May | 2025 | The Direction of Intention

Before It Is Gone [David’s blog on saturday morning smack-dab]

Posted on May 31, 2025 by davidrobinsoncreative

Our democracy is almost gone. The judiciary is under attack for doing their duty to the Constitution, acting as a check on an out-of-control executive. Mindbogglingly, Congress, rather than performing their duty to check the rogue executive, is attempting to neutralize the courts. They’ve written the final straw that breaks democracy’s back into their big-beautiful-bill.

“When authoritarian leaders attack judges as “enemies,” history shows us exactly where this leads. Trump’s assault on “USA HATING JUDGES” isn’t just inflammatory rhetoric—it’s following a script written by strongmen worldwide. But other countries show us how to fight back.”

“So how do we combat this? BUILD broad coalitions beyond party lines. MOBILIZE professionals, not just activists. SUSTAIN pressure through strikes and protests, FRAME it as defending democracy, not partisan politics.” ~ Adam Bonica

“Every authoritarian who successfully destroyed judicial independence did so because civil society failed to unite in time,” Bonica writes. “The key difference? Whether people mobilized.” ~ from Heather Cox Richardson, Letters From An American, May 27, 2025

“None of this is easy. But democracy never is.” ~ Adam Bonica

It seems that we have a clear choice: to mobilize now and save our democracy – or to miss it.

read Kerri’s blogpost about BEFORE IT IS GONE

likesupportsharecommentsubscribestandupmobilize…thankyou.

Filed under: smack-dab | Tagged: Adam Bonica, artistry, authoritarianism, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, democracy, Heather Cox Richardson, judiciary, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, mobilize, story, studio melange, The Constitution of The United States, the melange | 7 Comments »

Step Into The Mystery Fandango [David’s blog on KS Friday]

Posted on May 30, 2025 by davidrobinsoncreative

Our ferns came on like gangbusters. One day they were little seahorses poking their heads from the ground. The next day (it seemed) they were standing tall, mature, a thick rich green forest of fern-fandango.

Fandango is a Spanish dance. It is also a slang term for extravagant behavior. Gangbusters is an idiom that originated from a 1930’s radio crime show and means “with enthusiasm” or “with great energy”.

I loved that she thought to take a photo from the top, a birds-eye view looking down into the dark secret center. It made we want to reach in, to discover the mystery of the fern fandango.

An enigma is always a Siren’s call to the human mind. It’s why we sail to the edge of the world or send rockets to the moon. It’s why we crack the genome or climb to the top of the mountain. It’s why we travel to foreign lands or seek the center of our paradoxical belief.

What is over there, in there, beyond? It is human nature to ask, to ponder, to relentlessly pursue questions. Questioning is the epicenter of science and the arts.

Our curiosity is greater than our fear. Ultimately, it is the reason that I have some small hope for this nation, currently in a frenzy of curiosity-killing, book-banning, history-scrubbing, white-washing, bible-thumping, mind-numbing, heart-clubbing, immigrant-ousting, truth-drowning…A whipped-up, full-on fear fandango meant to blunt all questioners.

People die when fear and panic rule their actions; they become incapable of thinking. People wilt when narrow pat-answers are forced down their throats. Authoritarians are gifted enemy-creators – enemies provide easy answers as long as no questions are permitted. Critical thinking is an authoritarians greatest foe. But, sooner or later, as is always true, the panic-stricken public tires of eating dross and have no recourse but to question the need for so much fearmongering and panic creation. Questions are the antidote to fear, the cure for toxic dictatorship because questions build the road to truth.

Questions are what drive the little seahorse ferns to pop their heads through the crusty soil. Questioners seek the light, they reach for the sun.

People blossom when curiosity calls and they answer. They join forces and mobilize. When disaster strikes, when corruption poisons the body public, people come on like gangbusters, rallying around hot questions like, “Now what?” They join hands and step together into the mystery fandango that holds the promise of leading to a better world – for all.

Kerri’s albums are available on iTunes and streaming on Pandora

read Kerri’s blogpost about THE FERNS

likesharesupportcommentsubscribe…thankyou.

