Thought for The Day - Say It Anyway!

Not the insult

Not the gossip

Not someone else's issues or concerns

The world is crowded with that stuff and quite frankly, that stuff is why we don't say what needs to be said. But say "it," anyway. Say what needs to be said, what is encouraging, what is truthful and what spreads love. Sometimes, the words seem to fall on death ears. It might seem that "no response" is the equivalent of "I'm not listening," but say it anyway.

The world is full of words, to the extent, it is perceived: "words are just words." But words have always and will continue to be a source of power. Carefully chosen words can change the world and words spoken with intention, certainly change hearts and mind.

Write it anyway; when no one responds, when the usual replies and "likes" don't occur, when you wrote with  ____ in mind, but someone else responds, write it anyway. Now it's easy for me to write these things. And quite honestly, given the "right place," they are just as easy to say. But please believe, there are more than a few times I have to "take my own medicine." I am a listener, by nature. My default practice is listening. But it seems, because I listen intently, I am to respond better. Because I hear what you're saying as well as what you aren't, and I listen to God's spirit as He tries to respond, my words contain healing.

You know, there are days when I don't say much; I've used this and other platforms to say what is on my mind. And it can be downright unbearable when I don't get a reply. But I say it, I write it anyway. In this way, words that needed to be said, expectations for this world are expressed and little by little, our perception shifts. We become more and more as the divine manifestation we are intended to be.

Say it anyway.

Thought for The Day - Grown

Rise 18 x 24, pastel

When did I get to a point where "Louisiana Hot Sauce" wasn't hot enough? I can still remember seeing my parents and other adults shaking it on food and thinking "there's no way I would put that on my food!" And yet, here I am, a grown man, willing to combine hot sauce and jalapeños on a sandwich or other foods! Just 'yesterday,' I dabbed a little on my finger, put it to my mouth and had to wash it down with a glass of water. And now, if I prepare a meal, I've got to have FIRE!

Tastes, desires and needs change as we grow older. Some things we adopt may not necessarily be good for us. I remember when I developed a "healthy appetite" and filled my plate with food. I remember when I went back for seconds and it wasn't dessert! The skinny kid grew up to be an overweight man, constantly fighting the battle to be thin again! And in so many ways, I wouldn't have it any other way!

Growing up, I could be glued to the television for hours; now, if I sit for a few minutes, I'm fast sleep. As a teenager, I could ride a skateboard for hours and play basketball in my parent's backyard as long. I wouldn't dare get on a skateboard these days and basketball? I'm not interested in watching anyone play it for more than a few minutes!

One's needs and interests change as you mature and what was once boring is now a great time. But one thing has not changed; that's my love of music and visual art. The combination is my morning routine. Now granted, I could not imagine waking before dawn - and I'm not talking a few minutes before! I'm talking an hour or two most mornings! Sitting down to write and journal, music surrounds me, as well as the work of my hands. Images in process, completed and others to inspire, surround me. And it's been that way since I was a "small lad." Even down to the music genre and medium of choice; the two have remained constant. I didn't have access to oil paints or the skills to do what I do now, but it was my dream. And thank you Lord, dreams come true!

Be blessed and hold tight to dreams!

Thought for The Day - Habits and Patterns

I guess you can never be free of all your habits, especially the bad ones. But you can observe the pattern of your behavior and compensate. It's a life long struggle and one I work at daily.

Thought for The Day - "There's enough to go around!"

I'm Listening 24 x 36 Oil

I remember summers in Kansas City, MO and Omaha, NE the places where my mother and father's siblings settled. The large families, with three or more children, where dinner or even breakfast was an event. Food on the tables from one end to the other. And though, as a child, I could barely eat an entire hot dog (and at this point in life, I struggle not to eat a pack of hot dogs) my relatives could put away food. But rare were the words, "stop eating so much," uttered. No, what was usually heard were the words: "have more, there's plenty."

Now as a grown man with a family of children, I look back at our meals, when my youngest was willing to have a meal with us, there was always enough to go around twice. My daughter, always a thin princess grew to eat her fair share and can cook as well as her mom. My middle son, always "husky" can eat me under the table and my youngest, now a teenager, eats his height in food, when he is so inclined to eat what we've prepared. When we have family over, please believe there is more than enough to go around and around and around!!! And someone always wants to take containers of food home. My niece always asks my wife to bring a healthy portion of potato salad by the next day. Plenty of food.

