Perfect Line

Theme:  Taking Risks

Click on this link to purchase this painting  The Perfect Line

"Perfect Line"

The tides and seas will greet you
At the dawn of early life.
From a sheltered cove you'll venture,
Along paths of ease and strife.
The sails upon your masts
Capture every wind benign.
So chart your course for greatness.
You'll sail the perfect line.

As you depart for open waters
Jagged shores will test your skill.
You'll battle villainous pirates.
Violent storms will test your will.
You'll venture beyond horizons,
And push the tests of time.
So chart your course for greatness.
You'll sail the perfect line.

Before the sun's departure
as it sinks into the sea,
You'll encounter grand adventures,
And discover your unique 'Me'.
Through trials and tribulations
In time you'll do just fine.
So chart your course for greatness.

You'll sail the perfect line.

Quote

"Life's Impasses"

Life's impasses can lead to

great rewards, or painful regrets.

Wisdom is knowing whether to

turn back, or forge onward.

Haiku

"Oblivion"

Some seek fortune, and

others seek fame, but most just

seek oblivion.

Commentary

Erosion is an amazingly powerful force.  Anyone who has ever spent time along the sea can attest to that, from the fallen cliffs of the Pacific, to the billions of ground up sea shells we call sand.  Life can have a similar eroding effect on all of us too.  Sometimes it erodes our emotions, laughter, and memories, and in many cases our ability to feel.  Sometimes by clutching to the bad, we bury the good.  And by burying the good, we often bury ourselves in silent oblivion.  I guess there's less pain in the dark.

How do you convince someone who's been burned in the past, to take risks in the future?  It's hard.  I've lived it.  For me I had to evolve to the point where the pain of the darkness, was greater than the risk of potential failure.  Once I set sail, I knew I'd be fine.

I am amazed at the early sailors who ventured off on new discoveries.  Think about this: many of us won't even venture off the highway for fear that we'll get lost in an unfamiliar, or dangerous area of our own cities.  How would you feel if that unfamiliar area was a sharp corner on the edge of a flat world, or the risk of sailing in open waters with the potential of never seeing land again?  At some point the early explorers risked everything to venture onward, instead of turning back.  Yes, some of our most heralded explorers had to also be considered our most insane.  Perhaps there's hope for me yet.

In the end, we are all sailors of sorts.  The adventures we encounter test our skills, erode our shores, and challenge our faith.  At times we may be called upon to sail a perfect line through dangerous waters.  We will need to know when to turn back, or when to forge onward.  Only time will determine if we made the correct decisions.  Perhaps everything happens for a reason.  If that's the case, then undoubtedly you can boast that whatever path you take, in the end you will be certain to...

"Sail the Perfect Line".


-

Jesus Wept

Theme:   Believe


Click on this link to purchase this painting  Jesus Wept (Finger Painting)

Quote

"Atheist"

I'd rather be perceived ignorant

by mortal atheists,

than confirmed ignorant

by an immortal God.

Haiku

"God"

Believing in God

seemed so much easier when

He believed in me.

Poem

Dear Lord:

It's me. I'm down here again struggling to believe. Just when I'm ready to call you a friend, it seems I'm abandoned, and back stabbed again.

I've given you chances. You've thrown them away. I invited you over, but you said "not today"! I'm tired of trying to bridge this gap, when all I get is shunned or slapped. I think it's time for my life to be autonomous.

Respectfully yours,
Anonymous


Dear Anonymous:

Oh, it's you again. And I'm the one who's called the false friend? How dare you question how I feel, the things I do, or the cards I deal.

You know the alternative, so go on your own. But rest assured you're never alone. For if you believe it's the end of the line, then all of my miracles were a waste of time.

I won't abandon you as you do Me. Know that I'll be there in your hour of need. But deny Me then, and then you'll see, your eternal partner won't be Me! You can't even imagine the horrors ahead. If you give up on Me you're already dead.

I feel so much pain that I'll continue to sob. Wishing you were here!

Love,
God

Commentary

Believe?  There was a time when I was lost, and questioning everything that I had previously believed in, including God.  During that time I was asked "Do you still believe in God?"  My response was a very nonchalant "Let's just say that God and I aren't on speaking terms right now."  Those were some dark times indeed.

It was around this time that I began writing what I believe to be some of my most profound works.  Poems, haikus, short stories, that others have called remarkably "deep".  The words just flowed.  It also wasn't hard to recognize others who were also in that lost stage.  But what I discovered in my writings was a common theme: deep down inside I still believed. 

Coming to that conclusion I then went on my own personal journey to find my God.  Not some God that hovers over church on Sundays, but the God that hovers over me all the time.  What I learned was that everyone seems to see God differently based upon their own circumstances.  Perhaps that is how God wants it.  Perhaps that is His grand design.  Perhaps He is a God of many faces.