Filed under: KS Friday, Metaphor, Possibility | Tagged: artistry, authoritarianism, curiosity, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, dictatorship, enthusiasm, fandango, fern, gangbusters, human nature, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, questioner, questions, story, studio melange, the melange | 5 Comments »

It’s Fine [David’s blog on DR Thursday]

Posted on May 29, 2025 by davidrobinsoncreative

Now most folks suffer in sorrow
Thinking they’re just no good
They don’t match the magazine model
As close as they think they should

They live just like the “paint by numbers”
The teacher would be impressed
A life-time of follow the lines
So it’s just like all of the rest

~David Wilcox, Leave It Like It Is

To be honest, I began writing a post about self-love and bagged it. I don’t really know anything about self-love, which is why I wanted to write about it. Luckily, I realized that it was way too big of a topic for my little, little post.

Tara Brach wrote about her mother’s deathbed confession: “All my life I thought something was wrong with me. What a waste!”

Recently Kerri and I had a conversation about how different we feel – how different our lives have been – from our friends and neighbors. We did not color within the lines. Younger versions of ourselves were split in two: one half following the imperative of our muse, the other half chastising because we didn’t fit in. I’m happy to report that we’ve made peace with the paths we’ve chosen.

We’ve been alive, not necessarily safe.

I used to tell groups I facilitated that “Nothing is broken, nothing needs to be fixed.” I believed it but didn’t necessarily live it. I was looking for what was missing.

It turns out that nothing was missing. My chosen path looked chaotic when compared to the template expectation. It’s a damn hard road when you are both trying to fit in and trying to follow your star. The road was only difficult because I expected pavement when I was a dedicated off road traveler.

What follows is the complete text of my imagined graduation speech to the class of 2025:

“Leave it like it is, it’s fine.” ~ David Wilcox.

read Kerri’s blogpost about COMPARTMENTS

likesharesupportsubscribecomment…thankyou.

Filed under: DR Thursday, Gratitude, Identity, Story | Tagged: artistry, chaos, david robinson, David Wilcox, davidrobinsoncreative.com, difference, expectation, expectations, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, kismet, muse, pax, story, studio melange, Tara Brach, the melange | 4 Comments »

Can You Imagine It? [David’s blog on Not So Flawed Wednesday]

Posted on May 28, 2025 by davidrobinsoncreative

I saw the photograph as a snippet of conversation. “You are beautiful,” he said.

“Stop,” she replied, turning away.

I can count on one hand the people that I’ve met in my life who understand that they are, by the good grace of being alive on this earth, beautiful. They need not deflect, deny or turn away. Beauty is embraced not as an attainment or a visual gift granted to the lucky few, not as a standard to be met or an image to be copied. It simply is. Tell them that they are beautiful and they will smile – their smile saying, “Back-at-you.”

When greeting someone in Bali – or in any Hindu culture – hands press together before the heart and “Namaste” is spoken. “Namaste”… is a word that is tied to the ultimate respect for another person that is based not upon who they are, and what they say or do, but their very presence in this life.”

Budi taught me that Namaste means, “The god in me recognizes the god in you.” Beauty. As a given.

Greeting the essence rather than the idea. Seeing beyond the superficial. Being seen beyond the magazine-model-expectation. Can you imagine it?

Stop. You are beautiful.

read Kerri’s blogpost about BEAUTY

likesharesupportcommentsubscribe…thankyou.

Filed under: Awakening, Flawed Wednesday, Identity | Tagged: artistry, beautiful, beauty, culture, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, essence, grace, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, Namaste, see, story, studio melange, the melange | 1 Comment »

Make Belief [David’s blog on Two Artists Tuesday]

Posted on May 27, 2025 by davidrobinsoncreative

“People must surely be afraid, without knowing it, that their hold upon reason and sanity is precarious, else they would not so resent being asked to look at visual experience in a new way, they would not be so afraid of not seeing the world as they have always seen it and in the general publicly agreed way of seeing it.” Joanna Field (Marion Milner), On Not Being Able To Paint

We saw the little green men at an antique fair. They come in peace. I wondered so asked the Oracle Google why aliens – peaceful or not – are always depicted as green. The AI master responded:

“Green has been associated with aliens in folklore and mythology for centuries…” Forest creatures, fairies and sprites. Leprechauns…

“The term “little green men” gained popularity in the 1950s, coinciding with reports of flying saucers. This imagery was further popularized by movies and other media.”

“In summary, the “green alien” trope is a creative and cultural construct rather than a scientific expectation. It reflects how we use our understanding of life on Earth to imagine possibilities on other planets.”

A cultural construct. Imagining the possibilities of life on other planets has brought us to the common agreement that green is the color of aliens.

The term “common sense” refers to practical, sound judgment. In practice, however, common sense need not make sense at all. Common sense is not so much about feasibility as it is about group agreement. It is “common” sense, meaning that it is consensus. It need not be factual or practical.

