peace | The Direction of Intention

Hold Up The Light [David’s blog on KS Friday]

Posted on January 9, 2026 by davidrobinsoncreative

about this week: there is a peril, it seems, to writing ahead these days. we had decided that this week – the first full week of a new year – we wished to use images of light as our prompts, we wished to linger on the possibility of light, of hope, of goodness. though our blogposts might stray from that as we pen them, it was without constant nod to the constant updating of current events – a mass of indefensible, unconscionable acts. we pondered what to do about these blogposts we had written and decided to keep them. we hope that – whether or not any absence of the happenings of the day, whether or not the chance these written words seem somewhat inane at this moment – you might know that those events – of corruption, illegality, immorality, and now murder – do not distill or distort our intention – to bring light and hope to this new year – the first days of which bring more insanity and unnerving instability. we are still holding space for light.

I learned something new about the Statue of Liberty. There are broken chains and shackles at her feet. “Sculptor Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi incorporated these elements to represent liberty breaking free from servitude, a powerful message about emancipation.” (Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island Foundation) The name of the statue standing in NY Harbor is “Liberty Enlightening the World”.

We are witness to what happens when a nation, when a people, grow so accustomed to their symbols that they forget – or take for granted – their meaning. It’s times like these that the symbol is either reinvigorated or emptied.

Especially during the dark winter months, we light candles every evening. They are comforting, calming. If you asked me what they symbolize to me I’d answer, “Hope”. I used to meditate every day and I’d begin my meditation with lighting a candle: a beacon for concentration and connection. Peace. We light candles on days that significant people in our lives have passed. The flame is a call to memory, to gratitude and, again, connection.

Light that calls to us to peace. Light that evokes hope within us. Light that encourages us and connects us. Light that guides us home.

In the past I kept a candle burning in my studio while I was working. It was a companion or perhaps a signal to the muse that I was ready. Now I have a salt lamp that serves the same purpose.

Lady Liberty holds a torch. She has broken chains and shackles at her feet. Truly, it’s times like these that our symbol is either reinvigorated or reversed, made to mean the exact opposite of what it originally represented. Will it serve to evoke in us a call to create/defend freedom and justice for all or will we turn our backs on our symbol and allow it to descend into a curiosity, a bit of bygone americana. In this historical moment we have the choice of embodying the symbol as it was originally intended, holding up the light of liberty to guide ourselves through this dark night – or to flip it over, plunge the torch into the harbor and step willingly into the shackles of authoritarianism.

[I wrote this on the morning that the current occupant of the white house, without participation or knowledge of Congress, invaded Venezuela, a resource grab not unlike Putin’s unlawful invasion of Ukraine. I’m editing this on the morning after an ICE agent murdered Renee Good in Minneapolis. It seems we have arrived at our moment of choice: to fully embody our symbols and defend our dedication to freedom and justice for all – or not. This is not an abstraction. It is not hyperbole. It is immediate.]

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

read Kerri’s blogpost about THE CANDLE

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Filed under: Identity, KS Friday, Metaphor | Tagged: artistry, authoritarianism, connection, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, democracy, freedom, guide star, hope, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, light, peace, Statue of Liberty, story, studio melange, symbol, symbols, the melange | 1 Comment »

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

Posted on January 5, 2026 by davidrobinsoncreative

“But the relationship of morality and power is a very subtle one. Because ultimately power without morality is no longer power.” ~ James Baldwin

At first glance, this birds-eye-view of our luminaria looks to me like a tear in the fabric of time. It seems a peek into another time so that the other-time is also capable of peeking into our time.

Historian Timothy Snyder defines freedom, not as the removal of a limit, rather freedom is something we continually create together. Our creation of freedom is an expression of shared values. Follow the thought, examine the history and we learn (over and over again) that no one can be free unless everyone is free, and freedom doesn’t just happen.

Isn’t freedom-and-justice-for-all a statement – an expression – of a shared value? I protect your freedom because your freedom is also mine. If your freedom is revoked, mine is revoked also. From a birds-eye view, from the rip in the fabric of time, it’s easy to see that we lost our freedom when the Supremes suspended due process. We tossed away our freedom when they somehow ruled that one man was above the law.

Have you noticed that ICE is less and less concerned about the citizenship of the people they snatch off the streets?

Authoritarians objectify segments of the population (woke, scum, snowflake, illegals…). They objectify in order to define them as “Other”, as less-than-human. It’s easier and more palatable to take freedom from an object than it is to strip it from a living, breathing human being, an equal. The problem is, the history is, that objectification-of-others spreads like an aggressive cancer. It takes over the body. It kills the body. It snuffs the freedom of all.

