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I know that space
between waking and sleeping,
the gap
between breaths,
the pause
between heartbeats.
I've waited in that moment
between life and death,
held my breath, suspended,
between this life and the next.
What happens there
in that place of emptiness?
Something
or someone
waits,
reaches,
there,
in the between...
[We find the sacred
in the spaces between knowings.]
Text and image © 2015 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved.
Take me in.
Dry me off.
Wrap me up.
Calm me down.
Salve my pain.
Dress my wounds.
Fill my cracks.
Heal my heart.
Crack my shell.
Loose my bonds.
Ease my fear.
Slow my mind.
Hold my hand.
Cup my face.
Keep me near.
Make me yours.
Text and image © 2015 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved.
Our cats rarely question
the past,
the future,
their place in the universe,
the meaning of things.
Our cats simply seek
food, warmth and affection,
and take each hour as it comes.
They
eat when hungry,
seek solace when lonely,
purr when content,
sleep when tired,
throw up fur balls as needed.
They model
life in the moment--
present,
utterly mindful,
at peace 99% of the time.
They are my mentors.
Text and image © 2015 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved.
If this world of wonder
offers a foretaste of the next,
how many more colors
will the rainbow hold?
how many additional varieties of dark chocolate
will entice us?
how many more species of birds
will share their songs?
how many more names for God
will grace our lips?
how many new ways of saying "Thank you"
will we learn?
and how will we respond
when laughter and affection know no limits?
If this current world of wonder
holds so many miracles,
how many more will we discover
in the next?
Text and image © 2015 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved.
Shabbat:
to stop.
Sabbath:
to rest,
to return to the awareness
of your essential self,
to stretch out, in and with God,
to ponder the questions that matter:
Who am I?
Why am I here?
What am I feeling?
What do I want?
Where am I heading?
Sabbath:
a day, an evening, an hour
to step outside the press of life,
to wait,
to breathe,
to be.
Shabbat is a need.
Ignore it at your peril--
risking your mind,
your heart,
your body,
your spirit.
When this week
will you choose Sabbath?
Text and image © 2015 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved.
"Attention,"
says Mary Oliver,
"is the beginning of prayer."
Attention,
then,
may also be the beginning of worship,
wonder,
the beginning of the spiritual life,
awe,
the beginning of maturity,
amazement,
the beginning of joy.
"Wow!"
is more than an exclamation;
it is both creed and confession.
Text and image © 2015 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved.
Yes,
for sure,
I am dust,
and to dust I shall return,
but,
just as surely,
I am light,
and to Light I shall return.
Text and image © 2015 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved.
The presence of God
is elusive.
All our lives,
the childlike among us
(the open, the trusting, the attentive),
play Hide and Seek
with the Divine.
We glimpse him
in the unfolding of a rose,
in the grin of a pumpkin,
in the touch of a hospice worker.
We see her
in the retreat of clouds after the storm,
in the apology, the confession,
the repentant heart.
The game's the thing...
and ours for eternity.
God is as eager to play
as we are.
There is the hiding
(we hide; God hides)
and the seeking
(we seek; God seeks)
and the inevitable finding
(olly olly oxen free).
We play with the certainty
that all win--
those who hide,
those who seek.
We play on...
this ever game of love and laughter.
Text and image © 2015 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved.
Wonder opens a narrow door:
shed the baggage;
go naked;
pass through;
in one hand carry only anticipation,
in the other, innocence.
Step into the world:
a first-timer
with child's eyes,
uninterpreted, uncategorized,
undefined,
pure experience,
senses set to zero.
You are an explorer,
not a tourist;
toss out your guidebooks, maps, descriptions;
ignore the signposts.
Let wonder lead.
Text and image © 2015 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved.
We become what we see.
Tune your eyes to see beauty,
and you become beauty,
kindness,
and you become kindness,
truth,
and you become truth.
Focus only on fear,
and you become fear,
anger,
and you feel angry,
lies,
and you grow false,
the surface,
and you live in the shallows.
Gaze on justice
to become just,
light
to reflect light,
God
to embody the divine.
We become what we love.
Text and image © 2015 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved.
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