actions | The Direction of Intention

Furtherance [David’s blog on Two Artists Tuesday]

Posted on May 19, 2026 by davidrobinsoncreative

“Perseverance is the foundation of all actions.” ~ Lao Tzu

Breck-the-aspen-tree is our backyard living monument to perseverance. She survived and now thrives despite a multitude of obstacles, least of which was…us.

We plucked Breck from a grocery story in Breckenridge, Colorado. She was an impulse buy and came in a little pot that barely fit in the back of our car. Breck’s branches had to bend a bit to make the journey. She survived the roadtrip home and struggled mightily after being replanted into an enormous clay pot. She lived on our deck for the first three years. We talked to her throughout the summer. We wrapped her pot with blankets to keep her roots from freezing during the winter months.

Each spring we watched for signs that she survived and each year she rewarded us with fragile buds and minimal growth. We knew we needed to plant her in a permanent spot and our first choice nearly killed her. Within weeks she dropped all of her leaves and turned a sad shade of grey. In desperation we dug her up and moved her into another more sunny spot and waited. With no signs of life for the rest of the summer season and throughout the fall, we were certain that we’d killed her. But, she persevered.

The next season she recovered, produced a host of oddly outsized leaves, and grew a foot. The next year she grew another foot and leafed like a normal aspen tree. The year after that she boomed.

Breck is now taller than the garage. She’s no longer a backseat traveler. Instead, she is hostess to the birds who frequent our yard. We stand at her base looking up and marvel at the new growth. She is nearly a foot taller today than she was a month ago. She is a masterful quaker, playing the breezes, and has no problem bending with the wind.

We regularly stare at her and utter, “I can’t believe it. Look at her.”

Here is the full quote by Lao Tzu: “Of all that is good, sublimity is supreme. Succeeding is the coming together of all that is beautiful. Furtherance is the agreement of all that is just. Perseverance is the foundation of all actions.”

I looked up the word “furtherance”. Lao Tzu uses it often. It seems central to his philosophy and I was taken by his definition, “Furtherance is the agreement of all that is just”. Furtherance: the act of helping something advance, develop, or succeed. Now, isn’t that a timely and profound sentiment? Helping something (or someone) advance, develop or succeed is a coming together (an agreement) of all that is fair, deserved, morally right (just).

Wouldn’t it be profound if we could look at each other and say of ourselves, our community and nation, that we have succeeded by bringing together all that is beautiful, that we persevered through a dark and ugly time, arriving at last at a dedicated furtherance, helping each other develop, advance and succeed?

Do you see the loop? Succeeding is the coming together of all that is beautiful. Furtherance is the act of helping each other and our planet succeed (the coming together of all that is beautiful). Perseverance leads to the sublime. Breck is our constant reminder of all that is possible if we just keep trying.

read Kerri’s blogpost about BRECK

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Filed under: Identity, Possibility, Two Artists Tuesday, Uncategorized | Tagged: actions, advance, artistry, beauty, community, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, furtherance, justice, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, Lao-tzu, perseverance, possibility, story, studio melange, sublime, success, support, the melange | 1 Comment »

Our Actions Will Tell [David’s blog on Merely A Thought Monday]

Posted on May 18, 2026 by davidrobinsoncreative

Throughout my sordid past I was witness to the development of several mission statements. Serious and well-meaning teams of people wrestled with the questions of Who Are We and What Do We Do. The task was to generate lofty yet succinct statements of purpose and values. The statements were aspirational and mostly forgotten the day after the exercise of producing them. If actions were identified, they were rarely executed because a basic reality was ignored: the mission and purpose of a business is to make profit. Strip away the good intention and the bottom line remains the king. The moment the bottom line is threatened: all statements of value, all well articulated purposes are suspended.

If the purpose of a business is profit then the purpose of a not-for-profit is service. Clarity hits the not-for-profit when the cost of the service rises or the income streams run dry: will the service get lost in the immediate imperative to fund raise? Not-for-profit boards are famous for smothering their service organizations by attempting to make them “run like a business” which, essentially makes them lose sight of their purpose.

Study the difference between the rhetoric and the actions. To see the truth, look beyond the rhetoric. Study the actions. To be useful, rhetoric must acknowledge and align with actions.