When faced with overwhelming evidence that the earth is round, there are people on this round earth who adamantly insist that the earth is flat. They claim that it is common sense; one need only look at a flat horizon.

Similarly, conspiracy theories are rooted in “common” sense. Mob mentality is not rooted in reason. Lemmings regularly run over cliffs.

Common sense is not necessarily a representative of truth. Common sense need not be rooted in fact. Common sense is just as easily an agreement built on fiction or fantasy. MAGA is an example: a group awash in an agreement of a reality that is sourced in make-believe. Make-believe: make-it-up-to-create-Belief.

Make-Belief. It is the fox’s game. Is there really any sense to be made from an orange man in a blue suit spewing balderdash? Common or not? Simple minds united under red hats of outrage? Do little green men really arrive in saucers that fly? No sense required; only group agreement awash in nonsense. Like the Republican Congress. Common.

read Kerri’s blogpost about ALIENS

likesharecommentsupportsubscribe…thankyou.

read Kerri

Filed under: Perspective, Two Artists Tuesday | Tagged: artistry, common, common sense, conspiracy theory, cultural construct, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, fantasy, fiction, Joanna Field, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, Marion Milner, reason, republican, sense making, story, studio melange, the melange | 3 Comments »

On This Day, Ask [David’s blog on Merely A Thought Monday]

Posted on May 26, 2025 by davidrobinsoncreative

Conscience (noun): an inner feeling or voice viewed as acting as a guide to the rightness or wrongness of one’s behavior.

This day that we call Memorial Day began as a way to honor and remember the Union soldiers that died in the Civil War. Theirs was a just cause: the end of slavery. The preservation of a nation. Originally, this day was known as Decoration Day. Now it is an observance of all military personnel who died serving – and preserving – the conscience of the nation.

It is important to remember on this day – especially on this day – that the men and women we commemorate, each and every one – swore an oath to “support and defend the Constitution of The United States” against all enemies foreign and domestic. They gave their lives honoring their oath and defending the Constitution.

Today, current members of the military face an untenable conflict. In their oath they have also sworn to obey the orders of the President of the United States. Currently, their oath is to a man who has no interest in supporting or defending the Constitution. He is actively destroying it.

Today, we face an untenable situation. We cannot in good faith both decorate service member’s graves and subscribe to the actions of the current administration. We cannot in good faith whisper words of hallowed remembrance and keep silent while these fallen men and women are being betrayed by a Republican Congress that actively dismantles the Constitution – at the behest of a Republican President that is, himself, a draft dodger, a man who regularly debases service members and ridicules their sacrifice. We make hypocrites of ourselves if we do not defend the sacrifice made by these men and women interred in our cemeteries.

When will our consciences grow?

Our Civil War was fought ostensibly to put an end to horrific human suffering. It was a war fought for the conscience of our nation. That is why we began the tradition of decorating the graves of Civil War veterans – so that we wouldn’t forget them or the cause that they gave their lives to defend.

They knew what was right. We know what is right. We also know what is wrong. So does the Republican Congress, even as they betray their oath.

Standing graveside we must ask why so many who have sworn a similar oath to The Constitution follow the lead of a man who has no conscience, a man who lacks the still small voice. A child-man who cannot see beyond an-eye-for-an-eye. A man who threatens to turn the rifles of the servicemen and servicewomen that he commands upon the citizens of the nation in order to achieve his objective of demolishing democracy as outlined in The Constitution.

What will our service members do in that moment? Will they serve or betray their oath to the Constitution? Will they serve a President who asks them to betray all they stand for, who commands them to ignore their still small voice while he moves to silence the voice of the people and the conscience of the nation?

“What will it take for our consciences to grow so tender that we will act to prevent human misery rather than avenge it?” ~ Eleanor Roosevelt

It’s important for us to ask on this day – especially this day – what will it take for us to act, to defend our Constitution, to honor in more than whispered words the sacrifice of those who died defending the conscience of our nation?

read Kerri’s blogpost on this MEMORIAL DAY

likesharesupportcommentsubscribe…thankyou.

