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A  L  O  H  A   from   Honolulu!

CLICK on Brazilian Cardinal

" True success is 

overcoming the fear 

of being unsuccessful. " 

                          Paul Sweeney

" The people who matter 

will recognize

 who you are. " 

                    Alan Cohen

Linking to

Wild Bird Wednesday

Must Be October

A  L  O  H   A !

" I've lived through 

some terrible things 

in my life, 

some of which 

actually happened. "

                            Mark Twain

Scary October!

Every child knows

that witches & goblins

haunt the frosty eves.

Every adult sees

the dying leaves

and feels the chill. . . 

B O O!

Yes, October is

a scary month.

Please enjoy this 

Flaming Skull

from a cinder-block wall

here in Honolulu.

Dig That Flaming Skull!

Linking to Monday Mural

Here

Your Blogging Banshee,

                                                     Cloudia

Fear Cure

A  L  O  H  A !

Hawaiian Green Sea Turtle 'HONU' 

Thanks, Carroll Cox  Link

"Friendship with ones self 
is all important, 
because without it 
one cannot be friends 
with anyone else in the world."
Eleanor Roosevelt

"Those that are a friend 

to themselves

 are sure to be 

a friend to all."

Seneca

What is the sound of Cloud Hands clapping?

"If life 

were predictable 

it would cease 

to be life..."

              Eleanor Roosevelt

"The secret to happiness 

is to put the 

burden of proof 

on unhappiness."  

              Robert Brault

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I'm timid.

Now I'm strong enough

to accept that.

No more covering it up

with boldness.

So I am free

to share with You

a fear talisman

that works for me;

It is called:

Today Is Not The Day

Today is not the day.

That thing you most fear

will not be coming today;

Salutations and

burden of proof

upon ye!

Forever is comprised

of Now

riding the rail of your 

"Fate"

so to speak,

growing so wise

the truth is a squeak;

But I can perceive it

beneath world's din

tune out the inessential

-Believe-

and move right in.

Thank YOU

for visiting today!

                Warmly, cloudia

What is a "GO Bag?"

Aloha, Dear Friend!

A Rabbit

“The other day when I was walking through the woods,

I saw a rabbit standing in front of a candle

making shadows of people on a tree.”

 

 Stephen Wright

There he goes! (Nice tail)

"Humor can get in

under the door

while seriousness

is still fumbling at the handle."

G.K. Chesterton

Did you see that?

"Diseases of the soul are more numerous 

and dangerous

than those of the body."

Cicero

Just another day. . . in Waikiki.  (Glad Y O U stopped by :-)

"Perfect order

is the forerunner

of perfect horror."

Carlos Fuentes

<(=)>

Three times this year,

a tsunami warning,

my boat taking on water at 3:30 am,

and a TSUNAMI WARNING (!)

We have had to decide what's important.

What do you grab?

Valuables, monetary & sentimental.

Pets. Medications. Papers.

In the case of the tsunami,

you want to take food and simple

"neccessities" that may be in short supply

for some time, if the 'big one' hits.

After what happened in Japan. . .

(and believe me, Hawaii people

are close to the Japanese.

Every day here there is a fundraiser,

or another story

heartrending in it's pain

of what our friends and family

are enduring there.

Hawaii people have contributed

upwards of 3 million USDollars!

And many of us are over there helping.)

. . .So after a disaster like that,

or the flooding in the continental US,

one is grateful for dear normalcy

even if this is the normalcy:

  "normal."

What is your security blanket?

Your MUST HAVE?

Do you have a "Go Bag" with simple necessities

ready to grab and go?

Believe me, it's better to think before an emergency hits.

Personally, much less is now "necessary."

What do I actually need to be happy?

Our blogs are preserved "on the cloud"

Personal information and pictures

can all be stored there too,

courtesy of Google, Mozy and others.

I'm realizing that, beyond simple health, 

food, shelter, loved ones,

there is little  that is irreplaceable;

After all,

we shall lose "everything" eventually anyway.

You can't take it with you, right?

For me, this means that more of my security

comes from within,

from skills, and from hard won self-confidence too.

My "locus of control" has moved more inside myself

than outside.  That's a good feeling.

My husband marvels that I can give a REIKI treatment

with no equipment, just my hands.

I can provide comfort, pain relief and connection.

As long as I have a heart to think of those around me

I will not sink into despair.

Together we as a whole world are re-evaluating:

"What is necessary? What is truly desirable?"

I think we are finding exciting new answers

to those questions;

Answers that are actually quite old.

"Love one another." "Do unto others."

"True wealth is not material." 

I'm actually quite hopeful, this Arab Spring.

A million minds changed, 

and a thousand-year Berlin Wall fell.

What walls of separation will fall next? 

What is the world changing it's mind about?

Y O U

blogger, and blog reader,

are part of it!