Governments are service organizations. Democracies serve the needs of the people. Autocracies, on the other hand, are businesses that attend to the bottom line of the few. Currently we call our nation a democracy but one need only look to the actions of our leaders to suss out the truth. In this moment we are an autocracy. We are a service organization (a democracy) attempting to run like a business (an autocracy).

Our nation has some beautiful rhetoric. Our history has been a tug-of-war between those who believe in the service of Democracy and those who exploit the rhetoric for personal gain (autocrats). We either live “liberty and justice for all” or we do not. We are either a nation of laws or we are not. The question before us right now is, “What do we actually believe?”

Study the actions of the current administration and the ruling of the Supremes and the answer is clear: we are a white nationalist business that exploits the many for the profit of the few. To them, the Constitution is pleasant rhetoric but threatens the bottom line.

Study the actions of the people taking to the streets to protest the assault on our rights and the elimination of services and the answer is clear: we are a democracy. We are what we believe. We are what we espouse. To the people, the Constitution is a living roadmap of actions, a blueprint of service.

The disjoint between the people and the current leadership brings us around to a question that’s plagued us since our inception: Is “We-the-people” all inclusive or an exclusive club for the few? Will the voters choose their politicians (democracy) or will the politicians choose their voters (autocracy)?

The tug-of-war has rarely been this apparent.

Our actions in the next few months – and be very clear that a vote is an action – just as a gerrymander is an action – the gutting of voter’s rights is an action – protests are actions…our actions will tell all.*

*If we actually manage to have a free and fair election given the gutting of the Voter’s Rights Act, the aggressive gerrymander, the sycophantic republican congress, the rampant dark money, the corruption of the Supremes…If for some reason you remain confused about what’s happening in this nation, take a moment, look beyond the rhetoric and study the actions.

read Kerri’s blog about WE ARE WHAT WE BELIEVE

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Filed under: Identity, Perspective, Uncategorized | Tagged: actions, artistry, autocracy, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, democracy, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, mission, profit, purpose, rhetoric, service, story, studio melange, the melange, values | 1 Comment »

Tell The Deeper Story [David’s blog on DR Thursday]

Posted on December 21, 2023 by davidrobinsoncreative

Walking on our trail in the middle of December, we rounded a corner and stopped. The dramatic shadows of the trees made long and distinct by the low-to-the-horizon winter sun. “It’s mid-December,” she said, “And the grass is green…” Looking at the photograph I’d guess that it was taken on an early spring day. In the era of climate change, it’s not so hard to see the story behind the story of this green, green grass.

What’s the story behind the story? There’s always a deeper story to tell. Always.

On my easel is a canvas marked with a few charcoal lines. A bare-sketch of two people and a puppy. The story? On a rainy fall day, driving the back county roads, Kerri and I rescued a puppy. It was lost and scared.

The story behind the story? When we saw the puppy we had a long drive ahead of us. We were trying to get to Madison. We spotted it at a crossroads. Turn right and go to the puppy. Turn left and keep our appointment in Madison. We turned left. And then in one swirling circle motion, immediately turned around. The first impulse: we’re late! This is not ours to do. The second impulse: who cares! this is exactly ours to do. The moment the shivering-scared soaked puppy jumped into our arms, nothing else in the world mattered. Nothing. The superficial dropped away and the essential came roaring into focus.

We named him County Rainy Day. Rainy for short. We dried him off and fed him crackers. He didn’t have a collar so we called Jen and asked her what to do. We played and laughed and snuggled with him in the cab of the truck. Finally, after giving our hearts to the puppy, we took Rainy to a shelter. He was reunited with his family.

I confess, we’ve returned to the spot where we found him. Just in case. He stole our hearts but more importantly, he brought us to our hearts. There is always a moment of choice. Turn left. Turn right. The list or the life? Behind each act of kindness is a moment of choice. Behind each act – of any kind – is a moment of choice. The story behind the story.

a detail of a sketch. a work barely in-progress. county rainy day

visit my gallery site

read Kerri’s blogpost about GREEN!

like. share. support. comment. your choice and all are appreciated.

buymeacoffee is a choice made at a crossroads. nothing more. nothing less.