Filed under: Heroes, Merely A Thought Monday, Perspective | Tagged: artistry, Civil War, conscience, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, Eleanor Roosevelt, good faith, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, Memorial Day, oath, observance, right and wrong, sacrifice, story, studio melange, The Constitution of The United States, the melange, tradition | 1 Comment »

No Words [David’s blog on saturday morning smack-dab]

Posted on May 24, 2025 by davidrobinsoncreative

It’s ironic to me that the “progressives” – Bernie Sanders and AOC – are waging an all out effort to preserve our democracy (one might use the word “conserve”) while the “conservatives” are waging a campaign of destruction meant to change the very essence of our governance; they’re calling it “progress”.

The Republican party of “small government” and “fiscal responsibility” are once again blowing the deficit into outer space while weaponizing the government to strong arm anyone who opposes their agenda or suggests that the Constitution ought to be honored.

Tucked into the grotesque big beautiful bill is language that “disarms the courts.” With the Republican Congress already cowed, the courts are the only remaining line separating us – a democracy – from an authoritarian state. The Republican members of the house actually voted to forward a bill that effectively ends our system of government. Is their a word more appropriate than “betrayal”? Perfidy? Treachery?

Their bill, the horror that they call big and beautiful, blatantly and without shame takes from the poor and gives to the rich – a reverse Robin Hood maneuver.

There just aren’t enough words to describe how base, how vile, how utterly chicken-hearted…they convene their sham-committees in the dark of night because they know how repugnant their big beautiful bill actually is. They know. They do not care. Neglect? Disregard? What words can we use to describe this level of depravity?

Vampires work at night because the light of day is lethal to them. Republicans, like vampires – as is apparent in their big bill – desire to drink the life-blood of the most vulnerable. We can only hope that there is enough light let into their chamber to kill this horror-bill before it sucks the life-blood from the most vulnerable people of this nation – and for no greater purpose than giving a massive tax cut to the already ultra-wealthy…and calling it progress.

No words.

[There is, however a ubiquitous question: What do we do?]

read Kerri’s blogpost about NO WORDS

supportlikesharecommentsubscribepushbackspeakup…thankyou.

Filed under: smack-dab | Tagged: AOC, artistry, Bernie Sanders, betrayal, Big Beautiful Bill, cowardice, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, depravity, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, perfidy, republicans, story, studio melange, The Constitution of The United States, the melange, treachery, vampires | 1 Comment »

Keeping Vigil [David’s blog on KS Friday]

Posted on May 23, 2025 by davidrobinsoncreative

“I’d rather learn from one bird how to sing than teach ten thousand stars how not to dance.” ~ e.e. cummings

Our pals shared an adorable photo: their little granddaughter sits on a plastic chair waiting and watching for a single tulip to bloom. She is determined to hold her vigil until the flower opens.

It’s an adorable picture. Kerri sits on a plastic Adirondack chair waiting and watching to catch a photo of the black-capped chickadee emerge from the birdhouse. She is determined to hold her vigil until the tiny bird makes an appearance.

The birdhouse has been empty for years. We thought of it more as a backyard decoration than an actual residence for birds. We couldn’t believe it when we saw a chickadee squeeze through the hole and disappear. Soon long strands of grass hung over the doorway. The chickadee spouse stands guard. It forages and drops food into the house.

It is no small feat to see the world through the eyes of a child. The wonder of a tulip blooming. The astonishment of a chickadee nesting. I watch her watching and waiting, holding her breath with anticipation and I am full, full, full of gratitude that she has not blunted herself to the utter awe of this life. Reverence is so easy for a child, awash in firsts. It is much more difficult when the miracles seem known, ordinary, well worn, when we wrap ourselves in a blanket of been-there-done-that.

Why would we opt to live each day believing that we’ve seen it all before?

“People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle. But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth. Every day we are engaged in a miracle which we don’t even recognize: a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black, curious eyes of a child — our own two eyes. All is a miracle.” ~ Thich Nhat Hahn

read Kerri’s blogpost about THE BIRDHOUSE

likesharesupportsubscribecomment…thankyou.

Filed under: Awakening, Gratitude, KS Friday | Tagged: artistry, bird watching, black cap chickadee, child's eyes, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, e.e. cummings, Gratitude, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, miracles, story, studio melange, the melange, thich nhat hahn, vigil | 2 Comments »

A Second Glance [David’s blog on DR Thursday]

Posted on May 22, 2025 by davidrobinsoncreative

Look carefully and you will see the shadow that the dandelion cast upon the white petal.

Can you see the veining of the leaves? The watercourse way? The ridges in the petals serve the same life-giving purpose although by a subtly different, visibly beautiful design. Can you see it?

There is a small spot of purple. Can you find it? It pulls the eye. It provides the tension necessary for focus, inspiring movement of the eye.

