Language | The Direction of Intention

Walk In Dolly’s Shadow [David’s blog on Merely A Thought Monday]

Posted on August 31, 2026 by davidrobinsoncreative

This morning it occurred to me that, since the sitting president likes to slap his name on everything, we ought to lean into his need and help him out. Trump Cyclospora. Trump Measles. Trump SNAP Elimination. Trump Healthcare Calamity. Trump Food Chain Collapse, Trump Housing Crisis. Trump Un-Affordability Campaign. Trump D.C. Defilement, Trump Superpower Suicide, Trump Military Misuse…There are so many! More and more every day. Trump Global Humiliation.

I learned in kindergarten that it was appropriate to give credit where credit is due.

Walking the path that connects the marina to the channel, the rocks of the seawall are periodically painted with slogans and messages. I saw, “NO KINGS!” “Be Happy!” and “Be Kind.” All messages were the same color so I’m assuming they came from the same graffiti writer. The NO KINGS rock was directly related to the Be Kind and Be Happy rocks.

To be (verb): to exist, to have a specific identity or quality, or to occupy a place. “To be” is a verb. It is an action. We are what we do. To be kind is to do acts of kindness. Same-same.

Kindness is a choice.

Viktor Frankl wrote that happiness follows: chasing happiness is folly since it is the blossom of acts of kindness or generosity. Happiness arises when we focus on something outside ourselves, like helping another person, or committing action to a greater purpose (service to others). To be kind is a doorway to being happy.

If you have not read Heather Delaney Reese’s post (8.26.26) comparing the 80 years of actions, the 80 years of choices, made by Dolly Parton with the 80 years of actions and choices of Donald Trump, it’s worth a read. Dolly’s being was kind and happy because her actions were considerate and generous. The other guy, the sitting president, accumulates stuff while stamping his name on everything. His being is mean-spirited and selfish. He can’t seem to find the happiness he’s looking for.

It’s a comparison that illuminates the gap between our nation’s rhetoric and our current actions. It is a comparison that begs the question who we’d rather model, whose example we’d rather follow?

“If one speaks or acts with a pure mind, happiness follows like a shadow.” The Dhammapada

Happiness followed Dolly like a shadow. The other guy? Well…

I don’t know about you but I’d rather walk in Dolly’s shadow.

read Kerri’s blogpost about KINDNESS

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Filed under: Identity, Language, Merely A Thought Monday, Uncategorized | Tagged: actions, artistry, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, Dolly Parton, happiness, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, kind, kindness, service, story, studio melange, the melange, to be, Viktor Frankl | Leave a comment »

Our Naked Truth [David’s blog on Merely A Thought Monday]

Posted on August 10, 2026 by davidrobinsoncreative

“It’s been on my mind a lot lately,” she said. “The word veritas.”

Veritas.

Veritas is the Latin word for truth though it is more precise than the blanket word, “truth”. It denotes an alignment of words and actions with facts and yet it reaches beyond the hard science of fact into the metaphysics of morality . It is meant to be a core lived-value. One of The Four Agreements of Don Miguel Ruiz is “to be impeccable to your word,” say what you mean and mean what you say. Impeccability to your word is veritas.

Veritas is a Roman goddess “…often depicted as nuda veritas (naked truth), holding a hand mirror to show self-reflection and how things truly are without disguise.” (Wikipedia)

It goes without saying that Veritas is not high on the list of aspirations in these un-United States. We are awash in misinformation, propaganda, deception and lie. In Latin, our current value set is more Falsitas (untruth) than Veritas. In recent history we eschew the hand-mirror and bury ourselves in disguises.

Another yummy Latin word, Simulatio, meaning hypocrisy and deceit, brought a smile to me when I thought it could be the new name of GOP Elephant. It’s either Simulatio or a more considerate moniker: Mentis Morbum (mental illness).