Filed under: Art, Creativity, DR Thursday, Seeing, Story | Tagged: actions, artistry, choice, choices, climate change, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, deep story, deeper story, dog, dog rescue, dogs, heart, heart centered, heart choice, holidays, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, kindness, love, painter, painting, priorities, puppies, puppy, story, studio melange, the melange, winter | 3 Comments »

Put It On The Wall [on DR Thursday]

Posted on October 27, 2022 by davidrobinsoncreative

“What you think, you become. What you feel, you attract. What you imagine, you create.” ~ Buddha

I sometimes wonder what the Buddha might think about how words, attributed to him, are now available on Wayfair.com as posters or large decals for every living room wall. Does the ease and ubiquity of the message make it less meaningful? A decoration rather than a wisdom? Or, that we are capable of immersing ourselves in inspiration, a reminder-to-live-well in every room, are we meditating on the messages? Are we incorporating them into our actions and choices?

I’ve read that the only requirement when hanging prayer flags is to hold positive thoughts and intentions in the mind. Intend goodness and goodness will spread. That is, after all, the point of the flag. To spread on the wind goodness, peace, kindness,…

Kerri’s philosophy – her religion – is much the same as Dolly Parton: “You just try to be nice to everybody ’cause you know everybody’s got a dream.” Kerri’s version: “If it’s not about kindness it’s not about anything.” It’s simple.

Minds are powerful things. It’s why stories are so impactful; stories are the stuff that fills-the-minds. What you feel. What you think. What you imagine. It’s not passive. Although a trick of the English language, your thoughts, your feelings, your imaginings, are not really separate from “you.” They are you. The story you tell yourself about yourself in the world.

I suppose that’s why we rub the sentiment onto the living room wall. A desire to be better in the world. To tell a better story. Better about each other. Better for each other. What else?

read Kerri’s blogpost about PRAYER FLAGS

Filed under: Creativity, DR Thursday, Identity, Language, Story | Tagged: actions, artistry, Buddha, choices, creativity, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, Dolly Parton, goodness, heart, imagination, intention, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, kindness, mind, philosphy, prayer, prayer flags, religion, simplicity, story, studio melange, the melange, thought | 1 Comment »

Find The Treasure [on Merely A Thought Monday]

Posted on January 24, 2022 by davidrobinsoncreative

Every so often in the grocery store I am struck by how many people are involved in making sure I – we – have food to eat. Pick any item from the shelf and work backwards. It was carried, priced, stocked, delivered, warehoused, produced, picked, manufactured, marketed, accounted, inventoried, scheduled. Imagined. And, I wonder, how many of the hundreds of people involved realized that their labor makes my life – our lives – better?

Sitting in front of my computer yesterday I was swirling in a thought-eddy. Attempting to map a workflow, the mechanics of a process, I was befuddled. There were too many variables. As is my practice when perplexed, I stood up and walked away. Halfway down the stairs my mind jigged. I re-remembered that the only thing that mattered in my silly map was the desire to make someone’s life better, someone I would never meet. I realized (again) that I didn’t need to figure it out. I shouldn’t figure it out. There was and is no single answer. Too many variables simply means I cannot know – but I can intend. I will “know” how it all works after the fact. I know that, if I keep focused on my north star, making a life better, then, at this phase, that is all I need to know. It’s an unbeatable criteria for clarifying what to do.

“Do you think someone found our buttons?” she asked. “Do you think they liked them?” On our last hike in North Carolina, she left a small sack of Be-Kind buttons in the knot of a tree. “I wonder who found them,” she giggled.

A small treasure left in the knot of a tree. A sack of potatoes found in the grocery store. Kindness. We get snarky when we divorce our actions – even the smallest action – from the very thing that makes them matter. We get lost when we forget how deeply interrelated are our every action and thought. Cause and effect, as Alan Watts wrote, are not sequential but simultaneous. If you think your actions do not matter or have no purpose, think again. If you think it does not matter how you treat others or that bottom lines are more potent than people, think again. It’s the miracle of a circle or a cycle: where does it begin? Where does it end?

read Kerri’s blogpost about BUTTONS IN A TREE

Filed under: Gratitude, Identity, Merely A Thought Monday, Metaphor, Seeing | Tagged: actions, alan watts, artistry, be kind, be kind buttons, circles, cycles, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, intention, intentional, interconnectivity, interdependence, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, kindness, mattering, story, studio melange, tao, the melange | 1 Comment »

Weigh The Actions [on DR Thursday]

Posted on January 28, 2021 by davidrobinsoncreative

“Look K.dot!” I said, “Everything will be ok!” We saw it writ large on a wall as we drove into Chicago.