Is the ant adventuring across the dandelion apparent at first glance? Like the spot of purple, it is there though probably not apparent at first glance.

At first glance. To the casual eye. On the face of it.

And then there is the purpose beyond the pretty. Do you see it? The petals of white, the yellow pistil attract pollinators in an attempt to perpetuate their species. The ant does not adventure for fun but for food.

Do you see the dried leaves supporting the green and white, the yellow and purple? Once green themselves, drinking the sun, they now provide sustenance to the next generation, warmth to the root.

It was the shadow of the dandelion cast that caught her attention.

It takes time to see the purpose beyond the pretty. It takes a longer second glance. Seeing – and understanding – interdependence takes more than a first glance. It requires some learning. Observation. Study.

My father used to tell me that I’d educated myself into stupidity. I did not take it personally as I knew that he was captive to the fox. He knew, as do I, that the fox is dedicated to the superficial. He was schooled by the fox to believe that looking beyond the superficial, a thing called “learning”, was a worthless thing. The fox preaches simple idiotic solutions. Build a wall. Deport without due process.

Critical thinkers and active questioners are less likely to eat the smorgasbord of drivel and easy conspiracy served up as sustenance by the fox. The fox relies on the superficial. The fox defends against a second glance. The fox talks fast, a carnival barker, enticing people into the tent with freak-show promises, bearded ladies and conjoined twins, performances guaranteed to shock the most hardy of viewer.

Every carnival barker knows that a longer second glance would shed some light on the subject. It would reveal the make-up, the spirit gummed whiskers, the hollow dumbbells of the strongman. A little study would reveal the purpose: outrage in exchange for your nickel.

The only way to keep the viewer in the tent is to escalate the outrage. Keep them solidly in their reptile brain. The only rule? Never ever provide a second glance. Prevent at all cost a deeper look. Stigmatize learning. Undermine fact. Distract. Gaslight. Blame. Assault education. Oh, and never ever pass up a chance to charge another nickel.

Look carefully and you will see the shadow…

read Kerri’s blogpost about THE SHADOW

likesharesupportcommentsubscribe…thankyou.

Filed under: DR Thursday, Education, Seeing | Tagged: a second glance, artistry, complex, critical thinking, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, education, fact, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, learning, observation, outrage, shadow, simple, story, studio melange, study, the melange | 3 Comments »

The Fog [David’s blog on Flawed Wednesday]

Posted on May 21, 2025 by davidrobinsoncreative

“The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision.” ~ Helen Keller

A mile to the west it is 75 degrees and sunny. Here, by the lake, it is foggy and 10 degrees cooler. The inland heat meets the cool lake water and produces a layer of thick fog. Standing on our front porch we cannot see the end of the street.

It is quiet in our pocket of fog. Today I welcome the protective solitude it inspires. It provides a magical respite from the happenings of the world. Fog brings permission to unplug, some breathing space from the news of the day. Sitting on the back deck I imagine that we are on the shores of Avalon, disappearing into the mist, becoming invisible to the rest of the troubled, enraged world.

In the Arthurian legend, Avalon is a magical, mystical place. It is symbolic as a place of virtue.

Virtue requires vision. Choose any adjective that describes virtue – goodness, morality, integrity, dignity, honor… – all serve a clear ideal. A vision. A vision based on the capacity to discern between right and wrong, truth and lie, service and exploitation. A vision that follows a steadfast moral compass.

By this or any standard, our current leadership has sight but no vision. The milksop Republicans in Congress play cowboy while sacrificing themselves on an alter of greed. How else do we make sense of their dedicated impotence in the face of the worst constitutional crisis in our nation’s history? It’s a crisis that they could stop in a day if they honored their oath to the Constitution. If they did their jobs. The Republican president sells the national soul to the highest bidder, personal profit the glutton-master he and his peers serve. A fall from grace, our isle of vice is not disappearing into a fog of uncertainty, rather it reveals itself in the harsh light of moral indifference, it adorns itself in a festival blanket of foxy-lies producing angry maga-followers awash in a cultish brain fog. Sight without vision.

There is nothing mystical going on here. The unprincipled disavowal of ethics, the blatant bribery and unbridled greed, the hard right turn away from truth and democratic ideals – all happening in plain sight – renders us worse than blind.

Is it any wonder I welcome the fog and imagine myself disappearing into the quiet of the mystical island, a sanctuary symbolic of virtue?

read Kerri’s blogpost about FOG