 

I joined a bible study group several years back.  There were some good guys in the group, several of which believed without reservation.  When a question came around to me there was a long pause of silence as I pondered the answer.  They waited patiently for my profound response, and all I could muster was "I don't know this stuff.  I'm the glue eater in the back row!"  We all got a good laugh out of that, and afterwards we discovered we were ALL glue eaters to some degree.  Several people later declared "glue eater" status when it was their turn to answer a question, as if they were "taking the 5th" while under oath in a courtroom. 

I always wished I was the guy that believed without reservation, but that wasn't me.  Perhaps doing so would defy logic.  I was too "smart" for that.  In the past I've run into atheists who were equally as "smart", and then I thought to myself, what if they were wrong?  When the good Lord comes calling will I really be concerned about all the atheists who perceived me as being ignorant, or do I want God to perceive me as such.  Umm, I think I'll err on the side of God.

During this time of being lost, and then found, I thought to myself how sad God must have felt to have me questioning Him, and how many other anonymous souls do the same on a daily basis.  I think God has broad shoulders, and I believe He let me go so that I could truly discover where my heart was.  In the end, I think He knew I'd come home.

I went through a similar time in my life in which I was questioning my beliefs during my late 20's.  During that time I had a dream that shocked my system.  In the dream I was on a dock looking over a railing into a shallow, rock filled shoreline.  Washing up to shore from underneath the dock was a dead body, cold and gray, gently floating in the relatively calm tides.  It was my best friend.  In the shock and fright of the moment, the image suddenly vanished and was replaced by an immediate calming sensation.  Jesus was standing there aglow in silence.  He then said one word: "Believe".

That was it.  I awoke.  I've never told that story to anyone else, except my wife.  If I told that story, perhaps others would perceive me as being ignorant.  Perhaps by witholding that story, I truly was. 

I wish I was perfect, but I'm far from it.  I have a lot of catching up to do, but I have a pretty good teacher to help me along the way.  I hope in time you'll see the face of your own God.  In the end, through all the trials and tribulations of life, there's only one thing that really matters:

"Believe".


-

Season's End

Theme:  Find Your Color


To purchase this painting click here: Autumn Fishing Painting



Quote

"Forest of Integrity"

Plant seeds of integrity

wherever you roam,
For it's from these seeds

that a forest is grown.

Haiku

"Rare Artist"

Rare is the artist

that replicates on canvas

God's originals.

Poem

"Leaves of Life"

Spring;

A time when barren trees detonate into canopies of green.
With leaves individually exposed, yet strong in numbers.
Dutifully shadowing the sun, sheltering the rains, protecting the fowl.
Thriving in summer's serenity.

As Autumn nears their inner beauty is exposed;
Striking in color, uniquely their own, but oh for just a moment.
In time their vibrant hues can no longer shroud their brittle remains.
The strong grow weak, and the weak wisp away.


To those that remain the storms will assail.
The tightest of grips loosen each day.
The canopy of green is now a blanket of umber.
A few remain, deliberating their good fortune.
Among the remnants they feel alone.
Winter ascends, and surrender is near.
The last leaf falls, and signals the end.


Alas we are all but leaves in life.

Commentary

Autumn is a wonderful time of year.  If you are fortunate enough to live in an area where the leaves change from green to brilliant colors, enjoy every second, because before long those colors fade.  So goes life.

I'm often amazed at the lives most of us have created for ourselves.  I believe that people long for peace, and simplicity, yet we structure our lives in a completely opposite direction.  More tragic than our own hectic schedules are the schedules we subject our kids to, especially in their early years.  Sports in particular has gotten out of control.  I remember the sense of relief and accomplishment that I felt after a season's end, and the excitement of starting something new.  I'm not sure we are allowing our kids that same sense of satisfaction, and longing for the next new thing.  I've found that most people that give their kids long breaks, tend to be glad that they did.

Autumn provides all of us that same sense of "season's end".  With winter approaching we know that our schedules, and habits will change, and shortly it will be time to do something new.  We try to hang on to every last drop of sunshine and warm temperature.  I see life as being very similar.  As I approach my first half century, I can't help but think that I'm entering the Autumn of my life.  The colors are brilliant; the summer storms have been fierce; and winter is on the horizon.

I was sitting on a porch swing during a warm Autumn day, when I noticed something that I never really gave much thought too in the past.  I noticed that among a grove of nearby trees that some were still green, some had changed to brilliant colors, and some had already lost their leaves.  Those that had lost their leaves had a few stragglers that somehow were still hanging onto the branch, but they looked sad and lonely by themselves.  In typical fashion, my mind began to wander.

