presence | The Direction of Intention

Listen To BabyCat [on Not So Flawed Wednesday]

Posted on January 2, 2019 by davidrobinsoncreative

babycat in a box copy

Everyone has there safe spot. The place where they can relax, let their guard down. Rest. Mine is the chair in my studio. For years my dad’s safe spot was his reclining chair. He’d melt into it and fall fast asleep. Safe spots are contained spaces. Quiet. Known. Cocoons.

BabyCat has many safe spots. He moves with the sun from safe spot to safe spot around the house. He recently added another to his holdings. It is not fancy. There is nothing designer about his tastes though this choice surprised us: a toothpaste box from Costco.

Moments before it became a BabyCat safe spot, the box was loaded with coffee, eggs, a bottle of wine. It had no importance. We tossed the box to the floor merely to make space on the counter. A discard en route to the recycling bag. And then BabyCat occupied it. We knew immediately that this was not temporary housing by the way he settled in. This was the real deal. He purred.

Though we’ve moved it to a less trip-able spot, the toothpaste box remains one of BabyCat’s favorites in his safe spot rotation. Watching him move from zen to zen I realized he is never far from a safe spot. He has constructed his life according to maximizing his inner quiet and comfort. It is his top priority.

There must be a lesson to be learned in there somewhere. This year, as I run from place to place, from one stress spot to the next, enrapt in my all-too-important list of things to accomplish, I will stop (periodically) and remember the power of a toothpaste box, the lesson of BabyCat and the real possibility of moving through life prioritizing my peace instead of raising my blood pressure.

BabyCat Lesson One: identify more than one safe spot. Then multiply.

read Kerri’s blog post about BABYCAT’S BOX

Filed under: Awakening, Flawed Wednesday, Possibility, Uncategorized | Tagged: cocoon, Costco, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, ease, inner quiet, Kerri Sherwood, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, presence, safe spot, studio melange, zen place | Leave a comment »

Be With [on Not So Flawed Wednesday]

Posted on December 26, 2018 by davidrobinsoncreative

being present box copy

In the cliche’ hall of fame, this phrase probably sits atop the pile: the best present is being present. And, if you stop for a moment and think about it, this phrase is undeniably true. That is the reason it has the top spot in the cliche’ universe.

We gather. The ritual provides the reason. We gather to affirm. To revivify the story. To nourish the one thing that matters: our relationship to one another. The rest is merely accoutrement.

This season I saw many many photos of families gathered around a table. People shared photos of their loved ones standing by a tree, in the snow, on the beach, organized on a staircase, in a kitchen. People traveling to be with their people. On the cards we sent to family and friends we wrote, “Thinking of you.” What we meant was, “Wanting to be with you.”

In the many photos that people shared with me, no one showed me a photo of the stuff they received. No one showed me a photo of the stuff they gave. They showed me the reason they were giving and receiving the stuff. The relationship.

Sometimes it hides in plain sight.

And, since the relationships are the epicenter, there is only one thing that sits atop the pyramid of gifts given and received. And, every day it is the same: presence. Being with.

read Kerri’s blog post about THE BEST PRESENT

Filed under: Family, Flawed Wednesday, Love, Uncategorized | Tagged: being with, cliches, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, gifts, holidays, Kerri Sherwood, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, love, presence, present, relationship, ritual | Leave a comment »

Wait For It [on Not So Flawed Wednesday]

Posted on December 5, 2018 by davidrobinsoncreative

text rest stop copy

Nothing I have to say or will ever have to say is of vital importance. Therefore, your reply, if at all necessary, need not be immediate. Unless, of course, your name is Wendy and are considering whether or not you miss my face as much as Kerri’s. I was hopping up and down waiting for THAT reply. For everyone else, take your time. Get off the road.

