Chicken Marsala Monday | The Direction of Intention

Make Time For Clouds [on Chicken Marsala Monday]

Posted on July 9, 2018 by davidrobinsoncreative

It seems almost too obvious: in clouds possibilities can be found. Castles take shape, cartoon characters roll into horses racing, dragons and dinosaurs. Loved ones whisper. Memories shimmer. Imagination beckons, intuition taps at the door. Ideas take shape.

Some might say that making time for clouds is a waste of time. Most likely those are people blind to the necessity of clouds. They are caught in a steely net, believing they have to make all the trains run on time. They believe wholeheartedly that they don’t have enough time to get it all done. Don’t tell them, but time is not concerned with train schedules or daily achievements. Time passes with no investment in our loss or gain. Time requires no management, middle, upper, or otherwise. Time is made of soft stuff, fluffy and relational, modifying according to the needs of its audience.

Time given to clouds makes Chicken wax poetic. It refreshes him. It quiets him. It reminds him that he, too, is as temporary as a cloud, ever moving, shape shifting through his passage, tickled when someone makes time to notice all the possibilities he inspires.

read Kerri’s blog post about MAKING TIME FOR CLOUDS

www.kerrianddavid.com

make time for clouds ©️ 2016 david robinson & kerri sherwood

Filed under: Chicken Marsala Monday, Creativity, Uncategorized | Tagged: chicken marsala, Chicken Marsala Monday, Chicken nugget, cloud watching, clouds, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, daydream, ideas, imagination, intuition, Kerri Sherwood, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, life, life lessons, life purpose, Life time, memory, possibilities, society6.com/chickenmarsala, time, timeless | Leave a comment »

Become Inspired [on Chicken Marsala Monday]

Posted on July 2, 2018 by davidrobinsoncreative

Brad asked a great question. What is it in us that needs to climb the highest mountain, run a faster mile, touch the moon, cure the disease, develop better and better widgets, sail toward the edge?

It is in our nature. Or, better, it IS our nature. Insatiable curiosity, the yearning to know en route to the next unknown. We are storytellers all! What’s next?

Boredom and apathy are learned skills. They are unnatural. It takes years of sitting in a desk to blunt a spirit. It takes 10,000 hours to grow deaf to the call of your soul.

The next time you tell yourself that “you don’t like change” or that “tomorrow will be just like today,” stop. Take a long slow breath and then do the dangerous thing: doubt what you think. It might just happen that you will hear the deeper call, the natural voice, inviting you out to play.

read Kerri’s blog post about Become Inspired

www.kerrianddavid.com

be careful you just might become inspired ©️ 2016 david robinson & kerri sherwood

Filed under: Art, Chicken Marsala Monday, Creativity, Edges, Uncategorized | Tagged: change, chicken marsala, Chicken Marsala Monday, Chicken nugget, creativity, curiosity, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, exploration, human nature, inspiration, Kerri Sherwood, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, society6.com/chickenmarsala, studio melange, the melange | Leave a comment »

Forget About Time [on Chicken Marsala Monday]

Posted on June 25, 2018 by davidrobinsoncreative

Ticking clocks make people uptight. It’s summer. Take off your shoes. Feel the grass between your toes. Throw a Frisbee. Have a water fight. Fall asleep in a hammock. Swim in a lake. Someday, in the fall, you can wonder where time went. Don’t worry, it can take care of itself.

read Kerri’s blog post about FORGET ABOUT TIME

www.kerrianddavid.com

forget about time ©️ 2016 david robinson & kerri sherwood

Filed under: Chicken Marsala Monday, Uncategorized | Tagged: chicken marsala, Chicken Marsala Monday, Chicken nugget, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, forget about time, freedom, Frisbee, hammock, Kerri Sherwood, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, play, relax, relaxation, society6.com/chickenmarsala, studio melange, the melange, timeless | Leave a comment »

Don’t Wait [on Chicken Marsala Monday]

Posted on June 18, 2018 by davidrobinsoncreative

We just bought chocolate covered almonds from Trader Joes. The kind with turbinado sugar and sea salt. We stood in the store and debated whether we should get them or not. We’ve been staying away from most things with sugar and neither of us has much fortitude in the face of a chocolate covered almond. We bought them.

On the way home we had a lengthy discussion about how many we could have at one sitting. Three seemed to be a puritanically reasonable number. Our reasoning was very complex and thorough. We felt absolutely superior when we arrived at our number.

At home we made coffee, set up our computers to work, and carefully portioned out six of the almonds and put them in a bowl. Three for Kerri. Three for me. We sat with our bowl to work and before taking the first sip of coffee, the bowl was empty.

