Dirk's Profile | Typepad

This is Dirk's Typepad Profile.

Join Typepad and start following Dirk's activity

Join Now!

Already a member? Sign In

Dirk

Denver, CO

Seeker of meaning and stillness.

Interests: Photography, cooking, running, fitness, reading, mindfulness, peace and purity.

Recent Activity

Christmas in July

Our six-year-old neighbor girl professes not to believe in Santa Claus. "I do," I said. "See," said her mother, "there are adults who believe in Santa." As a child I don't actually recall believing in Santa. I perceived it to be a game we played, and I cheerfully played along--... Continue reading

Posted 3 days ago at The 60-Second Sabbath

0

When Sleep Eludes You

The next time you lay unsleeping, staring at the dark ceiling, thank God for your wakefulness. Ask-- aloud or to yourself-- "What gift do you have for me?" Fall back into silence and await the answer. In darkness, in silence, in solitude, divine mystery spreads over and around you, blankets... Continue reading

Posted Jul 23, 2021 at The 60-Second Sabbath

0

T-Shirt Wisdom, Post-Pandemic Edition

As always, these are actual T-shirts: --- For the cat lover: She believed she could, but the cat was asleep on her lap, so she didn't. --- For the dog lover: All dogs are therapy dogs. Most are just freelancing. --- I don't think my inner child is ever moving... Continue reading

Posted Jul 21, 2021 at The 60-Second Sabbath

0

I am like a butterfly floating on the surface of my spirit, unwilling to land and settle, unable (for fear? for lack of desire?) to remain still enough, long enough, to sink into the depths. Too easy a silence keeps me from encountering my essential self, my God. Deep, challenging,... Continue reading

Posted Jul 15, 2021 at The 60-Second Sabbath

0

Taking Scripture Seriously

There is a HUGE difference between taking scripture literally and taking it seriously. To take much of the Bible literally is, in fact, to misunderstand it and therefore to misuse and abuse it. If passages of the Bible were never meant to be taken literally, then when we do so... Continue reading

Posted Jul 12, 2021 at The 60-Second Sabbath

0

Your Image of God

Fr. Richard Rohr suggests: Your image of God creates you. Let this sink in: Your image of God creates you. I find this simultaneously encouraging and unsettling. Unsettling because I'm very aware that through much of my life I imagined God to be a threatening Father, judgmental and harsh, willing... Continue reading

Posted Jul 9, 2021 at The 60-Second Sabbath

0

The Fear of Silence

Do you fear silence? Does the idea of sitting quietly, by yourself, all electronics off and stowed, no conversation, no music, no TV, etc., leave you cringing? You're not alone. Our culture feeds on noise and distraction. Even our houses of worship (unless, perhaps, you're a Quaker) pile on the... Continue reading

Posted Jul 8, 2021 at The 60-Second Sabbath

0

The Sign of Jonah

Like Jonah we need to be lost in the murky belly of the monster, in disorienting darkness, suffocating, claustrophobic, before we emerge, battered and acid-scarred, ready to say 'Yes' to what we've [so!] tried to avoid, our calling, our point, our [surprise!] joy. Are you ready to be thrown up... Continue reading

Posted Jul 1, 2021 at The 60-Second Sabbath

0

I am dreaming: "What in creation is this?" Jesus asks, standing in the sanctuary of my church. He is spending a few days with me. We'd gotten up early to have breakfast out-- he'd been intrigued by the omelet and hashbrowns, wondering aloud if things were kosher. I didn't know.... Continue reading

Posted Jun 30, 2021 at The 60-Second Sabbath

0

It's about Not Trying

I spend too much time trying to love me. What if I just stopped? What if, instead, I worked on loving God? Or those around me, like family and friends, or the homeless guy on the corner, or the neighbor girl who spends half her time screaming in her back... Continue reading

Posted Jun 28, 2021 at The 60-Second Sabbath

0

A Brief Note on Reading the Bible

Don't read the Bible to figure out how others need to change. Read the Bible to figure out how you might change. Text and image © 2021 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved. Visit PhotosByDirk.com for fine-art photography. Visit The60SecondSabbath.com, where spirit and image merge. Have you ordered your copy... Continue reading

Posted Jun 23, 2021 at The 60-Second Sabbath

0

When it comes to matters of life (in general) and spirituality (in particular), I'm not looking for friends who offer quick, canned, and rarely helpful answers to the myriad challenging questions we face as fragile humans. I want friends willing to admit ignorance, to struggle, to dig for meaning, to... Continue reading

