January | 2014 | The Direction of Intention

Bark With Enthusiasm

Posted on January 9, 2014 by davidrobinsoncreative

This is my first snowy winter in many decades. I grew up in Colorado so coming back to the snow is like coming home. My recent move to the shores of Lake Michigan has heightened my awareness of the rhythms of the seasons. I’m like a traveler in a foreign county; everything is new for me. The locals move through the snow and cold as if it is commonplace – and for them it is. For me, it is extraordinary, shocking, beautiful, mysterious, and magical. I love it. I forgot how the snow invokes deep quiet. I forgot the sharp sting of the air on my face, the chilly slap into the present moment. I’m present a lot on the shores of Lake Michigan!

Tripper, our dog (a name derived from “road trip,” also know as Tennessee Tripper, also known as Tripper-dog-dog-dog, Sled Dog, or my current favorite: Circus Dog) has never experienced winter. He’s only been on the planet for six months so snow is an adventure to be licked. Ice is a curiosity to him that involves barking – as if ice was a creature with ill intention. I love taking him out at night. Together we stand still in the crystal air and listen to the trees groaning and popping in the cold. He’s particularly taken by the whoosh of wind through the treetops. To Tripper, the wind is a being that whispers in the night and he is as yet undecided if the whisperer is friend or foe. I stand with him in his indecision. I, too, am undecided whether this whisperer is friend or foe.

Sometimes I think that Tripper and I are in the same stage of development. I have never been here before. I do not know the cycles or customs. I am in awe most of the time and the remaining moments are ripe with utter confusion. Either way, awe or confusion, I am grateful for seeing through new eyes, for seeing the extraordinary in the ordinary, for appreciating the cold slap of the air, the sharp sting in my lungs, and for a furry companion that reminds me that all of life is a reason to jump and bark with unbounded enthusiasm.

Go here to get my latest book, The Seer: The Mind of the Entrepreneur, Artist, Visionary, Seeker, Learner, Leader, Creator…You.

Filed under: Gratitude, Seeing, Truly Powerful People | Leave a comment »

Ask Sam To Recite

Posted on January 8, 2014 by davidrobinsoncreative

I did this painting about my friend Sam. He is a brilliant poet who for years hid his poetry because he told himself the story that his poems weren’t good enough. He’s committed to memory the works of many other poets. At the drop of a hat, Sam can recite the perfect poem to fit any situation. Poetry is in his Irish blood.

He is remarkable in his love of language. In spirit he is a bard though he so feared his gift that for years he vehemently denied that he wrote poems. After cajoling him for months, he admitted to being a secret poet and in a parking lot behind an abandoned building he finally slipped me a sheaf of original poems. The experience was more drug deal than art share and I adored it. It took enormous courage for Sam to share his poems with me. I knew the moment he slipped the envelop of poems to me that I was holding in my hands the tender soul of an artist. It was big magic; like all artists, this man could change the world if he embraced his gift.

I never underestimate the courage and vulnerability necessary for an artist to open him or her self to the possibility of being seen. I am always honored when someone whispers to me, “I have something I want to share with you.” The artist-soul is a wild animal and does not easily come out of hiding.

I am convinced that all humans are artists because all humans have the capacity for presence. Artistry is not something mystic or out of the ordinary. Artistry is a way of being in the world. An artist sees beyond the abstraction of their thinking. An artist sees beyond the separation into the deep, fecund, shared space. Artistry is always about connectivity to that “something bigger” than the self. And then artists share what they see. There are as many ways to share the soul-space as there are people on the planet.

Sam’s poems are brilliant. He’s changed his story. The world outside changed when he changed his story and began sharing his poems. Eventually, when he was ready to let his wild animal run free, he published several poems under the title Fully Human. Find him. Ask him to recite a poem. And then ask him to recite one of his poems. You won’t be disappointed.

Go here to get my latest book, The Seer: The Mind of the Entrepreneur, Artist, Visionary, Seeker, Learner, Leader, Creator…You.

Filed under: Art, Creativity, Possibility, Seeing, Truly Powerful People | 2 Comments »

Change The Game

Posted on January 7, 2014 by davidrobinsoncreative

We named our Christmas tree Satan. Not right away, of course. There was a progression of more appropriate names before we arrived at Satan. He was a scotch pine and we were disconcerted to discover that he that was more porcupine than pine tree. I’m only slightly exaggerating when I say that he was capable of planting hard needles in soft tissue at the most inopportune moments. For instance, with arms full of delicate wine glasses, Satan somehow lodged a sharp surprise in my sock. Howling in pain with glass flying all around, I swear I heard Satan-the-tree snicker. As I recovered and stared in utter disbelief, he twinkled in reply as if to say, “What?” Evil in pine.

