douglas brent smith

  Sketch from Journal #61 douglas brent smiyth The cat in the middle wonders what Tom was thinking about.

  sketch by douglas brent smith (c) 2022

  Sketch in June, from Journal #61, 14 June 2021

  sketch by douglas brent smith What have you drawn today? Why not take a moment and draw something, anything?

A person starts surrounded by and covered with boxes of all sizes. These are boxes that must be unpacked for that person to be free. The boxes contain limiting thoughts, assumptions, cultural restrictions, religious constraints, bigotry, fears - lots of fears, illness, affliction, authority, rules, regulations, anarchy, chaos, regional assumptions, ethnic blurring, ethnic purity, ethnic ethos, ethics, non-ethics, commandments, sermons, skewed exegesis, historical oppression, satire, sarcasm, judgment, broken relationships, damaged relationships, power, powerlessness, pain, lost love, stolen love, broken love, broken promises, broken dreams, forgotten dreams, forgotten lessons learned, forgotten family, estranged family, substance abuse, sugar stars and swings, animal distancing and objectivizing, sexism, racism, greed, slander, lust, deference, danger, risk, confusion, misunderstanding, brokenness, separation, turning away, turning against, ignorance, stagnation, sloth, sorrow, and may...

Things -- and people -- well cared for need not go obsolete. Getting tired of something is a choice. Discarding the old is a choice. While we should continually improve ourselves, our materials, our technology, there is still value in preserving what lives on with quality. That great guitar. That classic car. That recipe that still tastes good. There was an episode of "The Twilight Zone" on this week about "Obsolete." Burgess Meredith plays a librarian who in some autocratic society had been judged (under penalty of death) as obsolete. The last forbidden book he pulls from hiding, as he awaits his execution, is a Bible. He was not truly obsolete. His value as a being was unquestionable and though thru cleverness he brings his executioner to fear at being himself on the edge of facing his own imminent death, locked in a room with a bomb, the librarian does allow mercy (in God's name) to prevail, setting free his captor even though he himself will perish. Like man...

Sketch by douglas brent smith 17 March 2021

Virtual Training on Tuesday, January 18 from 10:00 am ET to 12:00 pm Communicating for Results Explore and practice the communication skills you need to develop better conversations, more productive meetings, and more powerful presentations.  During this highly interactive virtual training you will: Develop strategies for dealing with barriers to effective communication Identify the keys to listening effectively Discover the secret to dealing with difficult personalities Practice CLUES to Success, five key ingredients for powerful and influential communication WHEN: January 18 from 10:00 am ET to 12:00 pm REGISTER  HERE Price: only $49.95  Testimonials from previous participants: "I've already used what I've learned. Literally I wrote an email yesterday which was more like a vent, then Doug was in my head clear as a bell 'is it helpful? Is it necessary? Is it kind?' and while therapeutic for me to get it off my chest, I ultimately put it to Doug's test and dele...

Love crosses my mind every day. It's when it crosses my heart that it brings me to tears. -- doug smith  

I like eclipses...because that implies there is more to the story and that I don't know all of the answers because maybe (maybe!) the emerging nature of the universe (and certainly our perception...) allows new answers to form.  Maybe we can (do...?) try on new realities just for fun because (maybe...) there is no one permanent reality. (That is not to excuse ALL things or even to explain all things. It is to allow all things whatever is to be.) "That's crazy talk." "Yes. But, is it really?" -- doug smith  

  "Weather the Storm" digital collage by douglas brent smith 07 January 2022

  Digital Collage by douglas brent smith 06 January 2022

  "Dave Meets Dave" collage by douglas brent smith 3 January 2022

  "Bob Finds the Lake Amusing" digital collage by douglas brent smith 2 January 2022