Metaphor | The Direction of Intention

The Jetty [David’s blog on Flawed Wednesday]

Posted on October 21, 2026 by davidrobinsoncreative

I am surrounded by so much beauty that I sometimes forget. I take it for granted. And then, walking the paths that hug the lake, I suddenly see again. I stop because I am overwhelmed by the enormity of it all, just as I was the very first time I walked these paths. “Look where we live!” I say.

“I know,” she replies.

Our loop takes us along the lake, through the marina and around the point to the channel, the jetty and red lighthouse. The jetty serves as a stalwart guardian at the mouth of the channel. When the lake is raging it absorbs the force of the waves. On any day it keeps silt from collecting and clogging the channel. On calm days it is an excellent spot for the seagulls to gather and confab. When the salmon are running the fishermen in their small boats gather at the mouth of the channel and take advantage of the jetty’s protection.

Kerri and I are a jetty for each other.

I’ve decided that everyone needs a jetty.

It’s one of the things we take for granted about our democracy – about the idea that is a democracy. It is meant to be a government made up of regular people who serve their neighbors. People protecting people from exploitation and persecution, striving for “a more perfect union”. At least that is the idea. Of, by and for the people. In a democracy, the law is the jetty.

I suppose autocracies are a jetty too, but serve a purpose that is the opposite of a democracy. It establishes a barrier that protects the privileged few from the majority who are exploited for private gain. In an autocracy, brute force is the jetty. ICE. The SS.

So, I must amend my thought: everyone needs a jetty and everyone needs to be a jetty for others.

I recently heard an interview with Maria Ressa, a Noble Peace Prize laureate. She said something that reminds me of the democracy-jetty that we’ve lost and need to rebuild: facts make truth and truth makes justice. Without equal application of the law, law that serves facts that illuminate truth, there is no justice. Where there is no justice there is no liberty.

I have been surrounded all my life by liberty and I have taken it for granted. Rights and freedoms. The sitting president just announced that the courts have no power over him, that he need not follow the law. The protective jetty has been breached and I am overwhelmed by the enormity of it all.

Our vote in a few short weeks will not restore the jetty but will serve to slow its dismantling. It will take some time to rebuild our stalwart guardian jetty. That process will first necessitate a grounding in fact so we might be able to restore shared truth which will revivify the respect for the law.

I look forward to the day* – I hope for the day – that we can look at each other, recognize our hard-earned good fortune, the beauty of our democracy, a nation of equal justice under the law, honestly striving for a more perfect union, and once again say to each other, “Look at where we live!”

*(restoration begins now with your vote. Vote. Help your neighbors to vote)

read Kerri’s blogpost about THE JETTY

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Filed under: Edges, Flawed Wednesday, Identity, Metaphor, Uncategorized | Tagged: artistry, autocracy, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, democracy, equality, government, justice, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, law, story, studio melange, the melange, truth | Leave a comment »

You Are The Sky [David’s blog on DR Thursday]

Posted on October 15, 2026 by davidrobinsoncreative

Breck is looking stressed and who can blame her. These days there’s plenty to be stressed about. I had a chat with her about stress reduction strategies. I even used a line from Pema Chödrön: “You are the sky. Everything else – it’s just the weather.” She shook her leaves in indignation and looked at me like I was an idealistic dullard. We both knew that the excessive heat and rain this summer was not the only cause of her stress.

“Back at you, brother,” she rustled.

If Breck is having trouble staying present amidst the onslaught of dangerous national depravity, then I suppose I can grant a bit of grace to myself as well. Just breathe. Practice presence and stop biting the hook of the daily outrage.

Breck was quick to point out that not all of her leaves are stressed. In fact, the majority are not. The vast majority are beginning their autumn change to vibrant yellow. She directed my attention to the edges of her leaves, olive-sage slightly rimmed in canary. “You might have noticed had you not had your head buried so deep in the news,” she quaked.

I hate to admit it but she’s right.