Satan was beautiful. His white lights were hypnotic. His seeming tree-esque innocence was his appeal. On more than a few cold snowy nights, a fire snapping and waning in the fireplace, we gazed at him until the wee hours, forgetting his true nature. Inevitably, we were lured into touching his branches. Suddenly, like a swarm of bees, our sweater arms where loaded with spiny green stingers. Satan silently watched our pain-dance-sweater-removal antics. His branches bobbed ever so slightly with delight. Oh, sadistic wood!

Soon we avoided the corner of the room where Satan stood. We abandoned holiday efficiency and comfortable travel patterns opting instead for the paths of least pain. There is a group movement exercise called Angel/Devil in which you assign yourself an angel and a devil (from other members of the group). The goal, as you move about the room, is to keep your angel between you and your devil. The exercise reveals that a devil focus always makes the world smaller. Movement bunches up. Soon, all actions become reactions to the movements of your devil. Creativity stops with a devil focus; all energy is channeled into avoidance techniques.

A focus on obstacles is a devil focus. A focus on “can’t” or “shouldn’t” is often a devil focus. Blame is certainly a devil focus.

People go to great lengths to avoid pain. We created some great stories to keep a comfortable distance between Satan and us. We unwittingly began playing an angel/devil game with our Christmas tree! Once we caught sight of the game we laughed. That’s the moment we started calling the tree Satan; we named it. A little sacrilegious humor changed the game. Rather than fear the barbs we loved the utterly ridiculous relationship we had with the tree. It was a good reminder as we enter a new year to deal with the barbs instead of trying to negotiate them. Of the very few things we can actually control in this life, the primary one is where we place our focus. We choose what we see. We interpret what we see. So, it is important to focus on something other than the devil or the problems or the obstacles. Another lesson from Satan: call a barb a barb and don’t pretend it didn’t happen. Deal with the stuff, don’t ignore it.

It was with great relish that I roped Satan’s stump and pulled him without ceremony outside into the cold. We drug him down the street (he made an awesome brush pattern in the snow) to the tree collection spot where he will soon be transformed into mulch. Pulp justice.

Go here to get my latest book, The Seer: The Mind of the Entrepreneur, Artist, Visionary, Seeker, Learner, Leader, Creator…You.

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Start With The Book

Posted on January 6, 2014 by davidrobinsoncreative

Tom was a man still connected to the rhythms of the land. His personal rhythms ran so deep that it scared some people. They felt inauthentic around him. He could see beyond appearances and roles. He had very little patience for pretense. More than once I watched someone lose their strut and cower in his presence. After the encounter he’d look at me and sigh, “Oh, for heaven’s sake.” Tom could see. He made me understand that I, too, could see. On a particularly frustrating day for me he said, “Your blessing and curse is that when you look at people you see their gifts.” It’s true. I can see. My gift is to help others see their unique gift to the world. I used to think it was mine to help others embrace their gifts, too, thus, the source of my frustration that day. “Don’t they see!” I exclaimed and Tom laughed. He said, “You can help them see it. The rest is not your concern. Most people will run from their gift. Most people are afraid of what they can be. You can open their eyes but they have to choose to believe what they see.” That lesson took me a few more years to learn. I can help people see their gift. I cannot help them believe in the power of their gift.

Last fall Tom died. In November I decided to let my blog-writing-fields go fallow so that I might at last publish a book I wrote in the spring. It is a book about seeing. It is a book about how to see. Originally it was meant for entrepreneurs but my trusty reader clan slapped me and said, “Stop being so narrow. This book is for everyone.” So, I gave it a new very long subtitle as if to say, “Regardless of what you do, this book is for you.” After all, everyone needs to see.

And so, as I step back onto the blog field, I bring with me my newest book and a vastly improved personal gift of seeing. The book: The Seer: The Mind of the Entrepreneur, Artist, Visionary, Seeker, Learner, Leader, Creator…You. It is available in digital formats (for ipad and kindle) though leanpub.com (if you want to publish and don’t know leanpub.com, you should check them out). The hard copy edition will follow soon.

2013 was a master-class in life for me. It was a hot fire. I met my most ugly self and also found the best of me. Although I’ve been able to see my gift for years; I’ve now forged my belief. So, if you can’t see your gift, if you are stuck in search-and-rescue mode, if you are running from what you know is yours to do, I can help. Start with the book.

Filed under: Awakening, The Direction of Intention, Truly Powerful People | 5 Comments »

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