Thursday, September 23, 2010

One On Me

Aloha Friend!

Come In :)


3 O'Clock Crack,
see it?
(click to enlarge)



The Hilton hotel next door erected this sculpture a while back.

Way too soon, a crack had developed.

One day I was walking along, and two very competent looking
fellows were examining and apparently discussing the flaw.

Never one to allow ignorance of the facts
to deter me from voicing an opinion
(what else is a blogger, or writer, or whatever it is that I am?)
I chimed in:

"This area of Waikiki has lots of
MANA,
and this piece was not made by a local Hawaiian artist
but by someone from the continent; Hence the visible
"criticism."


"This guy IS the artist," said one of them, indicating the other,
"and he's from Moloka`i.

You probably shouldn't speak

when you don't know -
But you're right:
there is a lot of MANA
here."


A quick flush of embarrassment changed unexpectedly

to epiphany.

I agreed simply, and thanked them both.

In fact, I appreciated his kindly finding something to agree with me about.

He was truly correcting me, not just WINNING at my expense.




It felt deliciously liberating to laugh at my know-it-all self!









"If you have no critics,

you’ll likely have no success."




Malcolm X








A while later, it had turned into a work-site.
We're lucky!
The artist (possibly remembering my interest and humility)
is inviting us inside to have a look. See him holding the door?








"When you have faults,

do not fear to abandon them."


Confucius




It's a big job to repair a piece of art THIS big and heavy!


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"The essence of knowledge is, in having it: to apply it;

in not having it: to confess your ignorance."




"Even when walking in the company of two others,

I am bound to be able to learn from them.

The good points of the one I copy;

the bad points of the other I correct in myself."



All K'ung Fu-tzu quotes today


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To me, a conspicuous lack of simple humility
is a HUGE red flag.
A warning of ignorance and illusion.


Competent people who know a few things and who can accomplish a few things always behave simply without fanfare.


Pity we seem to have forgotten this.
How many true artists do we overlook every day
in gazing at mere performers?


And that's my humble opinion for today.


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