The misguided notion of freedom-and-justice-for-some becomes a prison for all. No one sleeps easily.

Our democracy is young. It tugs on the rope between freedom-for-all and freedom-for-the-select. Yet, we (currently objectifying each other as maga AND woke) tell ourselves over and over again the story of freedom-for-all winning against the brutal authoritarians, the believers in freedom-for-the-select-few.

In our movies, the bad guys are always believers in freedom-for-the-select. The Emperor wants a slave class and unlimited power. Luke and Obi Wan are believers in freedom-for-all. Even though they are outgunned, they have virtue on their side – and the virtue they embody, the driver of their rebellion, is a belief in freedom-and-justice-for-all. We cheer when they win in the end. Frodo and company, against all odds, must return the corrupting ring of power to Mount Doom, ending once-and-for-all the authoritarian control of Sauron. Even though the task seems impossible, they have good on their side and they win. And what is their definition of good? To live peacefully according to their will. We cheer when the good King returns to power; he is good because he serves the people and not the other way around. David slays Goliath. Kilmar Abrego Garcia stands against a vindictive authoritarian administration. The Epstein survivors fight for decades, against all odds, to bring down the monstrous Epstein class of rich and powerful believers of freedom-for-the-select.

The story of freedom-for-all triumphant over freedom-for-the-select is our nation’s founding story. Rebels in the colonies, believers in rule-by-the-people-and-for-the-people, believers in the rule of law over the king’s rule, broke free of an authoritarian. Since then it has been our task to create and recreate freedom, to extend and protect the rights and freedoms we value, edging ever closer to freedom-for-all in our diverse nation.

Sometimes, people are blinded by power and are enticed to the dark side. They choose the wrong team. Darth Vader, in the end of the story, is confronted by the loss of his moral compass. Watching the grotesque Emperor torture of his son, he sees, maybe for the first time, the truth of the cancer he serves. He is confronted by his ultimate loss of freedom, the sacrifice of his son, Luke. Seeing the truth, Darth Vader intervenes, he saves his son. Sacrificing his own life, he throws the Emperor, the authoritarian, into the abyss. He redeems himself. He re-enters the good, the unifying force.

These stories are our metaphors. They are expressions of our values. They are the stories we tell ourselves about ourselves.

From a birds-eye view, from the stories we continue to tell to each other, we are undeniably believers in freedom-for-all. A hundred years from now, through the rip in the fabric of time called history, we’ll know whether or not WE THE PEOPLE defeated the evil within our nation or fell into a corrupt regime, a cancerous state goosestepping to the whims of an immoral emperor who ruled over a universe of slaves.

about this week: there is a peril, it seems, to writing ahead these days. we had decided that this week – the first full week of a new year – we wished to use images of light as our prompts, we wished to linger on the possibility of light, of hope, of goodness. though our blogposts might stray from that as we pen them, it was without constant nod to the constant updating of current events – a mass of indefensible, unconscionable acts. we pondered what to do about these blogposts we had written and decided to keep them. we hope that – whether or not any absence of the happenings of the day, whether or not the chance these written words seem somewhat inane at this moment – you might know that those events – of corruption, illegality, immorality – do not distill or distort our intention – to bring light and hope to this new year – the first days of which bring more insanity and unnerving instability. we are still holding space for light.

read Kerri’s blogpost about LUMINARIA

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Filed under: Identity, Merely A Thought Monday, Metaphor | Tagged: artistry, authoritarianism, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, freedom, freedoms, good, justice, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, morality, movies, peace, power, rule of law, story, studio melange, The Epstein Class, the melange, Timothy Snyder, values | 1 Comment »

Hear The Gentle Tapping [David’s blog on Merely A Thought Monday]

Posted on December 29, 2025 by davidrobinsoncreative

“May peace gently find you and fall upon your heart.” ~ Anonymous

It seems like a tall order, doesn’t it? Especially now in our era of conflict, chaos, division, turmoil…I suppose that is the point of a wish or blessing. There would be no need to pray for peace falling upon our hearts if our hearts were peaceful.

I imagine Peace looking for us. We can’t be that hard to find.

The children’s book version of Peace’s search for humankind would not be about a search for humankind but a vigil at the doorway of the heart of humankind. Peace has already found us. It knows where we are. Peace surrounds us and is quietly tapping on our heart’s door.