We are in the midst of primary season, choosing the candidates that will run in the November midterm election. Veritas must be on the minds of millions of people. More than once I’ve heard a candidate say something like, “This is not a progressive or conservative issue. It is a human issue.” Hearing this phrase gives me some small measure of hope. It transcends partisan divides. Perhaps we-the-people are finally sick to death of Falsitas and are trying to find our way to common ground. Our shared values. Perhaps the distance between who-we say-we-are and how-we-act has become too vast. Perhaps the weight of the disguise has become to heavy to bear.

Perhaps our only route to survival – and health – as a democracy is by dropping the Falsitas and taking up the hand-mirror of Veritas and having a good long look at our naked truth. Perhaps we will have the courage to open our eyes see our full reflection. Perhaps we will deal honestly with our manufactured divide. Perhaps we will once-and-for-all put to rest the ugly white nationalism, the root of our Falsitas, the seed of our racial inequality, and at long last live without apology the Veritas at the heart of our foundational aspiration: a nation that believes to its core that all people – all people – are created equal.

Equality is not a conservative or progressive issue. It is a human issue.

read Kerri’s blogpost about VERITAS

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Filed under: Identity, Language, Merely A Thought Monday, Uncategorized | Tagged: alignment, artistry, aspiration, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, don miguel ruiz, hypocrisy, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, naked truth, story, studio melange, the melange, truth, values, veritas | 1 Comment »

Our Context [David’s blog on DR Thursday]

Posted on July 23, 2026 by davidrobinsoncreative

“Words are never good or bad on their own, context makes them so.” ~Abhijit Naskar

I know what the image is and, even so, it took my brain a moment to make sense of it. It’s what happens when the subject of an image is stripped of context. On first glance this looks like a claw machine in an arcade instead of the last moments of our ancient maple tree. It took a crew less than an hour to reduce a century of growth into a stump. A giant claw easily lifted the massive trunk into an awaiting dump truck.

I am writing this the day after the grifter in the White House served the nation a prime time lie. A well-worn, very tired, endlessly debunked lie. Every statement he made was void of context. He is adept at wrapping simple facts in a morass of made-up hooey. He lost an election. His knows his party is about to lose “bigly” in the upcoming midterms. It can’t possibly be that he is incompetent. It can’t be that he and his party have no interest in governing or a shred of reverence for the constitution or the rule of law. It can’t be that the nation is shocked by the blatant corruption. No, to stay in power, a fabricated context is called for. Fraud! Hoax! Foreign intervention! The loser-in-chief cries again and again and again, “They cheat!”

Context: Over 60 courts tossed his 2020 claims of voter fraud for lack of evidence. His own government watchdogs reported that the election – like all elections in the USA, was free and fair. Context: while he lost, the down-ballot republicans, listed on the very same ballot, in the very same election, won handily. Context: His administration was in charge of the election he claims was rigged against him.

Context question: Are you as weary of this incessant boy-crying-wolf as I am?

“Separate text from context and all that remains is a con.” ~ Stewart Stafford

His cries of corruption in our elections are a deception. He is the corruption in our electoral process. He is the threat to our free and fair elections. He and his crew are the danger to our democracy.

His prime-time lie, like everything else about him and his crew, is a con. They expect you and me to ignore the context, to swallow their bilge without question. It is less than 100 days to the midterm elections. Our role as citizens in a democracy has never been so clear: first, we must be keepers of the actual context and protect our right to vote. This administrations authoritarian intentions are apparent. Their actions are criminal. It is our context.

Second, after we protect our elections from this assault, we must hold this con man and his mob accountable for their crimes. It is what they most fear, it is why they lie, it is the reason they ask you and me to close our eyes, plug our ears, and pretend that they are not reducing our centuries old democracy into a fascist stump.

In the end, history will place them in their proper context.