Look up the word ‘immediacy’ and this is what you will find: the quality of bringing one into direct and instant involvement, giving rise to a sense of urgency or excitement. As painful as this is, here’s the truth of the matter: the sense of urgency is largely manufactured. And, most likely, it is waaaaay out of proportion. It’s true, we live in the age of direct and instant involvement. A good question to ask is instant involvement in what? With ‘breaking news!’ a constant fixture in a screaming 24 hour news cycle, hyper-short attention spans leaping this way and that, ubiquitous “buy now’ buttons flashing from every direction, and the ever-present fear of missing something in a never-ending stream of…what? There’s a lot of reinforcement in the notion that our input cannot wait. It can. None of it, none of what we have to say, is really all that important. If it was, truly was THAT important, we’d pull off the road. We’d stop splitting our attention so we could focus. We would eschew immediacy and become present.

Giving your full attention is a good test of importance.

What is important: living another day. That is important. Also, having a sense of perspective about the injected sense of urgency or excitement pervasive in this, the age of immediacy. After all, immediacy and presence are not the same thing.

[although I did not intend to write a public service announcement, I did… so for more, go here to read the 25 scariest texting and driving accident statistics]

read Kerri’s blog post about IT CAN WAIT

Filed under: Flawed Wednesday, Perspective, Uncategorized | Tagged: attention, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, full attention, immediacy, importance, Kerri Sherwood, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, manufactrured importance, paying attention, perspective, presence, studio melange, texting, texting and driving, the melange, urgency | Leave a comment »

Wait Here [on KS Friday]

Posted on November 30, 2018 by davidrobinsoncreative

waiting song box copy

Last night when we came out of rehearsal it was snowing, just barely. There is something immediately meditative about a gentle snowfall. We stopped and stood for a moment watching the flakes flutter like tiny feathers to the ground.

Sometimes snow stops time. Or, better, it interrupts the rush through life and drops us into time. It drops us into the present moment. No other place to be. Nothing more important to do.

Kerri’s WAITING has the same power as a gentle snowfall. It calms the rush and quiets the noise. It opens the door into this moment, the present moment, and asks nothing more from you than be witness to the stillness, the silent emergence of those tiny flakes traveling through infinite space to the place on earth where, at just the right moment, you happen to be standing. Just in time.

WAITING on the album JOY – A CHRISTMAS ALBUM is available on iTunes & CDBaby

to find all of Kerri’s Christmas albums, go here

KS Designs! Pillows, pillows, and more pillows

read Kerri’s blog post about WAITING

waiting/joy-a christmas album ©️ 2004 kerri sherwood

ks designs/products ©️ 2018 kerri sherwood & david robinson

Filed under: Awakening, KS Friday, Uncategorized | Tagged: christmas, christmas albums, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, inner quiet, joy, joy - a christmas album, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, presence, silence, snow, snowfall, society6.com/kerrisherwood, stilness, waiting, witness | Leave a comment »

Appreciate It [on KS Friday]

Posted on October 12, 2018 by davidrobinsoncreative

Yesterday we drove the Kettle Moraine Scenic Drive to see the fall leaves. It was our anniversary gift to each other. A day off. A day away. A conscious decision to step out of the busy-list of to-dos, the concerns and stresses, the tug and pull and demands…. What could be a better gift to each other than presence with each other. Time less wandering with intent to appreciate.

Every Breath could be the soundtrack of our gift-drive. The crisp air, the glow of the leaves (“Look at that hillside!” she gasped). An utter appreciation of all things passing. Every Breath.

On another note, if the cello line in this piece doesn’t kill you, then you need to take the Kettle Moraine Scenic Drive and wake up. Kerri’s compositions were made to be played with the rich depth of a symphony. Every Breath will make you catch your breath. It’s gorgeous like the leaves.