I reflected on how similar life is to nature, and how each of us are similar to the leaves on a tree.  We are all born and thrive in our strong early years, and then eventually we face the fierce storms that challenge our existence.  Most hang on, yet others sadly perish.  In time we discover our true colors, and shine beautifully, and brilliantly once we do.  Before long our colors start to fade due to old age, or failing health, and slowly we start losing friends around us.  Those "lucky" enough to hang on the longest, often are alone at the end, and long to join their missing comrades.  In time we all lose our grip and eventually fall to the earth.

My wish for you is that you enjoy the view from your special place on Life's tree, and that you find your true colors sooner, rather than later.  When the time comes to loosen your grip, I hope you float gracefully and softly to your final rest.  And most importantly, find peace.

All my best,

Rich

Crossing the Bridge

Theme:   Simplify

To order this print, click on the link below:

Root Road Covered Bridge, Ashtabula County, Ohio

Poetry

"Biking in the Boondocks"

Dodging crickets, dodging frogs,

Protect your legs from nipping dogs.

Startled horses, flattened snakes

Fresh black tar, and body aches.

Dodging puddles, dodging worms.

Dangerous gravel on corner turns.

Bugs in eyes, bugs on teeth,

Up hill climbs, potholes beneath.

Dodging joggers, dodging storms,

Roadside litter, buzzing swarms.

Red Winged Blackbirds, baby hares,

Rusty nails, and Wooly Bears.

Chains fall off, sweat in eyes,

Fatigue sets in, burning thighs.

Country bike rides I must say,

"Whose idea was this anyway?"

- Richard Doyle -

Quote:

"Sample the Wine"

Before the grapes

dry on the vine,

take the time

to sample the wine.

Haiku:

"Loneliness"

If in solitude

one befriends them self, truly they

are never alone.

To order this print, click on the link below:

Covered Bridges of Ashtabula County

Commentary

The sun had just made it's way over the trees.  The sounds of solitary voices echoed off the Ashtabula River valley that wound it's way through the rural village of Kelloggsville in Ashtabula County, Ohio.  An occasional pause in the conversation gave way to the sounds of Amish buggies as they made their way over the gravel road, and through the 150 year-old covered bridge.  What an unmistakable sound amid the aroma of Autumn leaves, and a fire pit that would warm us for the day.

Shortly before noon the air would be filled with laughter, conversations, and Christian hymns, the likes to which you'd only hear on a static-filled AM radio station in the heart of Appalachia.  Powerful words sung in a language that I think us city folks refer to as "twang".  I would be "subjected" to this until noon.  After all, this WAS Sunday, as I was told.  I'd have it no other way.  The crowds would pick up after church let out.  And pick up they did.

I created a collage painting of all 18 of the covered bridges of Ashtabula County.  I sold my collages during this annual Covered Bridge Festival, for which half of the proceeds went to restore the town's only landmark, the Root Road Covered Bridge.  A town whose only other landmark was a singular stop sign at the town's crossroads.  Me in my jeans and a flannel shirt, that had replaced my khaki's and button down shirt from the previous day.  I clearly did not know my audience that first day. 

I spent the day in the company of my new found friends.  People of small monetary wealth, or so I assumed.  I'd have no way of knowing, nor would they ever let on otherwise.  Humble people who enjoyed the simplicity of their quiet lives.  Hot dogs over the fire pit, home made pies sold by the slice, shoe box full of cash, laughter throughout the day, and the thrill that this good hearted stranger would join them to help their cause.  We met people from all over as thousands visited our impromptu roadside festival.  You could tell the visitors were engulfed in the simplicity as well. 

I raised $250 for their cause that day, and together the group raised over $3,000.  In the end, however, they truly raised more than that: they raised my spirits.  Almost to a person they'd offer to me, "Come back next year, and bring your family."  "You can stay with us, so bring the whole gang." "I hope your kids aren't as ornery as you."  I promised I'd be back.

I received an invitation in the mail the other day.  It read "Puttin' on the Ritz", a $150 a plate, black tie charity auction in my hometown.  A worthy cause, no doubt, but I think I'll leave that for the others in my community.  I use to attend all of those types of events, and usually not so much for the cause, but mainly to "be seen".  Thankfully I've progressed beyond that, and now my time is focused on only the causes I truly embrace.

In the complicated world of computers, text messaging, and internet games, it is refreshing to escape to a world of simplicity.  I encourage everyone to simplify, and give of your time, wealth, and talents.  I've learned that there are few feelings better than that of giving to others, or when you share your talents.  So share away, and make your way towards:
Crossing the Bridge to Simplicity

-