Red Bird*, 16″x20″ mixed media on canvas

*This painting has nothing to do with the theme of this post. It’s new. It’s lighthearted – and, like me, I suspect you could use a bit of that.

read Kerri’s vastly different thoughts about THE TREE

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Filed under: DR Thursday, Edges, Language, Pattern, Uncategorized | Tagged: artistry, con, context, corruption, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, democracy, election, fraud, incompetence, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, lies, meaning making, story, studio melange, the melange | Leave a comment »

The Third Line [David’s blog on Flawed Wednesday]

Posted on June 10, 2026 by davidrobinsoncreative

Our first guess, a Yellow Breasted Bunting, was inaccurate. It was an American Goldfinch. Our honest mistake did not short circuit a haiku.

Seven syllables, the second line of a haiku: A Yellow Breasted Bunting. What might be the first line of this haiku? A shock of color? Harbinger alights? An Omen arrives? What reconciliation or insight might this omen-Bunting bring to the third line? The messenger sings? Chirping the future?

An omen arrives/ A Yellow Breasted Bunting/The messenger sings.

All of this ran through my mind after scrubbing out the birdbath, refilling it with fresh water, only to find a few moments later a shock of feathered yellow perched on the rim preparing for a swim. The fourth line of my haiku, if such a thing existed, would be: Gratification. Or “pure bliss”. Or perhaps, “The oracle takes a bath”.

Canary in the coal mine. Their song an early warning system.

Maya Angelou wrote, “I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings”. The song of the caged bird is one of hope in the face of oppression. The song of a bird yearning to be free.

And what is the message of a mistaken Yellow Breasted Bunting/American Goldfinch perched on the rim of a newly refreshed birdbath? A new beginning perhaps? A fresh start? The necessity of chirping from the heart?

Or, perhaps, it wasn’t a messenger at all! Perhaps it was just an American Goldfinch, not an oracle, who simply stopped in to take a cool bath and sing.

American gold/finch, not oracle or seer/Singing just because.

read Kerri’s blogpost about THE GOLDFINCH

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Filed under: Flawed Wednesday, Language, Metaphor, Uncategorized | Tagged: American Goldfinch, artistry, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, freedom, haiku, hope, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, maya angelou, omen, story, studio melange, the melange | 1 Comment »

Take A While [David’s blog on Two Artists Tuesday]

Posted on May 12, 2026 by davidrobinsoncreative

“You have traveled too fast over false ground;
Now your soul has come to take you back.

Take refuge in your senses, open up
To all the small miracles you rushed through.”

~ John O’Donohue

Even now the cardinal is singing. The early sun warms the quilt covering our feet as we write. Our morning practice of writing blogs together is never rushed. We tease that the editors are tapping their feet, unhappy with our dedication to meditative process evolution. Since we both seem to have issues with authority it is among our favorite games to torture our imaginary editors who are terminally deadline-driven and burdened with our snail’s pace, our too-generous-very-slow writing practice. The editors hate that I stare out the window and daydream. They roll their eyes when Kerri says, “This may take a while.” They desire us to be more “nose to the grindstone”. And isn’t that a happy phrase!

She tells me that it is impossible to get a good photograph of the white trillium unless it is in the shade or the day is cloudy. The sun bounces off the white petals and blows out the image. The day was cloudy so she was excited to find the perfect trillium. While she knelt to take her photograph I closed my eyes and stood still. It is what I do now when we stop for a photo op. Listen and feel. It is good advice to take refuge in your senses; to open up.

Though I adore his poem I imagine that John O’Donohue had it backwards. The soul does not come to take you back. I imagine it has been there all along, waiting. It knows that sooner or later we stop trying to find “it” in some distant future or some grand achievement. Soul waits for us to stop running. It waits for us to stand still enough to recognize that “it” never required a chase or proof-of-worth or acquisition. We at long last stop and take it back.

It’s hard to see anything with your nose to a grindstone – except a grindstone. The last time they were pushing me to hurry-up-and-finish I told the editors that the words “puritan” and “punitive” sounded remarkably similar. They “blew a gasket.” My soul smiled. I closed my eyes and felt the sun warming the quilt covering our feet. I asked Kerri if she was ready to read and she said, “Not yet. This may take a while.”

***

“You have traveled too fast over false ground;
Now your soul has come to take you back.