We must be afraid to let it in. What else?

Timothy Snyder wrote, “Freedom is not an absence but a presence, a life in which we choose multiple commitments and realize combinations of them in the world. Virtues are real, as real as the starry heavens…”

Peace is like Timothy Snyder’s freedom. It is a presence. It doesn’t go away in the face of war. It waits patiently for us to open our heart’s door. To choose it.

It is not made of ethereal stuff. It is real. It is tangible, as substantial as is conflict. Like virtues, Peace is real as the starry heavens. To borrow phrasing from Timothy Snyder, Peace “is a life in which we choose multiple commitments and realize combinations of it in the world.”

A wish for the new year: May we hear the gentle tapping at our heart’s door and open it to Peace. May we choose it. May we allow it to enter and gently fall upon and open our closed hearts.

read Kerri’s blogpost about PEACE

May peace fall softly upon your world and stay in your heart forever. ~~ Kahlil Gibran

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Filed under: Merely A Thought Monday, Metaphor, Possibility | Tagged: artistry, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, freedom, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, peace, presence, story, studio melange, the melange, Timothy Snyder, virtue, wish | 1 Comment »

If We So Choose [David’s blog on DR Thursday]

Posted on December 25, 2025 by davidrobinsoncreative

We had a debate about the painting on my easel that was so passionate, so intense, that Dogga thought we were having an argument and fled to the his safe-spot in the bathroom. We were startled out of our vehemence, laughed at ourselves and loved on him, reassuring him that all was right in the world.

We celebrate the return of the light. Depending upon the tradition, the celebration-of-light’s-return takes many forms and expresses through beautiful and unique rituals and symbols. The lighting of candles. The exchange of gifts. The sharing of a meal. If you think about it, each of these rituals, across all of the various traditions, are meant to bring us together. Light’s return is a symbol of hope, an annual call to the possibility of unity. Many paths, one mountain.

It is the time of year that we are for a moment capable of acknowledging the impact of our vehemence and actions upon others. It is the time of year that we at least pretend to desire peace on earth; it is the time that we sing songs of goodwill toward others. We ask it of our gods but know deep down that it is a wish that only we can grant if we so choose.

We first must choose it.

Our choices on this day? We will walk a snowy trail and revel in the quiet. We will come home, laugh at ourselves, share a meal and love on our Dogga, his unconditional love reassures us each-and-every-day that all is right in the world. Grateful, we will light our happy-lights, and crawl under a blanket.

recently untitled work in progress (detail)

read Kerri’s blogpost about BLANKETS AND SOCKS

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Filed under: DR Thursday, Gratitude | Tagged: artistry, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, goodwill, holiday, hope, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, peace, possibility, solstice, story, studio melange, symbol, the melange, tradition, unity | Leave a comment »

What Goes Around [David’s blog on Merely A Thought Monday]

Posted on November 3, 2025 by davidrobinsoncreative

“May you dwell in your heart. May you be free from suffering. May you be healed. May you be at peace.” ~ Buddhist Prayer

I’ve always appreciated this Buddhist prayer because it is inclusive and expansive. The prayer is repeated several times, each time with a change of the pronoun. For instance, it begins with “I”; “May I dwell in my heart…” From the center of “I”, the prayer moves outward as a prayer for the closest “other”; “May Kerri dwell in her heart…” And, then, again, moving outward, “May Dwight dwell in his heart…” and on and on, expanding and including until the outermost ring of the circle is reached, “May all people dwell in their heart…”

And then, the prayer continues, only now it pulls the heart of humanity back toward – and finally arriving at, “May I dwell in my heart. May I be free from suffering. May I be healed. May I be at peace.”

The message of the prayer cycle is explicit: outward peace on earth is the expression of inner peace within each individual.

Horatio echoed Kerri’s belief when he said that all religions can be boiled down to this phrase: be kind. Outward kindness to others is the expression of inner kindness to the self.

I’ve been pondering the root of deep division ripping apart our nation. It seems so simple. As Horatio reminded me, there are two philosophies at loggerheads. “Every man for himself” versus “I am my brother’s/sister’s keeper.” If you live in an “every man for himself” mindset then there is no need for inclusion or expansion. Exploitation is the goal and hoarding is the and the best you can do. We are witness to this philosophy: gold leaf and ballrooms while many in the nation starve. There is no need for heart or peace.

