Once I discovered the back and forth of reciprocal giving was a foundation assumption of mine, I had to ask myself how did this play out in my sense of relationship?

First I realized that I had categories of who got which type of giving. These are my categories, and I know that others think of this differently than I do, but it really helped me to watch myself and describe these for myself. So I would encourage self observation and questions about this...

For instance, with aquaintances, I was more likely to give without expectation of getting back anything - only determining for myself what I could give easily and without high cost to me.

With business, fairness and having a standard of how people should treat each other was my rule of thumb.

Was thinking tonight about how most people assume that there is a hierarchy concerning intelligence. It seems this hierarchy idea is also extended to individuation and spiritual development. A common notion is that there exists a "higher self" and that there are steps someone can take to be on a path to individuation by expanding one's consciousness or spiritual capacity or ability to be happy - and this takes a "higher" intelligence.

My partner been on the receiving end of a great deal of my consideration, forethought, money and support for some time, with good reasons. Lately, a catharsis is happening for him and between us that I believe presages his ability to give back. I believe his situation, both financially and emotionally is just about to radically improve circumstancially.

The Problem:

Many people have forgone the pleasure of raising children because they did not want to risk the pain of divorce and the poverty of being an abandoned single parent. Even knowing that their track record of possibly successful primary relationships is deplorably short, some people feel their only choice is to merely hope this time it will "work out" long enough to raise a child. Divorce comes as a rude awakening.

Nearly every year I try to teach someone else how to paint windows up for the holidays. I realize that there will come a time when I will not be able to do this sort of work myself, but I also teach because I love to pass on what I know how to do well. Not only do I teach ways to make someone's own art look better, but I also give advice about how to sell their art in this specific situation.

This was a tricky picture to draw because someone had put a kind of stuff on the window that was designed to repel dust and dirt - it also prevented my paint from sticking to the window! So I had to forgo some of the usual ways that I use a black line to illustrate the car and just leave the hopefully dark of space on the window to fill in this function.

Now we're in the last week before Christmas when lots of people are getting ready for their vacation time. Of course what I've been doing with my art here for the Holidays is tailored to appeal to those who are buying gifts for others so the shopkeepers can make a chunk of change to last through the often lean winter months ahead.

Ironically, the appeal for happiness brings home for many how unhappy they really feel.

I painted this on two doors for a service station and convenience store called Tower Car Wash in San Francisco. Looks sort of like a Chevron commercial, doesn't it?

It's very time-consuming to draw, especially while standing on a ladder, but I'm pretty fast at it, especially when motivated by weather.

Wondering about this poor snowman, who has just made one of those fatal losses of judgment some time back previous and and is now on the brink of suffering the consequences...

Here's a little dream image I made at a person's home office window on the inside, since it was too high up to do on the outside of the building. When I took a pic of it, the flash created a beautiful moon effect that turned out to be quite realistic.
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