Take refuge in your senses, open up
To all the small miracles you rushed through.

Become inclined to watch the way of rain
When it falls slow and free.

Imitate the habit of twilight,
Taking time to open the well of color
That fostered the brightness of day.

Draw alongside the silence of stone
Until its calmness can claim you.”
― John O’Donohue

read Kerri’s blogpost about WHITE TRILLIUM

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Filed under: Awakening, Language, Two Artists Tuesday | Tagged: artistry, connection, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, Gratitude, John O"Donohue, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, presence, refuge, senses, soul, story, studio melange, the melange | 1 Comment »

The Real World [David’s blog on Two Artists Tuesday]

Posted on January 20, 2026 by davidrobinsoncreative

It’s only been in the past year that I’ve regularly doubted what I write. More than once over these several months I have questioned the worth of my words – and then pulled my post. The scrubbed posts are political rants about injustice or hypocrisy or my disdain for the enablers of rising authoritarianism. It feels good to spew bile when being force fed so much toxic waste from the rancid remnants of the grand old party. But do I need to share it? After a bit of time and reflection I realize that my need was to rant, to get it out of my mind – but that does not mean you-out-there need to swallow yet another dose of toxin from me.

We started writing ahead because it gave us time to refine and edit. It gave us time to develop our ideas. We’ve found that there is a danger of writing a week in advance: the assault on our nation by our government is happening so fast that our reflections are yesterday’s news by the time that they are published.

Kerri listened to my latest struggle. I had written yet another rant and felt that this particular thought-vomit had merit. I wrestled with my desire to post it. She quietly brought me back to the ground. She acknowledged the darkness, both within me and in the world, and reminded me that my walk on this earth is a pilgrimage toward the light. She asked me to consider whether or not my words were better spent helping others in this time of darkness to also step toward the light. I dumped my post. I felt relieved.

I was thoroughly admonished by my “weekly statistics”. Of particular concern to the algorithm-police was the rapid decline in my amount of screen time. It’s way down. It’s true. I am spending less and less time hurtling down the social media causeway. I am finding that alternate reality mind-numbing and increasingly less healthy. After all, the point is to keep me hooked. I am aware of the constant wash of anger and anxiety, the designer drug called fear-of-missing-out.

Every time we hit the trail, every time I turn off my phone, I feel as if I slowly come back to my senses. I re-enter the world of actual importance. I re-enter the world of living breathing 3-D humans instead of the flat-Stanley world of screen-names tossing bombs or affirmation at each other. We pass real people on the trail. We feel their presence. We say, “Hello”.

We stopped in awe when the winter sun electrified the pine needles. Just for a moment we entered timeless space, the place beyond the noisy insanity and manufactured division. Awash in the warmth of winter light we knew – beyond all doubt – that all everything we needed was right there, waiting for us in the natural order of the real world.

read Kerri’s blogpost about PINE NEEDLES

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Filed under: Awakening, Language, Two Artists Tuesday | Tagged: affirmation, artistry, darkness, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, division, doubt, ideas, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, light, Rants, senses, story, studio melange, the melange | 1 Comment »

The Nitty Gritty [David’s blog on Merely A Thought Monday]

Posted on January 19, 2026 by davidrobinsoncreative

“I wish it didn’t have the number 47 on it,” she said of the painted clay plate. “It ruins it for me.” We launched into a conversation about all the nitty gritty things that the authoritarian wannabe and his grotesques have ruined for us. The word “great”. The color red. The word “ice”. The Republican party. The office of the President. The Supreme Court. The word “tremendous”. It is a very long list. It includes family relationships. It includes having an iota of respect for anyone who supports him or makes excuses for him or justifies the horror show that he’s unleashed; it includes the systems (people) that seem unwilling or incapable of stopping what they know to be putrid. He leaves his stink on all of us.

It includes my understanding of the word “tolerance”. I have long believed it is important to stand in the shoes of “the other person”. I now have an asterisk next to the word “tolerance”: there are some shoes that are too ugly to stand in. There are some points of view too toxic to entertain. I’ve found within me the absolute necessity for intolerance and I cannot express how profoundly sad that makes me.

