The Questioning Way Blog is written by Dewey Dirks, author of The Questioning Way, a book about open mindedness, skepticism, the human spirit and creating your own beliefs. This blog showcases both Mr. Dirks' book and examples of work from twenty years of writing
Friday, June 28, 2013
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Sunday, June 23, 2013
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
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
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 14, 2013
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
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
Monday, June 3, 2013
Saturday, June 1, 2013
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