We watched a documentary about Timothy Olson, the man who set the fastest known time running the Pacific Crest Trail. He said a few things worth noting. First, adversity, the hard stuff, is what pops us open to the fullness of life. Second, joy is the point of running the trail so be careful not to lose the joy in the adversity. Those are not direct quotes but you get the gist.

We are living in extraordinary times. We have a cup brimming with adversity so we must also have an ocean of life awaiting our attention. I just finished reading Paulo Coehlo’s book, The Zahir. There’s a quote that lines up well with Pema Chödrön’s:

“Welcome, nomad who crosses the steppes. Welcome to the place where we always say that the sky is blue even when it is grey, because we know that the color is still there above the clouds.”

“You are the sky,” Breck winked and swayed.

I nodded. “Back at you, sister.”

Don’t you love it when you discover that your trees are smarter than you?

read Kerri’s blogpost about STRESS

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Filed under: DR Thursday, Metaphor, Uncategorized | Tagged: artistry, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, story, studio melange, the melange | 1 Comment »

More Fantastic [David’s blog on Flawed Wednesday]

Posted on October 14, 2026 by davidrobinsoncreative

I dreamed that there were grizzly bears swimming in my pool. I don’t have a pool. In the dream, the bears were friendly. I enjoyed their antics. They were showing off because they knew I was watching.

On our walk, the maples in the park are beginning to turn. I look forward to this time of year when the color of the leaves knocks my socks off. Isn’t that a funny image? My socks flying off my feet from the sheer force of color. It’s a dream image. Metaphors are like that.

They are pulling the boats out of the harbor. We watched as the rolling crane lifted an enormous yacht from the water – as if it was a toy – and then slowly rolled it into the boatyard for cleaning, shrink wrap and storage. A surreal experience.

These days I go outside with Dogga to keep an eye on him. He wakes us before dawn. I have been enjoying watching the moon wane. This morning it was a sliver. Orion was high in the sky. The only sound was a distant train engine idling. Dogga was suddenly at my feet. We sat on the cool stone of the patio and had a sweet pet.

Everything seems dreamlike to me in this era of mass disorientation. I don’t know about you but I’m having a much easier time believing that grizzly bears are swimming in my pool than I am that anyone still supports this pedophile president and his feckless republican party. Unlike the bears, he is not friendly and his followers are not a joy to behold.

Like me, do you dream of a time when truth is once again valued and integrity restored, when dreams are more fantastic than the daily tsunami of outrage and lies?

read Kerri’s blog about THE MAPLES

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Filed under: Flawed Wednesday, Metaphor, Perspective, Uncategorized | Tagged: artistry, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, dreams, integrity, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, MAGA, reality, republicans, story, studio melange, surreal, the melange, truth | Leave a comment »

Flat Feeder [David’s blog on Two Artists Tuesday]

Posted on October 13, 2026 by davidrobinsoncreative

If I need a reason to never trust driver-less cars, the difficulty I currently experience placing images in this blog gives me the excuse. My WordPress, without warning, flips images to the left. It only glitches with images from Kerri’s camera and only some images, not all. My reptile brain generalizes the instability across all technology: if a simple task, like importing an image, can make a sudden unwanted and unexpected left hand turn, then a driver-less car is capable of doing it, too. It’s a simple matter of survival.

It’s not like people are incapable of sudden unexpected left-hand turns. They are. The difference is that people have, at their stem, reptilian brains. Irrationality is expected. It’s in the fine print. Our cemeteries are filled with people who thought they could split their focus and text while driving. It’s possible to see human error coming, not so much when the steering wheel has nary a hand upon it. Besides, with the recent showing by the tech-bros, I don’t trust them to create anything that doesn’t have nefarious intentions. These are the minds that produced the phrase, “Democracy is inefficient,” as justification to support a despot. I’ll drive my own damn car, thank you very much.

And that brings me to flat bird feeders. It is an old technology used for attracting and feeding birds. One employs a flat feeder in order to sit in a chair and marvel at the birds snacking on the seed. “Don’t you love it!” we exclaim.