Too often in life, we act as if resources are scarce. Even in our prayers, we pray for a portion, as if the supply were meager. We pray for the success of our children, while we are barely seeing success in our lives! We are willing to put our dreams on hold or abandon them altogether, in hopes it will somehow happen for our children. And we seem to do this with the thought: "there isn't enough success to go around." Well to that I say "there's plenty to go around!" I dare say, if every living person in this world were willing to work for theirs and work for the good of their neighbor, family and foe, we would find the very universe would make it possible for everyone to achieve!

Honestly, I believe every person thinks the same to be true. But when we look at what we've accomplished, when we consider what we desire as being so far away, we 'assume' the resources are small and obviously - based on my feelings of lack - there has be a short supply of ______. But when we examine the number of mornings we wake and the sun rises, when we consider the number of times we toss food in the garbage because it's gone bad. And when we consider the times we take clothing to shelters and the Goodwill because we have more to fill our closets, you've got to know "there's plenty to go around!"

Thought for The Day - Truth in Reflection

I'm back at it; I put paint on the palette, dipped the brush in the paint and dabbed at the canvas, just a couple days ago. There were moments of guilt, confusion and wonder. The sense of opening the doors of my soul, listening to the spirit's gentle guidance and working out the mysteries of life as they wrestled in my head. When I execute "morning pages," it is an opportunity to face my insecurities, my fears, pains and my hope. But standing in front of a canvas or sitting over paper, those same feelings hover above without the same sense of power. There are no gut wrenching revelations; only quandaries, pleasant puzzles and time to quietly contemplate.

The question: if I'm at peace, why wouldn't I paint and draw regularly? Why is it I lay aside my colors and quiet reasoning to worry and fret? An answer, like a shadow perceived in the mirror, avoids full disclosure to my conscious. When faced with my "shadow-side," my tendency is to run from it, like looking in the mirror and realizing the sag of my cheeks is an indicator I'm no longer 25. I want to "solve the problem," but the "dilemma" is as much a part of me as the spirt that animates my flesh. I fear I will remain stuck in the corporate hustle; that, because of some weakness in flesh, I will continue the morning routine of going to "work," and every now and then, "squeezing in" a few minutes at the canvas. The cruelty of life: what you love, you barely have time for. But what nags at you, persists near endlessly. It sits in your bones and slowly robs you of vitality.

Hope runs eternal; this is the same guy whose mom accused of being lazy and said he would never marry or hold a full-time job. This is the same guy, who, given a chance, would stay in the bed till 10:00 am or later, as a teen. And this is the same guy who thought he might never see a tube of oil paint in his hand. This is the same guy who finds it extremely difficult to stay in bed until dawn and has to write every day. This is the same guy who silently wars against his fears, the needs of family and the incessant demands for his time. Most of the time, I lose; laundry, errands and someone else's needs take precedent. But there is always a sense of hope; at some point, I will "turn a corner," pick up my brush and give my spirit the space and time needed to set me free.

Thought for The Day - Connect

After the Dance (in progress) 18 x 24 charcoal

Longing

Painful memories

Family

Community

Island

Isolation

Recluse

If your reasons for distance are a result of past hurt, and you find yourself recalling the event when someone tries to connect, consider the present moment. The person reaching out to you may not have a thing to do with the past and if this is true, also keep in mind: the past is past. It is gone and if you examine closely, you will find "this day" is nothing like yesterday. Connect, reach out, feel, be touched and caressed.

We all long for a sense of community, even if someone connects with our hurt and pain, we need someone who understands. Certainly we want someone to help us rise above ignorance and pain. We love it when a wise and compassionate person comes along who seems to love us as we are, but works toward helping us grow. They are rare, those who accept us, love us and yearn for our growth. So rare as a matter of fact that we are happy to accept the influence of people who want us to remain in our misery to support their own. But in truth, we are never satisfied with yesterday's woes; everyone is born with a desire to grow and reach new heights. And there will be times when it seems we are an island; isolated and distant from others.

It would be great, that as we grow and change, we could take those who have been in our corner, along with us. But often, their attachment to hurt and bad habits doesn't work with our new life. And like the habits we've let go to adapt new and prosperous ones, we have to let them go as well. And yet, we are always striving for relationship and community.

Thought for The Day - 1000 Revisited

Dance Against the Rhythm 11 x 14 pastels

A typical day, a minimum of 1000 thoughts and notions come to mind. Ways to approach sharing insight, good news and revelations. In a day's time, pen and paper should be kept nearby, but I'm sitting at work, assuring quality is found in each part of the software I'm testing. In a typical day, I'm writing notes on a pad of paper, in my tablet and trying to store them in my head.

How will I use these notes, these notions? Who will read it and what thoughts and feelings will it stir? Will the words and images find their way into the reader's head and how will it change the direction of their lives? It's my hope that every line, each word and phrase draws closer to joy and success, as your life unfolds.