And then there is the contrast principle, the nitty gritty things that fill me with hope. I will never see a whistle in the same way. The word “taco” is forever altered. I am in awe of people dedicated to peaceful protest in the face of a gestapo that antagonizes them. The word “protest” has come to mean so much more than I understood. Phrases like “due process” and “habeas corpus” are now three-dimensional and brimming with importance. Amidst the utter cowardice of the major media, the phrase “a free press” carries renewed significance. An actual free press is rising among the progressive independent media. The word “truth” is no longer generic. I’ll now forever equate the word “courage” with people running out of their homes to protect their neighbors. “Protect”. People organizing to reclaim decency and to demand integrity in our leaders. “Organizing”. So many words finding gravity in this time.

I no longer take the word “democracy” for granted. It is forever changed, enlivened. I understand the word “vote” as one of the most powerful actions a human being can take. Deciding who represents us, our values and will steward our shared dream. And, if our representatives betray our trust, we vote to remove them and replace them with someone more capable. Someone with “integrity”. Yet another nitty gritty word that has renewed meaning.

Vote. Integrity. Democracy. Truth. Decency. Shared values, like “equality”. These are the nitty gritty: the basics, the essentials, the essence. These “words” are the most profound gifts that members of our community can give to each other. In these times, they are the epicenter of what we must claim and protect for each other.

read Kerri’s blogpost about THE PLATE

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Filed under: Identity, Language, Merely A Thought Monday | Tagged: artistry, courage, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, decency, democracy, equality, essence, integrity, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, nitty gritty, story, studio melange, the melange, tolerance, truth, values, vote | Leave a comment »

Clepe Incredible [David’s blog on KS Friday]

Posted on November 21, 2025 by davidrobinsoncreative

This is the time of year that color in nature becomes shocking. It is the consequence of nature’s contrast principle: the greys and browns of oncoming winter meet the vibrant yellow, orange and red of the leaves-last-stand. Last week, while walking Dogga, I stood for several minutes beneath a tree made electric by the morning light. I felt as if I had entered another reality.

Contrast principle is really about how comparison shapes perception. I only know that I’m having a bad day because I believe that I’ve had good days. Last night I watched Anderson Cooper interview Tig Nataro for his series exploring grief. Tig Nataro recently lost her friend, poet Andrea Gibson. The love of life comes clear in the moment of the loss of life. The appreciation of life sharpens when the end rolls into view. Contrast principle.

I bumbled into an archaic word that is new to me: clepe. It means to give someone or something a specified name. To name. I was cleped David. As my end rolls into view I am more and more resisting the impulse to clepe my days. Why should my days be labeled either good or bad? On my last day, what will I be willing to give to have one more moment of this life? Why not clepe incredible each and every moment that I am fortunate enough to experience?

Kerri’s heart is available for sharing on iTunes and streaming on Pandora

read Kerri’s blogpost about THE VIBRANT LEAVES

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Filed under: Awakening, Gratitude, KS Friday, Language | Tagged: Anderson Cooper, Andrea Gibson, appreciation, artistry, clepe, comparison, contrast principle, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, perception, story, studio melange, the melange, Tig Nataro | 1 Comment »

The More Difficult Path [David’s blog on DR Thursday]

Posted on September 18, 2025 by davidrobinsoncreative

“Tenderness and kindness are not signs of weakness and despair, but manifestations of strength and resolution.” ~ Kahlil Gibran

As her parting words when it was time for us to go, Beaky always said, “Be kind to each other.” She said it more as a wish or a prayer than as wise counsel.

In this latest era, we’re hearing a lot about hate speech. I believe Beaky’s farewell sentiment came from the experience of a long life: she knew that hostility and indifference are easy. Meanness is low hanging fruit, easily picked. Kindness, on the other hand, requires dedicated intentionality. It is a mandate to relinquish senseless power games.

Her parting words might as well have been, “Be conscious. Give your attention to each other.”