We did not have a flat feeder. It’s a simple box with screen at the bottom and filled with safflower seeds. The cardinals and house finches love it. We looked at several versions of flat feeders before deciding that we – even we – could build a simple box and staple screen to the bottom. We had wood in our scrap pile. We had screen rolled up and stored in the ceiling of the basement. We have a chop saw, a drill and a staple gun. We have jute. We have an old shower curtain hook for a hanger. We had all of the necessary ingredients for concocting a flat feeder. All are, in fact, old technologies. And, I know exactly what they are capable of doing or not doing. Sometimes the saw blades need changing or the staples need refilling. I respect them but I do not fear them. If they glitch I can generally comprehend the reason. I can also honestly assess my carpentry skill level which is basic. I am a theatre carpenter which means it needs to look good from a distance and only has to last as long as the production.

If you come to our house and find yourself in the backyard, you are welcome to admire our new flat-feeder from a distance. You won’t be permitted to get close enough to see the truth of the construction. I’ll make up stories that make you leery of stepping on the grass. Actually, I’ll confess my ineptitude but point out that the birds haven’t left a single bad comment in the comment box. It may be that they do not recognize the comment box as a comment box since I built it. No matter. The birds are not leery at all to dine at our flat feeder. Something I cannot say is true about stepping into a driver-less car or trusting the tech-bros to ethically police themselves. They would have us sit in the backseat of an immoral system, frightened, with no ability to take the wheel.

read Kerri’s blogpost about THE FLAT FEEDER

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Filed under: Metaphor, Perspective, Two Artists Tuesday, Uncategorized | Tagged: artistry, control, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, democracy, driverless car, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, story, studio melange, survival, tech bros, technology, the melange | 1 Comment »

Oh, NOOOOOO! [David’s blog on Merely A Thought Monday]

Posted on October 5, 2026 by davidrobinsoncreative

Kerri thinks this Dogga-fuzz looks like the “Oh, No!” emoji: 😮 “That’s what my face looks like every day while I read the news,” I said. Making the oh-no-face I groaned, “Oh, NOOOOOOOO!!”

Do you remember Mr. Bill from SNL? He is quintessential humor. He’s like Wylie Coyote. We laugh because we know Mr. Bill or Wylie Coyote are about to get creamed.

Comedy is often based on the pain of others: the man slipping on a banana peel is funny. The National Institute of Health tells us that, “Comedy and pain are closely linked because humor serves as a psychological shield, a physiological pain reliever, and a way to process trauma.” This definition makes me wonder why the entire nation is not howling with laughter. There’s a ton of pain in these un-United States. Of course, it’s not funny if you are the man slipping on the banana peel; there is no comedy when the pain is yours. We call that “tragedy”.

Mr. Bill cries, “OH, NOOOO!” as he suddenly recognizes of what’s coming the moment before he’s flattened.

The rest of the world should be laughing at us, given that we are the person slipping on the banana peel, except the pain is ubiquitous. It is worldwide. We – all of humanity – with the exception of the maga-few – know that we are being flattened. This banana peel has all of humanity tumbling. “OH, NOOOO!” we cry! The maga-few laugh but we know they are being crushed, too, and have yet to realize it.

I suspect they know…but are too invested to show it. Their laughter is a psychological shield. A psychological fortress.

Someday historians will write tomes of this era. They will chuckle in disbelief at the mess we made. Their research will have them snickering as they ask, “How could they not see that coming?”

It seems we’ve elected a party of Mr. Bills and Wylie Coyotes, smug in their red hats, riding their ACME rockets all the way to the bottom. Poof. It makes me wonder if or when they will realize they are orchestrating their own demise? Will they allow themselves to see the rapidly approaching canyon floor? Through their laughter can they hear the nation – and the world – crying, “Oh, NOOOOO!”?

read Kerri’s blogpost about THE FUZZ

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Filed under: Merely A Thought Monday, Metaphor, Uncategorized | Tagged: artistry, comedy, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, humor, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, MAGA, Mr. Bill, republican congress, story, studio melange, the melange, Wylie Coyote | Leave a comment »

Just A Few Feet [David’s blog on KS Friday]

Posted on September 18, 2026 by davidrobinsoncreative

Lessons from the garden, vol. 1, episode 11. Title: Every Plant Has It’s Place.

