you winter?Where the scouring windsand white-rimed leaves,hold-overs from last season's arboreal couture?Where the leveling whiteness,the inward-driving respitefrom summer's relentless restlessness? Where are you winter? Our warm outerwear waits in darkness,wondering, worried;a feeling of abandonment settles like duston the… Continue reading

  • Autumn Song

    This coming coolnessintroducesan edgeof uncertainty. Autumn(my favorite season)is a time of transition. Here in Denver,    nights shift from cool to cold,    trees from bold to barren,    the patio from flowered and fragranced to emptied and wrapped,   … Continue reading

  • Keep Moving

    Continue the journey,not out of fear,but curiosity. Continue,not out of anger,but love. Continue,not out of need,but generosity. Continue,not out of hurt,but healing. Continue,not out of emptiness,but fullness. Continue,not away from others,but into yourself. Continue the journey,not to avoid death,but to… Continue reading

  • Snowfall

    Join us for tea? We will sit in silence,sipping and sustainingthe sacredness of the snowflakes,falling just outside the bay window. It's hard to knowwhat is the truer temple–the table we share,or the snowfall inches beyond the glass. Text and image… Continue reading