We are also witness to the other philosophy, those who care for the well-being of their neighbors: people marching in protest of the daily abuse power, people racing into the streets to protect their neighbors from ICE, people giving to food banks…

Which world would we rather live in? Democracy is fundamentally the Buddhist prayer. Of The People. Fascism is the opposite: a dictatorial leader using the military, suppressing opposition. No peace. No prayer.

Absolute power or governance by the people? Heart prayer or no heart? Personal gain through the intentional infliction of suffering or striving for peace and prosperity for all? Which will we choose?

In either case, as the old saying goes, “As within, so without.” Or, said another way, “What goes around, comes around.”

read Kerri’s blogpost about PEACE

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Filed under: Identity, Merely A Thought Monday | Tagged: artistry, Buddhist Prayer, compassion, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, heart, inclusion, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, kindness, peace, prosperity, story, studio melange, the melange | 1 Comment »

Break Bread [David’s blog on Two Artists Tuesday]

Posted on October 28, 2025 by davidrobinsoncreative

Ah, bread. There are few sensual pleasures more fulfilling than the smell of freshly baked bread on an autumn morning. There are few taste combinations more delightful than warm bread and hot coffee. There are few visual pleasures more beautiful than racks of freshly baked bread.

There are few symbols more immediately meaningful than bread. Abundance. Breaking bread together is a gesture of friendship, a sign of peace. This world could use some more breaking-of-bread, some more willingness to meet in the middle and participate in that most human of activities: sharing a simple meal.

In the little village we wandered into the Copenhagen Bakery to grab a sandwich and found more than we anticipated. It was a thriving meeting place of the community, packed during all hours of the day, alive with conversation. Rather than grab our sandwich we decided to stay and soak it up – an unusual choice for two people who’ve grown to avoid crowded places. We had to work hard to find a place to sit. The BLT that we ordered was enormous. The remainder of the plate was piled with homemade chips and a chocolate chip cookie. It was an expression of generosity. During our brief stay in the village we went back to the bakery again and again; we needed the nurturing that this place of bread and intentional kindness offered. We needed the experience of a community gathering around warm bread to talk, laugh and share stories.

Intentional kindness. Generosity. Qualities that are magnetic. They create. They uplift. They pull people toward a common center.

In this era of intentional meanness and rampant greed, we are witness to these qualities that can only divide and destroy. They repel and discourage. Dis-courage: literally dis-hearten. Cut out the heart.

Sitting in the Copenhagen Bakery I whispered a wish that somehow, someway, these political parties and our communities, that are so unnecessarily divided, might find their way to this heart-filled bakery, that they might put down their whipped-up-discord long enough to sit for a spell in a space that exudes generosity of spirit and break bread together.

read Kerri’s blogpost about BREAD

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Filed under: Metaphor, Possibility, Two Artists Tuesday | Tagged: abundance, artistry, bread, community, Copenhagen bakery, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, gather, generosity, heart, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, peace, story, studio melange, symbol, the melange, uplift | 1 Comment »

Share Your Pie [David’s blog on Merely A Thought Monday]

Posted on October 13, 2025 by davidrobinsoncreative

This one is from Roger. If you live in a world of limited pie than you’ll no doubt hoard or try to take someone else’s piece (it is also appropriate to insert the homophone, “peace”). If you live in a world of unlimited pie, a world of plenty of pie for everyone, then you’ll share your pie. You’ll share your peace/piece.

The only thing that’s different in those two pie-world-views is the belief in pie, and, as we know, belief is rarely a good reflection of reality but is an excellent creator of limitations.

There is no limit to the good vibes we can spread. Share your pie.

read Kerri’s blogpost about GOOD VIBES

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Filed under: Merely A Thought Monday, Metaphor | Tagged: abundance, artistry, belief, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, limitations, peace, story, studio melange, the melange | 1 Comment »

And So [David’s blog on saturday morning smack-dab]

Posted on October 4, 2025 by davidrobinsoncreative

A frog-in-the-pot temperature check:

We just tabled an idea for a cartoon for fear it might someday soon get us into trouble.

In a conversation on the street about the political news, everyone involved lowered their voices and looked around…

The water is hotter than we are willing to admit.

