Friday, June 28, 2013

Law of Synchronicity


Friday, June 21, 2013

Drops of Water

Drops of Water

Life is a great flowing river
all that happens each day
are spreading waves, eddy’s
and waterfalls
natural to the flow of water
natural to the flow of life.
We each are drops of water
all of us
on a long journey
as the stream
nudges and twirls
us all along

Within every day
you'll find moments
of mayhem
moments of peace
moments of action
moments of stillness
moments to learn
moments to teach
moments to rest
moments to laugh
moments to love
moments to strive
moments to act and react
moments to be helped by others
moments to help others along.
Those who are
frightened, ignorant
or endlessly arrogant
resist and fight
their way through their days
never satisfied
with themselves
never satisfied
with what they think
their life is supposed to be.

If you are wiser
you learn to live each moment
as it arrives
knowing that whatever
is happening right now
is raw material in life
and it's up to you to make it
what it is supposed to be.

Now, the river has
an inner peace in its flow
natural to everything
that is as it should be.
One of the things we
each must learn
is to dwell in that
place of peace in ourselves
that is always a part
of the flow of the river
finding ourselves
at the end of each day
right where we should be.

Dewey Dirks

Monday, June 17, 2013

Alive

Alive

If you're still alive
And have yet
To taste the bitter mote
Of adversity
Strong enough
To break steel
You still have
Something to learn

If you're still alive
And have not yet
Discovered true love
Shining on the far side
Of that adversity
You still
Have something
To learn

If you're still alive
And you have
Loved truly
For even one day
You still
Have something
To teach

Dewey Dirks

Friday, June 7, 2013

The School

The School

Long, long ago
near the pebbly shores
of the Mediterranean blue
there was an old school of philosophy.
For four hundred years
it taught boys and young men
into their twenties
the ways of rhetoric and wisdom.

To help fund the school
the students would search
the nearby beaches for garnets
which they would put
into small, clear bauble jars sealed with wax
to sell in town.

One afternoon a pair of the older students,
with two heads of black hair and brown skin,
Pedro, and Sharif, were down at a cafe talking
about the days search on the beach.
Pedro took a drink of his tea
and proudly said, “This morning I found twenty garnets.
That's enough to fill two bauble jars.
Sharif, nodded and said,
You did good then. As for me,
I swam looking in the waters near the rocks.
Eventually, I found clams and therein
eight white pearls, enough for two more jars.”
Pedro, scowled, “You are foolish,” he said in a hurry,
We only sell garnets!
In the time you found eight pearls
you could have found enough garnets to fill four jars.”
Pedro's words were like a sharp slap to him.
Sharif bowed his head in sudden anger
and quickly changed the subject.
Soon, he finished his tea, excused himself
and returned to the school.

Later, as the gold afternoon sun
swam slowly down the sky
Sharif sat talking to Carib, the school master,
who wore a long gray robe, walking stick beside him.
He told Carib of his conversation with Pedro,
then he asked,
Master, was Pedro wrong to criticize me?”
Or am I the one who is foolish
just as Pedro says?”

Why do you think Pedro was upset?”
asked master Carib.
He thought I was foolish,” answered Sharif.
Look deeper,” said Carib.
Sharif thought a few moments, then he said,
Perhaps he was threatened by my success
at finding pearls.”
And why do you still feel bad
about the conversation?” asked Carib.
Because I was angered so easily,” answered Sharif.
Don't look to where you fell, my son.
Look to where you slipped,” said master Carib.
The student thought for a minute then said,
Pedro accosted my sense of success, so I was angry.”
What should you therefore do?” asked Carib.
I should not depend on my deeds of accomplishment
to define my self-worth, but look to my soul instead.”
And so who made you angry? asked master Carib.
I myself did,” grinned the student.

Master Carib smiled softly.
As the sun slid below the horizon,
fading to deep blue and orange
he extended his hand to Sharif and said,
You have freed yourself, my son.
You graduate tomorrow
young master.”

Dewey Dirks