When you buy a plant the little tag stuck into the soil offers location advice and watering preferences. Sun part shade. Full sun. Keep soil damp. Water only when soil is dry. And, as helpful as the information is, it is generic at best. I’ve learned that plants are like people: thriving is based on individual preference. Not all sun-part-shade locations are the same.

For instance, we have a pot of Impatiens that was in the perfect spot according to its tag. 48 hours after coming home with us it was sad indeed. We moved it 3 feet to the left to a spot where it would have 6 more minutes of shade each day and a better view of the tomatoes and it boomed. It sings arias. It is a boastful Impatiens daily testing the limitations of its pot. Such a small change for such a mighty response.

I’ve already reported about moving of the very-depressed-sweet-potato-vine from the ladder to Barney-the-piano and how it perked up immediately. Last season the sweet potato vine adored the ladder but this sad character was not happy with its locale. The move to Barney was balm to its Gilead. The amount of sun-to-shade is the same, the amount of water has not changed. Only the view is different. And, I suppose, it sits on top of Barney’s lid as opposed to being suspended from a rung. Perhaps, like me, this sweet potato vine was afraid of heights? No matter. Now it is happy and wrapping Barney in vines of sweet potato love.

The sweet potato vine move left an empty space on the ladder. It was late in the season and we found an almost dying fern at the nursery. Half price. They wanted to sell it before it was in full demise. We brought it home, used shower curtain hooks to suspend it from the ladder. Attended to its obvious need and the next day it was radiant. It simply needed a new location called “home” and a bit of personal attention.

I learned the same lesson when I was working with the schools. Not all kids are desk-sitters. Kinesthetic kids need the freedom to move or to run a lesson through their fingers. For them, a desk is despair. Simply standing up and stretching their limbs transformed frustration into happy exploration.

I learned the same lesson in the theatre. The best stagemangers I worked with were previously unhappy actors. A simple move a few feet across an imaginary line made all the difference. Plus, they learned early in their new location/identity that the snacks are much better at the tech table.

Like their human counterparts, every plant has its place. The solution to the droop need not be dramatic or complicated. Thriving might be just a few feet away.

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

read Kerri’s blogpost about THE FERN

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Filed under: KS Friday, Love, Metaphor, Uncategorized | Tagged: artistry, attention, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, fern, garden, identity, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, lessons from the garden, location, paying attention, plants, story, studio melange, sweet potato vine, the melange, thriving | Leave a comment »

Take Heart [David’s blog on Merely A Thought Monday]

Posted on September 14, 2026 by davidrobinsoncreative

Young Arthur pulled a sword from a stone. He was a boy and his feat was something none of the strong men could achieve. He didn’t know it was an impossible task. His brother needed a sword; he saw one and he pulled it from the rock. An act of generosity. It was the sign: this boy had the character and destiny to be king.

I’ve read that long ago people believed the heart was the seat of the soul. It was thought to be good luck or a positive omen to find a heart shape in rock. A sign of love-on-the-way or an impending soul connection. A symbol that, even when darkness reigned, anything was possible. Light was available. In our home it is still considered good luck to find a heart shaped rock or a heart shape in a rock. We see them everywhere.

A heart-shaped stone is much different than a heart-made-of-stone. A heart of stone implies a lack of empathy. Indifference and/or cruelty.

In this time of spiraling chaos, when madness and sadism hold the reins and those in power gleefully sell the greater good for personal gain, I am daily struck by the wisdom of our guiding stories. The symbols and stories that give us guiding light to follow are available. A score of brutes tried unsuccessfully to pull the sword from the stone. They knew that the person who pulled the sword from the stone would become king. They wanted power. Arthur had no idea or thought of personal gain.. He was a scrawny kid, a squire with a good heart. The sword in the stone was a way for him to possibly help his brother. His pure heart made him king.

I stared at the heart, nature’s etching in the stone. I closed my eyes and hoped that it was, indeed, a sign. Purer hearts are coming. Soon a squire will step forward and with a heart of generosity, he or she will pull the sword from the stone.