In the school of “Your Words Matter,” there is a clear distinction between the language of violence and the language of benevolence: hate speech rejects personal responsibility. Kindness requires an embrace of personal responsibility.

It is easy to point a finger and spew word-bile. It is satisfying to score a point and walk away. Demolition is elementary. It requires no special talent or skill.

Decency, kindness, generosity…considering the impact of words and actions on others – is certainly the more difficult path. To be aware of the impact of words and actions takes…well…awareness. Awareness and concern for others takes courage, strength and resolution – and is nothing less than the blossom of respect for your self.

With some corrections, it is finished: 66&19, 31.5″x36″ mixed media

read Kerri’s blogpost about the DAISY BUTTON

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Filed under: DR Thursday, Language | Tagged: artistry, awareness, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, decency, intention, Kahlil Gibran, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, kind, kindness, responsibility, self respect, story, studio melange, the melange | 1 Comment »

The Very Least [David’s blog on DR Thursday]

Posted on August 21, 2025 by davidrobinsoncreative

“Positive cultural change today (as it has always been) is about leveraging your life where you are: by doing small, possible, measurable daily acts of decency, of protest, of advocacy, of collaboration.” ~ John Pavlovitz, The Beautiful Mess, 2.27.25

Red dianthus symbolizes deep love and affection. We’ve ringed our deck with pots of dianthus. It seems like such a small thing yet every time we step onto the deck, we smile. They invoke our affection. They magnify our deep love.

Symbols might seem like a small thing but they reach to the very core of our being. Who in the USA can see a bald eagle and not be taken by the majesty of the symbol? Who in the world can see a swastika and not be horrified by what it represents?

Language is constructed of symbols. We line our streets with universal symbols: stop, walk, yield, green-means-go. We think in symbols. We dream in symbols. We are naive to ignore or underestimate the power of symbols.

The Texas Democrats breaking quorum was a symbolic act. They understand that single-party-rule, as is now being legislated in Texas, is authoritarianism. Their symbolic act has sent a ripple of courage through an otherwise paralyzed Democratic party.

Yesterday I wrote that in the midst of our national horror, each and every day, we ask ourselves, “What can we do?” If I could I would go to the Texas legislature and stand with the Democrats who are now essentially being held hostage. I wish every lover of democracy could show up this morning on the floor of the Texas legislature and say with their presence, “We will not stand for this.” I wish every lover of democracy could show up on the floor of the nation’s legislature with the same message. Enough.

Protests are symbolic acts. So is delivering donations to a food pantry. John Pavlovitz reminded us this morning that the answer to our question, “What can we do?” need not be grand. In fact, we need only look around our community and, as Ann used to tell me, “Find a need and fill it.” Offering a helping hand is a symbolic act.

Calling out the national guard without reason is a symbolic act. Signing meaningless executive orders to do away with mail-in-voting is a symbolic act. Both are in direct opposition to these symbols: The Declaration of Independence, The Constitution of the United States, The Statue of Liberty, The Liberty Bell, The Boston Tea Party…the vote in free and fair elections.

Our vote is now all that stands between us and the loss of our democracy. By-the-way, that has always been true.

Our vote is under assault by a president and republican congress. They are rigging the system to eliminate democracy in favor of one party rule. They assault nothing less than our foundational symbolic action. The Right to Vote.

Our vote, until now, has been the sacred central symbol – the single symbolic act – of our experiment in democracy: rule of, by, and for the people. According to our symbol, our leaders serve at our pleasure. We choose them. If we do not like their actions, we vote them out.

Until now.

Voting seems like such a small thing. Yet, it is everything.

What can we do? Protect your right and mine, protect the right of every citizen without regard of color or gender, to vote in free and fair elections. It is no small act of decency to protect the single, central action, the primary symbol of our democracy, the one thing that you can DO that actually makes the whole country great: protect your right to vote. And then, when the day comes, exercise your right, perform your symbolic act. Vote. It is the very least – and the utmost – you can do.