“Are you sure we counted three?” I asked.

“We must have miscounted,” Kerri agreed.

Four more almonds went into the bowl. I think. They were gone before I could double check that our count was accurate. So, we had to start over. Three and three. I’m certain we imagined the first three and since we arrived at such a specific number through such thorough reasoning, it seemed only right that we follow the rule. But, then, the bowl was empty.

“Wait. Are you sure we counted three? I asked.

“Hmmm. We must have done something wrong,” Kerri said.

read Kerri’s blog post about DON’T WAIT

www.kerrianddavid.com

don’t wait ©️ 2016 david robinson & kerri sherwood

Filed under: Chicken Marsala Monday, Pattern, Uncategorized | Tagged: chicken marsala, Chicken Marsala Monday, Chicken nugget, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, don't wait, enjoyment, impulse, Kerri Sherwood, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, no impulse control, pleasure, reindeer games, society6.com/chickenmarsala, studio melange, the melange | Leave a comment »

Be A Pirate [on Chicken Marsala Monday]

Posted on June 11, 2018 by davidrobinsoncreative

When we were little, for our birthdays, my dad would disappear into the basement and make magical constructions from boxes. Squealing, we’d race down the stairs and jump into the airplanes and trains and mazes he created. When it was his night to cook, we feasted on fantastically shaped pancakes, the chef taking rowdy and enthusiastic requests from his diners. There were snowball fights and broken windows (“DAD DID IT!” we shouted to mom, throwing him under the bus). There were midnight raids with a squirt gun dubbed The Green Avenger.

Being a pirate came naturally to him. And, consequently, I and my brothers and sister have no doubt where our treasure is.

read Kerri’s blog post about BEING A PIRATE

www.kerrianddavid.com

sometimes you have to be a pirate ©️ 2016 david robinson & kerri sherwood

Filed under: Chicken Marsala Monday, Heroes, Love, Uncategorized | Tagged: chicken marsala, Chicken Marsala Monday, Chicken nugget, childhood, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, father's day, fatherhood, fathers, Kerri Sherwood, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, memeories, play, society6.com/chickenmarsala, studio melange, the melange | Leave a comment »

Make Life Fun [on Chicken Marsala Monday]

Posted on June 4, 2018 by davidrobinsoncreative

It used to make me profoundly sad when students would look at me in resistance and fear, saying the double-whammy, “I can’t! I don’t know how!” My next question always remained unvoiced: what have we done to you?

Curiosity is human nature. We are born hard-wired to sail toward scary edges, tinker with inventions, and attempt to grasp the un-graspable. It takes a lot of work to blunt a child’s curiosity. It takes a concerted effort to transform vibrant imagination into fear of reprisal/shaming.

The good news is that curiosity might be contained but it never goes away. Chicken is here to remind us to step out of the cage, pick up the brush and splash the paint just to see what happens. His invitation is to to go do it – whatever it is – precisely because you don’t know how. The path to center leads directly through I Don’t Know How.

www.kerrianddavid.com

read Kerri’s blog post about NOT KNOWING HOW

not knowing how ©️ 2016 david robinson & kerri sherwood

Filed under: Chicken Marsala Monday, Creativity, Education, Uncategorized | Tagged: chicken marsala, Chicken Marsala Monday, Chicken nugget, curiosity, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, discovery, experimentation, exploring, human nature, imagination, Kerri Sherwood, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, learning, society6.com/chickenmarsala | Leave a comment »

Face The Wind [it’s Chicken Marsala Monday]

Posted on May 28, 2018 by davidrobinsoncreative

Saul taught me to look beyond the obstacle and, instead, place my focus in the field of possibilities. How I experience my life is largely a matter of where I decide to focus, what I choose to see.

Life, I’ve learned (or finally accepted), never stops throwing new things at me – challenges & opportunities. And, when looking in the rear view mirror of my life , I am generally hard-pressed to distinguish between what was a challenge and what was an opportunity. The challenges became opportunities, the opportunities brought a basket of challenges.

The winds of change blow all the time. As Chicken, like Saul, reminds me on this Chicken Marsala Monday, the winds of change are never an obstacle. They are a constant force (called life) moving you, moving all of us, to learn, to grow. They are an invitation to turn our faces into the wind, look to the horizon and appreciate the ride.

