Near

Not far away,

Close,

Not somewhere else

And distracted by other things

Your attention wrapped in my proximity

Face-to-face

Hand-to-hand

Body-to-body

No yesterday

No loss

No tomorrow

My only hope

You

And my heart beating

And breathing

with yours

One

No

Adult responsibility

But us

Thought for The Day - Submerged

Beyond schedules, missed deadlines, disappointments and health concerns, there is a place of tranquility. Imagine it as a place so secluded and insulated, it's as if you were under water. For those who swim and love it, the feeling is like floating on your back in the water. A better comparison is swimming underneath the water and watching the light from above and below, the waters surrounding and supporting you.

My studio is my space; it is not only a sanctuary, but a place where worries and cares can be checked at the door. In the spirit of the sacred places, it's also the place where concerns can be taken and left in the safe care of One uniquely tasked to solve problems. The work of my hands and mind are my way of unraveling mysteries, of diving to depths no other person knows and allowing my soul to flourish!

One thing I've found to be true: sanctuary and solace can be found where ever you are. Certainly, it's good to have a time and place where you are certain you can commune with God, but in truth, no place can hold him. So out for a walk, sitting at my desk, in the middle of tasks that never end, I go there, to Him, and the light above and below surround me! I am set free!

Thought for The Day - "Between My Heart and My Mind..."

Triplicate - pastels

...to complete the thought, you need the full line from the group Incognito's song "It's Just One of those Things": "Between my heart and my mind, a loop is turning, every word and everything you said." The lead singer, Maysa, sings the song so masterfully, along with Tony Momrelle. The CD is Eleven...please check it out!

But that line - between my heart and my mind, a loop is turning - played in my head as I woke this morning. For the time being, I'm following the "muse," or in better terms the spirit as I'm guided by the one creative influence in my life. I see plenty of images to spur my imagination, read many lines in books, magazine articles and online posts and many thoughts run through my head daily (seriously, if I wrote and published a blog as fast as the thoughts came the blog would be titled "Thought for the Moment!"). But the music is a constant, whether it's playing on my computer, ipod, phone or in my head. There will be a line, a rift from a song and often, I whistle a line or two.

I grew up in a house where music played often. There were times when the television was turned off to listen to music. And on many Saturdays, rather than Saturday morning cartoons, there was Saturday morning records and albums (born after the 80's? The equivalent of playlists, except on circular vinyl!). Though I don't listen to radio stations as often as I did years ago, my music influence has not faded.

But please understand, music is less entertainment and more...I struggle with a "right" adjective...like an influential 'theme,' if you will. Like a scene from a movie, television show, documentary or drama, music is often played in the background. We're so accustomed to it, we almost expect music to accompany any scene. We scarcely notice it, but it's there. Music seems to have a theme for me and that rhythm influences my thoughts. Not "drive" or "control," but a subtle background sound, that provides a stream on which clarity and purpose ride. There's a great deal of movement and possible confusion gathered between these ears! Much of what I've done and hope to do is a constant stream between my heart and my mind; music represents a connection between "intent" and action, for me.

Thought for The Day - Thoughtful

Rise! 18 x 24 pastels

To be deep in thought or to consider; being mindful of other people or things.

Yes, there remain people like this in the world, those who consider others more than themselves. And they do so without feeling inferior. I started this blog with a friend in mind. She was going through a "rough patch" at the time and quite honestly, I didn't know it because she told me or because we discussed it. It was simply a "sense," an idea of the type of work she does. So a quick email, a few simple words to say "it will be alright" and so it began.

Every now and then, people I've connected to through social networks and those I know personally, come to mind. Some, because "distance" has dulled the connection, a simple text or call won't work. So in this place, I reach out and connect. I don't know if they will ever "see" this blog, but it doesn't matter; the word finds it's intended target one way or another. I am sure of that!

There are times I consider what should be written throughout the day; I'm always jotting "thoughts" and impressions. Sometimes those thoughts make it to this space and some don't, but I'm always mindful of the impressions of living this life. I consider the trauma, drama, highs and joys of living along this journey. If you've noticed, I include an image I've rendered and while I try to keep the words and images thematic, there are times I'm motivated to include something I don't immediately see as coupled.

It's about considering, pondering and being aware. This opportunity is about seeing the "big picture" as well as the details. You and I are intricately enmeshed in both the big picture and the "microcosmic" details.

Be.

Thought for The Day - Across

A Seed 8 x 11 Pastel

Took a road trip this weekend, a six hour overnight stay to Missouri to see my son. Now growing up, this was the extent of my yearly vacation trips when my parents piled up the car, visiting relatives in Kansas City, MO. But as a father of my own children, we took trips to Virginia for four years, taking my daughter back and forth to school. I fell in love with the mountains and the elevations. The roads seemed smoother - they actually are - and with the grand view as the car climbed a hill or you reached the top and looked down over the valley: SPECTACULAR! But Illinois is relatively flat and depending on what's on your mind, your thoughts become flat and monotonous as well. Missouri can be a bit scenic with it's elevations but for the most part, it's flat as well. Boring, right?

Where I am in at the moment, the life of my family and factors beyond my ability to describe, the scenery seemed exhilarating! The road is very familiar, traveled since I could remember and I could probably do it with my eyes closed. But it wasn't nostalgia, recalling road trips counting horses seen along the way. And it wasn't counting the number of signs for Merramec Caverns, either. No, it was SEEING ACROSS...

The sky, spread from where I sat, behind, before and on every side.
The lives of families and individuals in homes on the road side, connected to families, farms and apartment buildings I would never see from the roadside.
Truckers on long and short hauls, earning a living and a hundred thousand decisions made every fraction of a second.
Retired couples driving down the road, a life full of children in their rearview, parents on the other side and relatives on their road ahead.
Restaurants and diners, workers cooking, cleaning and serving hundreds in their lifetime and never realizing who they are sharing love with a plate of eggs, bacon and pancakes.
Water, mixed with concrete mix, becoming solid, hard and supporting millions of tires and lives for countless years.
Moisture, frozen and appearing white and grey and black on the road and hillside...

Across sky, land and lives, a connection exists, so integrated and complex whether one person or molecule should 'disappear,' not one second or emotion is lost. Everything remains intact no matter how many of us come and go.

We never really leave 'this place;' we are intimately connected to one another, whether we live in love or hate. For there exists a bond to all that only appears when we decide to open our eyes.