“Take heart,” I thought, as Kerri took a photo, “Soul is on the way.”

read Kerri’s blogpost about THE HEART STONE

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Filed under: Merely A Thought Monday, Metaphor, Uncategorized | Tagged: artistry, character, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, empathy, excalibur, generosity, heart, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, King Arthur, legend, myth, pure heart, story, studio melange, the melange | Leave a comment »

Beautiful Together [David’s blog on Not So Flawed Wednesday]

Posted on September 9, 2026 by davidrobinsoncreative

The bouquet came with pink roses. We bought it for the daisies. We could find no bouquet of daisies-by-themselves so the pink roses came home, too. After being sorted out, the daisies went one way and the roses another, eventually landing on Kerri’s night stand.

It’s important to keep in mind that my sweet wife is not a pink-appreciating-girl. She’s a black-thermal-wearing, boot and blue jeans girl. She likes her daisies because they are simple. I believed the pink roses would go through their short life mostly unappreciated.

I was wrong. The next day I found her staring at the arrangement. “I really, really like those,” she said. In our house very few things get a double-really. I can’t remember anything in pink that has ever received a single-really. And, more surprising than her double-really was how much I liked them, too. A pop of pink. They evoked a smile every time I entered the room.

“Who knew!” I said, in a fit of reverse-eloquence, adding, “We should always have flowers on your nightstand.” I meant it, too. I’m particularly fond of anything that evokes happiness, especially in these dark days of idiocracy.

As you might imagine, the pink roses were subjected to several photo shoots. Even in their decline they were kind enough to pose for a picture. There is intense beauty in aging if one has the eyes to see it. I suspect the pink roses are teaching me to open my eyes to the beauty in my present age-and-stage. Rather than stare into the mirror and ask, “Good god, what happened to me?” I am now more capable of measuring myself against the moment I am in rather than comparing myself to the 30 year old I imagine myself to be.

I am not that. I am this.

Besides, I was not all-that when I was 30. Why compare myself to a delusion rather than appreciate fully the reality of the moment?

I kiss Kerri on the forehead, telling her, “You are beautiful.”

“I don’t look like I used to!” she deflects my compliment. I considered sending her immediately to the bedroom to have a chat with the waning pink rose but, instead chose another path.

“Neither do I,” I said. “Looks like we’re going to grow more beautiful together.”

read Kerri’s blog about PINK ROSES

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Filed under: Body, Flawed Wednesday, Identity, Metaphor, Uncategorized | Tagged: aging, appreciation, artistry, beauty, comparison, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, pink, roses, story, studio melange, the melange | Leave a comment »

The Warp And Woof [David’s blog on Two Artists Tuesday]

Posted on September 8, 2026 by davidrobinsoncreative

“Old and new make the warp and woof of every moment. There is no thread that is not a twist of these two strands.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Among the most toxic false divisions currently being foisted upon us is the idea that we are either exclusively conservative or progressive. We love our traditions AND want a better life for our descendants. Both/And. We are all progressive and conservative. We are more alike than we realize.

No bird flies if it only has a single wing; it needs the balance of a right wing AND a left. That is the genius of our system as it was initially conceived. A government that thrives on the honest debate of opposing points of view. Compromise is key. Compromise is balance and balance affords flight.

We are coming apart at the seams, not because we have divided into liberal or conservative camps but because we’ve lost the capacity for honest debate. It is not opposing points of view that plague us; it is a disbelief in substance, a disqualification of fact. A loss of balance. We do not share common truth. This bird cannot fly.

You’d think our division would be fairly easy to transcend. Shared facts are not so hard to establish. Observed, measurable, testable. Lately, our leaders can’t agree that ice forms when temperatures drop beneath 32 degrees. We are awash in “alternative facts” and purposely irreconcilable narratives. A disqualification of fact is a dedication to lies.

After encouragement from the president, a mob storms the Capitol. Is it an insurrection or peaceful tourists? Both interpretations are out there. Only one is rooted in observable, measurable, testable fact.

