A stamp is a miracle. For just fifty-eight cents, someone will come to your house to collect a letter you've written and hand-deliver it to the house of someone else anywhere in the country.Heck, back in the old days, you had to be royalty with great wealth and servants at your beck and call if you wanted a personal message delivered to someone in your kingdom.Even now, if you lived in Miami, how much time, money, and effort would it take you to hand-deliver a birthday card to a friend in Seattle? Depending on whether you took a plane or car, and if you had any overnight stays involved, it …
Rest at the Lookouts & Savor the Victories
As the final in a series of reflections on the lessons learned from my family's hike up the Lanikai Pillbox trail, this might be the one I needed the most. When we began the hike, the summit was the agreed-upon destination. Anything less would have been a disappointment. We wanted to see the best view.But it's been said that life is the journey, not the destination, and for good reason. There are a lot of cool things to see on the way, and if you keep your head down, you're liable to miss them. Take the pandemic as an example. We haven't yet reached the destination, but perhaps you …
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COVID Math and Your Mission in Life
Ready for a fun fact about COVID-19 (you know, the virus you've been inundated with information – and misinformation – about for an entire year now that's wreaked havoc on a global scale)? It has been recently calculated that all of the virus circulating in the world right now could easily fit inside a single Coca-Cola can. Yep, British mathematician Kit Yates figured out there are around two quintillion – that's two billion billion – of the virus particles in the world at any one time. Even calculating the fact that the spherical shape and spiky proteins would leave gaps when stacked …
Working All Things for Good
My wife took the beautiful photo that inspired this painting.There was something about this dandelion that captivated me. He’s reaching the end of the line. He is weary, but remains proud and steadfast. Some called him a weed, disrupting the status quo and infecting the neighborhood. But he knows the truth. He has run his race, and is now ready to give it all away, to multiply himself by scattering the seeds in order to bring forth new life. And in the midst of his sacrifice, with the sun setting on his last day, light shines through as a symbol of the grace within. I call this piece “Good …
Dawn Is Coming
It is always dawn somewhere in the world. That fascinates me. When someone is in the middle of the blackest night, someone half a world away is experiencing the joy of a new day. That’s how life is: seasons of light, seasons of dark.I can hardly believe that just a little over a year ago, my family was on Lanikai Beach, watching the sun rise over these two small islands called Na Mokulua, aka the Mokes. I was booked to speak in Honolulu and this trip seems like an even greater blessing considering how this year has unfolded.Some days Kim got up to watch the sunrise while I stayed back as the …
Proof of Life
Every so often in my life, things are going along swimmingly. I know where I’m going, the path is clear, progress is being made. Everything makes sense and the future is bright. I like when life is like that.But then, seemingly overnight, everything goes dry. Sand has obscured my path, and I feel like I’m in a barren wasteland, uncertain of which direction to head. I wonder if all the progress and clarity I’d experienced was merely a mirage, because suddenly all signs of life are absent. I am stranded in the desert and all hope is drying up. Perhaps you’ve felt this way recently. Maybe …
Blessings in Brokenness
"All the King's horses and all the King’s men couldn’t put Humpty Dumpty back together again." iPhone screens. Windows. Windshields. Bones. Baseball bats. Helmets. Even Humpty Dumpty.When something is cracked, we often think of it as ruined, useless, irredeemably broken.But when a bird’s egg cracks while in the confines of its nest, it is a sign of new life, a fresh beginning. Only moments before the first crack, the egg is pure, smooth, unbroken. Then the crack happens, disrupting the calm surface of the egg. But what emerges next is something new and beautiful. Our business had its best …
2020: Your Best Year Ever?
Eating a peach, in season, perfectly ripe, is pure magic. But also messy.Oh, sure, you can eat peaches before they’re ripe and they might drip less, but they’re not nearly as good. The best peaches are always messy.Now I’ll admit it: I prefer tidy. I like the structure of a good plan. I feel good when the dishes are done and the counter is cleared. I’m easily disturbed when piles stay piles for too long.Is that an Adultitis-fueled trait? Perhaps. But I do find that I am more present, relaxed, and creative when clutter and chaos are minimized. In general, I don’t think it’s a terrible trait to …
Do This Before the World Ends
Well, it’s official: The end of the world is upon us.It sure seems that way, doesn’t it?2020 has not been for the faint of heart, and just when you think it can’t get any worse, well, just wait for tomorrow. The thing is, every generation fears it’s living in the last days. And so far, every one has been wrong. I’m old enough to remember some of the Cold War and the events that transpired on 9/11/2001. Things looked bleak then, too. This cheerful painting was inspired by a song about the end of the world. The words are from the lyric of a catchy tune from the 1980s by a band …
What to Do When Your World Turns Upside Down
When I’m working on a painting, I have to step back from time to time. I have to literally stop the activity of painting and be still before the work. Otherwise, I can’t see the painting through the brushstrokes. You might think that pausing slows down the process. What it really does is help me make better paintings. If I don’t step away every so often, I’m liable to get stuck overdoing part of the painting and end up ruining the whole thing. Giving myself some distance helps me notice certain aspects that I can’t see when I’m up close. I can examine the overall composition, …
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