SUPERHEROES gifts and products

bags and more

read Kerri’s blog post on The Wind Never Stops Blowing You

www.kerrianddavid.com

the wind never stops blowing you/designs ©️ 2016/2018 david robinson & kerri sherwood

Filed under: Chicken Marsala Monday, Creativity, Uncategorized | Tagged: chicken marsala, Chicken Marsala Monday, Chicken nugget, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, growing, Kerri Sherwood, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, learning, life, life force, obstacle, opportunity, possibility, relationship, resistance, society6.com/chickenmarsala, tai chi, we-space | Leave a comment »

Enjoy The Puddles [it’s Chicken Marsala Monday]

Posted on May 21, 2018 by davidrobinsoncreative

Puddle is a fun word to say. Try it. Puddle. Muddle. Fuddle. In fact, when fuddled or muddled, there is only one thing to be done and that is to find and jump gleefully into a puddle. Essentially, become puddled.

Chicken has a decidedly Buddhist side. If he had three simple rules for spiritual growth, one would certainly involve puddles and play. Speaking to we too serious adult-types, he might say: you can never control the rain, but you can most certainly control how often you play in the puddles .

On this Chicken Marsala Monday, from studio melange, leave behind your muddle and go to the puddle side of life [begin by reading this post out loud to someone you love – puddles are more fun with friends].

ENJOY THE PUDDLES gifts and cool things to remind you to play

bags, bags, bags

read Kerri’s blog post on ENJOY THE PUDDLES.

www.kerrianddavid.com

enjoy the puddles nugget & designs ©️ 2016/2018 david robinson & kerri sherwood

Filed under: Awakening, Chicken Marsala Monday, Uncategorized | Tagged: Buddhist, chicken marsala, Chicken Marsala Monday, Chicken nugget, circumstance, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, detachment, fun, Kerri Sherwood, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, play, puddles, society6.com/chickenmarsala, spiritual growth, spiritual practice, spirituality, studio melange, the melange | Leave a comment »

Root In Love [on Chicken Marsala Monday]

Posted on May 7, 2018 by davidrobinsoncreative

from studio melange, a quiet suggestion for the start of the new week.

For me, this Chicken Nugget falls into the category of what-more-needs-to-be-said. And then I hear the chorus of voices blaring from my past work-life that would call this Nugget idealistic pie-in-the-sky blather. “We live in a dog-eat-dog world!” they cry. “It’s survival of the fittest!” To that chorus I need to say more. Dog-eat-dog is a belief system, not an inevitability. Survival of the fittest is a harsh lens and there are, in fact, other lenses available. It’s possible to learn the distinction between human nature and acculturation. Through a different lens all of life is cooperative.

The noise of our airwaves, the chatter of our day is most certainly rooted in fear. It may not seem like a choice but the fear-root is an unnatural selection. People have to work hard to hate. Sadly, I admit, division sells, so the hard work of fear is routinely justified and rabidly defended.

Human nature rises through the noise and becomes visible when disaster strikes. Love is what we see when the hurricanes hit, when the forest fires rage. People running into fire to help. People risking their lives to save others because, in those moments, the truth is out: there is no separation. The political blather drops away. The moralistic chiming rings hollow. It is human nature to reach, not reject. To help, not to hurt.

It’s obvious and all around us if we take off the fear lens and look. Root in love. What-more-needs-to-be-said.

ROOT IN LOVE gifts & reminders

read kerri’s blog post about ROOT IN LOVE

www.kerrianddavid.com

Filed under: Chicken Marsala Monday, Love, Uncategorized | Tagged: acculturation, chicken marsala, Chicken Marsala Monday, Chicken nugget, cooperation, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, human nature, Kerri Sherwood, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, love, root in love, society6.com/chickenmarsala, studio melange, the melange | Leave a comment »

Find Your Treasures [On Chicken Marsala Monday]

Posted on April 16, 2018 by davidrobinsoncreative

A Chicken Nugget from studio melange to start your week.

find your treasures WITH EYES jpeg copy 3

if you like this nugget, share this nugget

I adored my grandpa Chan. I carry his middle name. Because he lived in Iowa and I grew up in Colorado my time with him was rare and precious. After his death, as his sons were sorting through his possessions, they asked if I wanted anything, something he might want me to have or to keep close. Immediately I thought of one thing: an old, barely functioning nutcracker that he kept by the pool table in his basement. He let me win many games at that table. We often cracked nuts during my surprising winning streaks. I wanted it because he held it and, as treasures go, now, for me, it holds him.

I keep Chan’s nutcracker in a special box (DeMarcus’ paint box – another priceless treasure). When I am feeling blue or somehow alone in the world, I retreat to my basement and hold that nutcracker in my hand. I feel the presence of a man, my grandfather, so full of laughter and more than his share of mischief. “Do you want to shoot some pool?” I ask, feeling the alone-ness dissipate.