Posted Jun 22, 2021 at The 60-Second Sabbath

0

God's power is never aligned with the power of state or government. God's power is never aligned with the power of money. God's power is never aligned with the power of religious institutions. God's power is never aligned with the power of control or authority. God's power is never aligned... Continue reading

Posted Jun 21, 2021 at The 60-Second Sabbath

0

My Self/Larger Self

My self is part of a larger Self. My birth is part of a larger Birth. My life is part of a larger Life. My purpose is part of a larger Purpose. My being is part of a larger Being. My mystery is part of a larger Mystery. I am... Continue reading

Posted Jun 17, 2021 at The 60-Second Sabbath

0

You are a child of God. You are objectively, inherently, ontologically, molecularly, substantively, eternally a child of God. It is your birthright, and no one-- no one-- can take that from you, because it is you. It is you. Text and image © 2021 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved.... Continue reading

Posted Jun 16, 2021 at The 60-Second Sabbath

0

"Why am I here?" you ask. I know why. "What is my purpose?" I know your purpose. "What is God's plan for my life?" I know the plan. It is simply this-- to love this world-- and all that is in it-- as God does-- extravagantly, uncritically, ridiculously, and to... Continue reading

Posted Jun 15, 2021 at The 60-Second Sabbath

0

We are distinct from God and yet one with God, all at once. Impossible! Ridiculous! Absurd! Yet it is so. Truth. Gospel truth, in fact. The greatest of all mysteries. Don't waste time figuring it out. Instead, close eyes, reach out, embrace, spin loose. Understanding falls to celebration. Reason collapses... Continue reading

Posted Jun 3, 2021 at The 60-Second Sabbath

0

My Soul, My Soul

My soul, you are my hero. While I spin, bounce through the day, you remain my stillpoint, my anchor, my tether. While I lose myself in jumbled thought, you remain my silence, my center, my equanimity. While I trip, stumble, tumble, you remain my ground, my stability, my scaffold. You,... Continue reading

Posted May 25, 2021 at The 60-Second Sabbath

0

After the Funeral

He pauses as he enters her bedroom: A catacomb, he thinks. Row upon row of the dead cover the walls-- Photographs--too many to count-- Family, friends, neighbors, lovers-- Wedding photos, school photos, Vacation photos, holiday photos-- Ancestors in antique garb-- Children in swimsuits on forgotten beaches-- Teenagers in bell bottoms... Continue reading

Posted May 21, 2021 at The 60-Second Sabbath

0

Conditioning vs Freedom

Most of our beliefs are the result of conditioning. Culture and family, church and the workplace all train us to be act, think in ways that support the ongoing existence of these conditional beliefs. We haven't actually chosen most of what we believe, which means, few of our beliefs are... Continue reading

Posted May 20, 2021 at The 60-Second Sabbath

0

When I rejoice in victory, am I not celebrating the death of those God holds close? Victory calls for grief, weeping with God at the loss of God's children. Text and image © 2020 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved. Visit PhotosByDirk.com for fine-art photography. Visit The60SecondSabbath.com, where spirit and... Continue reading

Posted May 18, 2021 at The 60-Second Sabbath

0

Everything Returns to God

Everything~ and everyone~ returns to God. It happens continually, this returning, even now...yes, now. This cat, asleep on the hassock in front of me~ ever returning. This ink, paper, pen~ ever returning~ ever received. The love of God~ ever drawing to itself~ ever receiving. This life~ on the occasion of... Continue reading

Posted May 17, 2021 at The 60-Second Sabbath

0

When I lose touch with my essential self, my God-with-me self, then my false self, my ego-self eagerly steps up to take its place, posing as the real thing, which it is most definitely not. Holding on to my essential self, living from that unshakeable, joyous, grace-filled core keeps the... Continue reading

Posted May 13, 2021 at The 60-Second Sabbath

0

"I'm losing my mind," I said to the empty kitchen, having no idea what I had come downstairs to do. It likely had something to do with the kitchen, since that's where I ended up, but for the life of me, I couldn't image what. "That's not such a bad... Continue reading

Posted May 12, 2021 at The 60-Second Sabbath

0

I am enjoying a marvelous little book: Of Cats and Men by Sam Kalda. Kalda is both the author and illustrator (he is an illustrator by trade). In the book, he highlights 30 male historical figures who were inspired, companioned, taught and/or owned by cats, and offers one-page bios for... Continue reading

Posted May 11, 2021 at The 60-Second Sabbath

0

More...

Subscribe to Dirk’s Recent Activity