Author: robertkennedy

There’s an artist in each of us.  Whatever the medium, we all manage to fashion a view of the world that can only approximate the one we actually live in.   

Continue reading “PAINTINGS”

“Hitch your wagon to a star”,  advised Emerson.   Robert Browning, who owned a book of Emerson’s poetry, said  “Ah, but a man’s reach should exceed his grasp, or what’s a heaven for?”   Hitching, reaching and grasping . . . all good, but where to begin?

Continue reading “FOOTINGS”

Do we walk over the earth or does it spin under us? Some combination of both is a fair bet.  When we have a deja vu experience, it hints that we revisit more than we think.   Spending some time along a river bank can help to sort it out.

Continue reading “NEVER THE SAME RIVER TWICE”

We can’t experience life all at once but, in the right moment, we can – all at once –  gain an understanding of what it’s about.  There is a season for the unfolding of each life chapter, but finding the purpose belongs to each of us, alone.

Continue reading “THERE IS A SEASON”

If we could pick one time of year and cut it out, separate it from all the rest and make it the best – it would be Christmas.  Sure, the season has its trappings and there’s plenty that’s nipping at its heels, but it still remains as a special time for the heart and wishful thinking.

Continue reading “VISIONS OF SUGARPLUMS”

I have a favorite T-shirt with the saying, “Not All Who Wander Are Lost“.   It’s a paraphrase from J.R.R. Tolkien’s poem, All That Is Gold Does Not Glitter, found in his first volume of Lord of the Rings.   Yet, everyone knows that we do lose things when we wander;  not always a bad thing. What we find along the way makes the journey worth the trip. 

Continue reading “WANDERINGS”

We live in families.  They complete us.   A newborn is a hope for fulfillment and the loss of a loved one leaves a void that can shake us to our core.  The understanding of who we are is affirmed in our relationships with those that we hold closest to our heart.

Continue reading “KEEPING HOUSE”

Leaders strive to win over the hearts and minds of their people.  They are the essential tools needed to move a nation.  The mind can be analyzed and understood, but the heart is more of a mystery.  What we feel and the paths we take; they are clues to the heart.

Continue reading “BLESSED HEART”

An age old contest exists between “the tried and true” vs. “the latest and greatest”.   If you’ve ever paddled a kayak, you’ll know what I mean.

Continue reading “KAYAK”

Sooner or later, life brings us around to the big questions.  The meaning and essence of what we are doing is what keeps us from just spinning our wheels. This piece attempts to put those questions in perspective.

Continue reading “THE POINT”