I’m generally a positive guy and usually side with DogDog but lately I’m lining up with BabyCat. Because we read it on the wall, because we wish it was true, does not make it so.

These days I think we are in trouble.

Never in my life did I think I’d see an entire political party stoop to the 3rd grade level of “The Dog Ate My Homework” style excuses. Their Big Lie, as we all know, as was witnessed by the entire world, led to an insurrection, a violent attempt to overturn our election. Apparently the crowd was infiltrated by rabid liberals, there’s heaps of evidence of election fraud if only the dog hadn’t eaten it. The wicked cabal of baby-eating Democrats that dug a maze of tunnels under the Capitol – one spoonful at a time, Shawshank Redemption style, so no one noticed, is to blame.

It’s an accountability-free-zone with nary a brain cell to be found anywhere. Or spine. Or ethic. Or reality.

It would be fantastically funny were it not so scary. It’s a plot that John Grisham would have tossed out as too absurd yet, here we are. Childish minds hang onto lies when confronted with truths. They double down. I did, when I was ten years old and was caught with my hand in the cookie jar. I swore to the end that my older brother made me do it even though he was not home at the time. I’d maintain my excuse to this day except that I grew up. I learned, in growing up, that it is best to address the truth rather than double down on a lie.

Yesterday we saw the Grand Old Party fall yet another notch. Blame. Demonize. Their lie-loud-or-go-home pact is very much intact. Even an insurrection, an assault on their very lives and the Constitution they swore to uphold will not leverage an iota of responsibility or truth from their ranks. “The neighbor kids came in the house and broke the vase! It wasn’t me. I swear it.”

James Russell Lowell wrote that “all the beautiful sentiments of the world weigh less than a single lovely action.”

Do not get lost in the words. Pay attention to the actions.

The Oregon legislature joined the Arizona legislature who joined the Republican Senators in their “false flag,” it’s-not-our-fault, “Elvis-made-us-do-it” campaign. Action: to blame. Action: to excuse. Action: to deflect. They magnify their excuses through the fox. The dog ate my homework. The socialists are coming! We, the righteous, were infiltrated, by evil-doers and not responsible for our actions. They made us do it!

Lying is an action.

And the child-minded listen and fume and point their fingers, erect their gallows, and beat the police with their flags. That is the point of the lie. Action: to incite.

Action: to retain power at all cost.

At all cost. The cost is mighty and it is not okay. Just because it is writ large on the wall does not make it so.

I’m with BabyCat. I think we are in trouble.

read Kerri’s more uplifting post about OK

Filed under: DR Thursday, Edges, Perspective | Tagged: actions, Capitol insurrection, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, deflection, excuses, fox, James Russell Lowell, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, lies, Republican party, Shawshank Redemption, words | Leave a comment »

KS Friday

Posted on March 2, 2018 by davidrobinsoncreative

Many years ago, when I was riding around the country slaying dragons, thinking I might help save a troubled world, I wrote a post entitled You Make A Difference. A few days later, in my inbox, was an email with a link to a song from a musician I did not know. “I read your post,” she wrote, “and thought you might appreciate hearing my song with the same title.” I listened more than a few times. She was right! I loved her song. I jotted her a note thanking her. That was the first time Kerri and I communicated. It would be a few more years before our paths crossed again. Another post, another response, a surprising and casual email chain would lead me to this woman who would someday become my wife.

Over and over the lesson is the same: it’s the small stuff that matters. My life turned on an email. I never told her (until today because we are sitting together writing posts) that, on the day she sent her song to me, I was sitting in Seattle wondering if anything I did or had ever done in the world mattered. It was one of those days. And then I opened her email. She made a huge difference to me on that bleak day.

I have lived long enough to know that none of us truly understands the full impact our actions have on others. The smallest thing, opening a door, sharing song, ripples and ripples on.

Kerri was commissioned to write this song, originally for folks on the front line of the battle against cancer, though, like all great artists, she composed it from her very personal wellspring of experience; her brother died from cancer. Songs of inspiration can also be rallying cries and that is true of You Make A Difference. Kerri understands the profound difference between resisting the thing you don’t want (sickness) and moving toward what you desire (a cure). On this KS Friday, take in this blast of inspiration from the melange. You never know how one click might change the course of your day and life.