EVERY BREATH on the album AS IT IS available on iTunes and CDBaby

read Kerri’s blog post about EVERY BREATH

every breath/as it is ©️ 2004 kerri sherwood

Filed under: Awakening, KS Friday, Love, Uncategorized | Tagged: anniversary, AS IT IS, cello line, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, every breath, fall leaves, gift, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, kettle moraine scenic drive, piano composition, presence, society6.com/davidrobinson, society6.com/kerrisherwood, yamaha artist | Leave a comment »

Fly Between The Poles [on DR Thursday]

Posted on September 27, 2018 by davidrobinsoncreative

a morsel from ‘angel.’ kerri calls it ‘you can’t hold the sun’

Icarus‘ wings were made of wax and feathers. His father, Daedalus, made them so he and Icarus could escape their imprisonment. Before taking flight, Daedalus warned Icarus not to fly too low nor too high. Icarus flew too close to the sun, the wax melted and his wings fell apart. He fell from the sky and drowned.

We see most of the Greek stories sifted through a post-Greek moralistic lens. Fly to high, hubris. Fly too low, complacency. The world as defined by polarities. Heaven, hell. Good, bad. Right, wrong. There’s another possibility.

Quinn used to tell me that the point of all the world’s religions, the message in all the great stories, is to find the middle way. To live in the center. This world, he said, will try its best to tug you to the extremes. It will dose you with propaganda, half truths. It will glorify US and demonize THEM. It will bamboozle you into twisted notions like ‘the dehumanization of others is okay.’ It is the lucky person that realizes that it is impossible to strip others of their humanity without also losing their own. Polarities are like that.

So, seek balance. Walk between the tug of the poles. It is the point of presence – live here, not in the scary future nor the regrettable past. Fly, not too close to either pole, but through the middle. Now. It’s possibly the point of the story.

This morsel is called You Can’t Hold The Sun. It’s true. You can’t stop time. No moth can withstand the flame. The sun will melt your waxy wings. The sea will make your feathers heavy with dew. Either way, you fall.

In the face of too much moralizing, Kerri will say, “If it’s not about kindness or joy, it’s not about anything.” That’s a statement from the center. I like to think that this center place, this middle way that Quinn told me about, is what we call love.

angel, acrylic on 2 panels, 48 x 24IN

icarus, acrylic on canvas, 30.5 x 59.5IN

www.kerrianddavid.com

you can’t hold the sun/angel ©️ 2018/2004 David Robinson

Filed under: Art, Creativity, DR Thursday, Love, Uncategorized | Tagged: balance, center, daedalus, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, icarus, Kerri Sherwood, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, love, middle way, presence, religion, society6.com/davidrobinson, stories, sun, wings | Leave a comment »

Split Your Bark [on merely-a-thought Monday]

Posted on September 17, 2018 by davidrobinsoncreative

merely words framed copy

Angels come in all shapes and sizes and Jonathan is my latest proof. Appearing from nowhere, disappearing into the ether, impossible to nail down on what he does each day (“I spent the day packing,” he says every-single-time-I-ask), he has an uncanny way of dropping a much needed thought-bomb at just the right moment. Boom.

Lately, Kerri and I have been steeped in the angst and frustration of the latest inevitable drought that comes with an artist’s life. The well has run dry. There is no rain in sight. The Artist’s Almanac forecasts drought. Feeling defeated we showed up at rehearsal wearing hang-dog faces and found angel-Jonathan already there, practicing his bass. He greeted us with laughter and a smile. He regaled us with hysterically funny stories of his weekly foibles. He got us laughing. He transformed our self-pity and woe into a conversation about necessary change and growth.

That’s when he velvet-hammer-smacked us with the metaphor: trees must split their bark to grow. There is pain. Matter. Of. Fact.

Contrary to popular mythology, angels do not take away your pain. They do, however, help you see it for what it is: an experience of life. They punch through the horror story spinning out of control in your mind and guide you back to the present moment. There is growth so there are unknowns. There is today. “Isn’t it great!” he laughs. “You two kill me,” he says smiling.

Yep. Angel.

angel at the well

www.kerrianddavid.com

where’s chicken?