There were over 60 court challenges to the 2020 election, each was thrown out for lack of evidence. Yet, to this day we are still forced to swallow the narrative that the election was stolen even though all the evidence, all of the facts, substantiate that the election was free and fair.

A disqualification of fact. A dedication to lies.

A lie thrives on bluster and runs from proof whereas fact is quiet, independent of personal agenda or claim. Our capacity for honest debates is mired in personal agenda and drowning in a bucket of loud lies. We can only hope that someday soon integrity returns to our politics. We can only hope that proof and accountability find their way back in the executive office, the legislative chambers, and the judicial, the court Supremes.

Both Barney and the sweet potato vine he hosts are beautiful in their second chance. Barney was a rescue, a piano on the way to the scrap yard. The sweet potato vine was nearly dead, root-bound, when we intervened and gave it a bigger pot. Now it thrives.

Our nation is on the way to the scrap yard but it is not too late to intervene. It can be beautiful, a dynamic mix, a creative tension of old and new, progressive and conservative, a guardian of tradition that creates a better life for all of our descendants, a rich diverse nation that fulfills the promise upon which it was founded. We need not be lie-bound. We are nation of immigrants capable of creating a container big enough to hold a world of perspectives, strong enough to face the facts, sturdy enough to pursue the truth. We are made strong when we uphold our dedication to honest debate and compromise. Honest debate and the capacity to compromise is not the sole dominion of conservatives or progressives. It requires both.

That is our secret sauce.

A dynamic container capable of holding space for varied cultures and beliefs. A nation that offers a second chance to all newcomers. A energetic crossroads. Balanced weave of conservative and progressive, a nation unified by a deep embrace of a single fundamental truth: that all people are created equal.

read Kerri’s blog about SWEET POTATO BARNEY

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Filed under: Metaphor, Two Artists Tuesday, Uncategorized | Tagged: alternative facts, artistry, balance, Compromise, conservative, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, division, fact, integrity, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, progressive, story, studio melange, the melange, truth | 1 Comment »

Go To The River [David’s blog on KS Friday]

Posted on September 4, 2026 by davidrobinsoncreative

Siddhartha finds illumination sitting by the river. He realizes that it never stops moving. No two moments are the same. Just like life.

Narcissus and Goldmund seek the same thing. Illumination. One studies from the confines of a monastery. The other goes into the world and makes a mess of things. Which one do you suppose finds what he seeks?

I did not grow up around great bodies of water. I know the mountains so they do not intimidate me. The-lake-that-looks-like-an-ocean, on the other hand, is daunting. Alien. Each day we walk the path by the lake and I am taken by the mystery. I admire the sailors who seem so at home, so at peace and in their element, sailing on the mystery-water. I wonder if the power of the mountain seems unforgiving to them.

My dear Endless Enigma texted. His daughter is getting married. His son has already married but I could tell from his note that, for a dad, this passage is different. A father does not give his son away. Why is that? In our tradition, a father walks his daughter down the aisle to join her hands with her soon-to-be-husband. It is a ritual. He gives her away. For the father, the marriage of a daughter is a letting go. Has it always been this way with sons and daughters?

This water runs deep.

I cannot help but ask questions of tradition. For me, questioning tradition seems to be a tradition. It is perhaps why in my past life I needed to stir the pot. I needed to run at the edges and jump.

Time keeps moving.

Sometimes I wonder: did really I have a plan for my life? How did the path I walked compare with the clean-penciled-plan I once scribbled in the notebook? Have I at long last let go of my plan or am I making it up as I go?

I have at the very least learned that I control almost nothing. The river is so much bigger than I am.

I now see that I spent an inordinate amount of time swimming against the river. That was exhausting. I have discovered that it is so much better to give over and let the river carry me. Saul-the-Tai-Chi-master used to say, “Let the energy move you.” Kerri says, “Gear down”.

I do not really understand Narcissus and a life of study in a monastery. Goldmund, on the other hand, I know like the back of my hand. One can study the river from a book or one can go to the river.