summer solstice | The Direction of Intention

Unlock The Door [David’s blog on Two Artists Tuesday]

Posted on June 24, 2025 by davidrobinsoncreative

Lodgepole pine cones require the heat of fire to open and release their seeds. Fire is necessary to unlock the door to the next generation of possibility. It is the reason our dear J, as part of her wedding gift, gave us a box filled with Lodgepole pine cones . She was encouraging us to light a fire in each other. And so we have.

As part of our solstice observance, as the sun set, we started a small fire in the fire pit, selected ten pine cones from J’s box, made wishes and set intentions for the seeds-of-opportunity that the fire would unlock, and committed our pine-cone-wishes to the flames. Moving into a new stage of life, we set targets for the next generation of our possibilities.

As I stared into the waning fire, I hoped that the hot authoritarian forest fire roaring through our nation might unlock the door to the next generation of democratic possibility. I hoped that the heat of the fire might once-and-for-all clear the tangle-weeds of white supremacy and hate, remove the undergrowth of thuggery and elitism and prepare the forest floor for new seedlings of fairness, equality and the fulfillment of democracy’s promise. I hoped that it might burn away the strangle-hold private money has on our government so we might trust that our elected officials are public servants and not greedy profiteers.

Rather than repeat the cycle, yet another go-round with oligarchy and near-authoritarianism, I wished for the nation to break the cycle of denial and dysfunction and move into a new, healthier stage of life, a democracy fully committed to democracy: a government of the people that follows a single north star: liberty and justice for all.

We hold within us the seeds.

[Since I wrote this post, we entered a war with Iran. The heat of the authoritarian forest fire just escalated and somehow…somehow…the Republican Congress remains silent. Complicit. One wonders if we must become a smoldering wreckage before they remember they are servants of a Constitution and not a political party or a pariah.]

read Kerri’s blogpost about THE PINE CONE

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Filed under: Metaphor, Two Artists Tuesday | Tagged: artistry, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, democracy, fire, intention, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, metaphor, opportunity, possibility, seeds, solstice, story, studio melange, summer solstice, the melange | 1 Comment »

Enjoy The Return [on Merely A Thought Monday]

Posted on June 21, 2021 by davidrobinsoncreative

It’s back. Pop Goes The Weasel, in an incessant cycle, playing as background accompaniment to the birdsong. The truck circles the neighborhood, the sonic equivalent of water torture on wheels. I’ve spent too many hours pondering how the driver, the seller of ice cream, sitting in the epicenter of the looping Pop refrain, retains their sanity. I couldn’t do it. It’s low on my list of aspirations. I’m certain my assignment in hell will be the ice cream truck driver.

Of course, the musical assault is accompanied by – no, much more, it inspires – the delighted squeals of children, excited-to-a-frenzy when hearing the tune, begging coins from their parents, and running to the truck to get their treat before it disappears around the corner. The happy squeals bring instant forgiveness to my hardened heart for the Weasel drumming of my brain.

It’s the solstice. The ice cream truck, like the position of the sun in the sky, is a sure sign of summer’s return. On a walk by the lakefront a few days ago, the truck bellowed passed us, looking a bit worn and tired. It stopped. The neighborhood kids scrambled, parents’ pockets were emptied, purses turned upside down, skinny legs and clenched fists raced toward the paint-peeling truck.

Forgive my brain but I was suddenly overwhelmed and duly impressed at the chain of innovation that, although it now appears old and ordinary, went into making this dilapidated truck and the joy it invokes possible. Refrigeration. Pasteurization. The waffle cone. Ice cream on a stick. Recorded sound. Speakers. Not to mention the internal combustion engine.

As the kids swarmed the Weasel, I looked around at all the older faces, those folks with newly emptied pockets, watching their kids and grandkids enjoy the ritual that they once enjoyed when they were the young enthusiastic pick pockets. Every face was smiling. Even mine. Add that to the chain of innovation. It might be the most important of all the innovations in the chain. Bringer of joy. Inciter of happy memory. It certainly should be the point, the aim of all invention. Better life. No one needs to read a business book when an ice cream truck is circling the neighborhood. It’s all right there.

Bird song. Children’s squeals of delight. Pop Goes The Weasel. Hot days. Melting ice cream. Summer.

read Kerri’s blog post about GOOD HUMOR