Filed under: Metaphor, studio melange, Uncategorized | Tagged: angels, change, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, fear, growth, Kerri Sherwood, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, life, presence, studio melange, the melange, wisdom | Leave a comment »

Step Off The Treadmill [on DR Thursday]

Posted on August 23, 2018 by davidrobinsoncreative

sunrise, sunset copy

The county fair is over. Kids are heading back to school. Parents are taking their all-grown-up children to college. The rituals of summer’s end are all around us.

I was delighted when Kerri chose this morsel for this week’s melange. It comes with good memories. I painted A DAY AT THE BEACH after an afternoon at the beach last year. We were in Plymouth. The day was waning. We wandered. We played word games in the sand (I lost miserably, Kerri gloated loudly), watched children squeal and play in the surf, felt the heat of the day cool as the sun dropped below the horizon, the breeze that comes with sunset. There was no place we needed to be. There was no place we’d rather be.

Isn’t that the gift of summer? An intentional pause. Giving yourself the gift of stepping off the treadmill, forgetting about the list of things-to-do? Sun and the space to play.

Master Miller has been sharing with us photos of his summer fun with his young son, Dawson. A day of surprises at the art museum. Coloring together, surrounded by crayons. Adventures for the sake of adventure. Art making for the sake of art making. Laughter in the discovery, the pure joy of shared experience.

All of this goodness comes to you in one little morsel. Kerri calls it Sunrise/Sunset.

A Day At The Beach, mixed media, 38 x 52IN

read Kerri’s blog post about SUNRISE/SUNSET

www.kerrianddavid.com

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Filed under: DR Thursday, Gratitude, Play, Uncategorized | Tagged: a day at the beach, beach, cycles, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, end of summer, intentional pause, Kerri Sherwood, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, Plymouth, presence, rituals, shared experience, society6.com/davidrobinson, studio melange, summer, sunrise, sunset, the melange | Leave a comment »

Pray In Opposites [on DR Thursday]

Posted on August 9, 2018 by davidrobinsoncreative

A Prayer Of Opposites, acrylic on panel, 48 x 48IN

I love this painting and for some reason have never included it in a show. An early version of it hung for a few years in the undergraduate offices of Antioch University, Seattle. After returning from Bali I took it down, hauled it back to the studio and repainted it.

On my gallery site I wrote about this painting that paradoxes and oppositions are lively topics for me. Truth is always found in the “in-between” spaces. Truth is connective tissue.

Separation is only the beginning of the life-story. The rest of the story is a search for connection. It is lived as a quest to find the common center – through a prayer of opposites. As the Balinese would say in shorthand, many faces, one god.

read Kerri’s blog post about A PRAYER OF OPPOSITES

www.kerrianddavid.com

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Filed under: Art, Creativity, DR Thursday, Uncategorized | Tagged: Bali, common center, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, Kerri Sherwood, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, life story, meditation, oppositions, paradoxes, polarity, prayer, presence, quest, society6.com/davidrobinson, story, storytelling, studio melange, the melange, truth | Leave a comment »

Savor Good Moments [on KS Friday]

Posted on July 27, 2018 by davidrobinsoncreative

When you find yourself wondering what it’s all about, play this game: fill in the blank, “In this life I have….” Fill in the blank again and again and again, searching your memory banks for all the magic, mysterious, and miraculous experiences you’ve enjoyed. The good moments.

I like this game because, inevitably, I arrive at the realization that the good moments are the smallest of moments. Although swimming with whales or seeing the northern lights are miraculous, the really good good moments are first kisses, watching your baby sleep, holding hands after the storm passes. Laughing hysterically with friends just because.

Kerri’s composition, Good Moments, is a musical river of small moments, quiet yearning, tender touches, the smell of autumn leaves. Play the game and begin with Good Moments. It will transport you back. It will unlock the door to your memory bank. It will also help you realize that this moment – this very moment – is a very good moment, indeed.