And so we turn to John Lennon. We imagine. We hope someday the world will live as one.

read Kerri’s blogpost about IMAGINE

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Filed under: smack-dab | Tagged: artistry, censorship, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, fear, imagine, John Lennon, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, peace, story, studio melange, the melange | 1 Comment »

Weeding Revelations [David’s blog on KS Friday]

Posted on July 11, 2025 by davidrobinsoncreative

“We are exploring together. We are cultivating a garden together, backs to the sun. The question is a hoe in our hands and we are digging beneath the hard and crusty surface to the rich humus of our lives.” ~ Parker J. Palmer, Let Your Life Speak: Listening for the Voice of Vocation

I can’t believe I am writing this. The truth is that I enjoy weeding. While Kerri tends to the herbs on the potting bench, I pull weeds from the cracks between the patio stones. I am sometimes shocked at the satisfaction I feel when the deep root emerges with the stem. “Nice!” I exclaim to myself, dropping it into my plastic bucket.

It has not always been true that I enjoy weeding. Initially, it used to feel like a fool’s errand, an unwinnable war. Each new day would reveal new weeds – more weeds – overtaking my gains from the day before. Redoubling my weed-pulling-efforts seemed to produce the opposite of my intention: more and more weeds.

In retrospect I realize that I came to home ownership later in life and my weed wars were waged when I was relatively new to the job. I wanted to impress my new wife with my manly yard maintenance prowess. I’d mowed thousands of lawns in my life and all of them belonged to other people. This yard, our yard, did not yet feel like mine. I was in denial that I actually had a yard to tend.

I also had an Aussie dog whose sole mission in his young life was to carve multiple velodromes through the grass in his gleeful running of circles. And, as it turns out, Aussie pups, when overheated by running circles, dig deep holes in the earth to reach cool soil that they can lay on it. The backyard destruction was total and provided every gleeful weed known to humanity a perfect opportunity to sprout with unbridled enthusiasm. So they did.

I do not know when the crossover happened. I do not know when I surrendered the fight. I don’t imagine it happened all at once. There was no grand epiphany, no lightning bolt of illumination. Over time the war turned into a game and then the game turned into a meditation. One day, I walked into the backyard to quiet my mind and began to weed – and realized what I was doing. “Good for the heart. Good for the soul.” Brother Patrick’s words of so long ago came to mind. Never in my life did I think I would have a yard. Never in a thousand years did I imagine I’d love to quiet my mind by weeding. My wandering soul giggled at the revelation.

It’s been that way ever since.

“I don’t like weeding as much as you do,” she said, pruning the mint and tending the peppers. The potting bench is her happy place.

“I know,” I said, pulling a clump of crabgrass. It came out, roots and all “Nice,” I said aloud. Our old Aussie left his cool soil perch and came to investigate.

“What?” she asked.

“Our yard,” I said. “It’s so nice.”

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

read Kerri’s blogpost about THE POTTING BENCH

www.kerrianddavid.com

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Filed under: Awakening, Gratitude, KS Friday | Tagged: artistry, backyard, change, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, garden, herbs, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, meditation, peace, potting bench, pulling weeds, revelation, sanctuary, story, studio melange, the melange, wanderer, weeding | 1 Comment »

The Antidote [David’s blog on DR Thursday]

Posted on June 19, 2025 by davidrobinsoncreative

This photo is of Apollo’s chariot arcing across the sky. It’s only visible because the clouds buffer the chariot’s brilliance.

Zeus is scheduled to come through later tonight. There is promise of thunderbolts. Dogga is not a fan of the flash-and-boom. Frankly, neither am I. Zeus is too showy for my tastes.

Persephone is back from her stay in the underworld and Demeter couldn’t be more pleased. The blossoming peonies are proof. The wild grasses and ferns are a-poppin’. The tomato plant promises to be as tall as I am!

Ares children have been let loose on the land. Phobos and Deimos – Fear and Terror; they wear masks and ambush immigrants. They bully because it makes them feel superior. They pull people from their homes and cars. They take children from schools. They tackle senators. They answer to a minor deity, Dolos. He is renowned for his orange color, his penchant for lying, his empty promises otherwise known as deception.

I, for one, am waiting for Hestia to fully show up on the scene. Welcoming, unifying, an ancient powerful goddess who exudes peace and quiet. She is the hearth, the warm center of “home”. She is formidable because she deals in simple honesty. You might recognize her: she is the force that pulled people into the streets, uniting them to rebuke Dolos and his nasty servants. It seems she might team up with Athena who brings a healthy dose of wisdom and strategy to the mix, capable of easily corralling Fear and Terror and sending the orange Dolos back to the swamps where he belongs.

No doubt the goddesses will provide the antidote for the toxic masculinity that ails us.

[Juneteenth! It is especially important to commemorate the emancipation of enslaved people in the USA – particularly in the face of an administration that whitewashes our nation’s history]