                             Please leave us a comment!               cloudia

Fast From Fear

. . . Feast on

ALOHA

Click on the photos :)

"There is no season

 when such pleasant and sunny spots may be lighted on,

 and produce so

pleasant an effect on the feelings,

 as now in October."

Nathaniel Hawthorne

My boat is ever moving,

at a certain time, a certain angle,

a shaft of sun interpolates

and the swinging silver spiral

collaborates

for fleeting seconds

to produce a shadow twin.

Spirals

for EVERYONE!

And then:

gone.

Koko Head

"I am a lonely painter,

I live in a box of paints."

Joni Mitchell 

Noodle Factory.

Enlarge to read the varieties of

noodles :)

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"What is not love

is fear.

Anger

is one of fear's most potent

faces.

And it does exactly

what the fearful ego wants it to do:

It keeps us from receiving

 love

at exactly the moment

that we need it 

most."

        Marianne Williamson & cloudia

Lilac Star

ALOHA!

E Komo Mai - Welcome Friend

click on the contentment

The end of another perfect Waikiki day



"We all look at Nature too much,
and live with her too little."
Oscar Wilde

A Narcissus Queen & Court have been selected for the Year of the Tiger.

"I'd rather be ruled by a wise Turk than a stupid Christian."
Martin Luther

Soon they will be here!

><>

"In the main,
and from the beginning of time,
mysticism has kept men sane.
The thing that has driven them mad
was logic."
G.K. Chesterton


<><

In a real situation

you are never really alone.

You plan for the uncertain

by being alive,

grateful,

and resilient

today.

Prudence

should never become

a straitjacket.

And remember:

Don't just act nice;

Be Nice!

with ALOHA, cloudia

I'm BACK, Baby!

A L O H A, Friends!

Welcome Back to Waikiki

click on photos for the full treatment

I am back from my journey to a strange place. . .

"When the baby looks around him

It's such a sight to see

He shares a simple secret

With the wise man

He's a stranger in a strange land

Just a stranger in a strange land

Tell me why

He's a stranger in a strange land

Just a stranger in a strange land - "

Things are starting to look like they normally do again. . .

"- How many miles will it take

To see the sun

And how many years until it's done

Kiss my confusion away in the night

Lay by my side when the morning comes -"

Now I can get back to important explorations

of the world around me. . .

"-Do you recognize the bells of truth

When you hear them ring

Won't you stop and listen

To the children sing

Won't you come on and sing it children

He's a stranger in a strange land

Just a stranger in a strange land."

Leon Russell, Stranger in a Strange Land (Lyrics)

First, I want to thank all of you who left supportive remarks for me on my previous (colonoscopy) post. I also want to thank those who left witty comments!

The prep was not THAT bad.

When my blood sugar does down I feel draggy and susceptible to "moods." But a little strained miso soup, ginger ale, and chilled green tea, make for a cleansing day and kept me going.

Drinking the 16 gallons (less?) of colyte was merely a commitment to DO it.

It wasn't till I was at the medical center that I began to get nervous - which is good, because I used to be nervous ALL the time, EVERYWHERE!

Why do you think I've become such a well being expert?

I had the choice of spiralling around in anxiety, or discovering and entering the Comfort Spiral. . .

The positivity that you find at this blog was hard earned, and requires respect and upkeep on my part. Which is not to say that it is fragile (far from it - hooray!) just that it takes a daily commitment which is far from difficult.

The motto of Kaiser / Hawaii Region is: "Caring for Hawaii's People Like Family" and most everyone you meet there is excellent at their task, and very human & warm.

Jim Morrison of the DOORS sang: "People are strange when you're a stranger."

When I felt estranged from others, everyday brought examples of their strangeness. Since I have begun to see the innocence in others and in myself, I have found good people everywhere I go. Marianne Williamson says there is no thought so insignificant that it does not have effect in our world. Since I have discovered the beauty in others (and in myself) and stopped living in constant judgement of them (and myself) I have felt more at home in the world and among others than ever before. People really can feel it when we are surrendered and trusting. My new health motto has become:

"Rejoice & Rejuvenate."

Sure beats the tar out of:

"Worry & Complain."

I knew that the team would either give me a clean bill of health, or remove a potential problem and thus save my health and life years in advance of any symptoms.

So I was grateful to receive this screening!

The Doc removed a few small polyps (future problems) said that it all looked good, and told me to repeat the test in . . . . 10 years! I'll be eligible for Medicare then. . .

One reason that I am sharing all of this is because a blogger I follow (was it you, Sandee?) recently posted about her colonoscopy (timely!) and made me feel much better about the whole thing. (Thanks!)

Another BLOGGING Miracle!

So it is in that spirit that I urge all my friends here who are lucky enough to have health coverage (or who can afford this screening) to strongly consider getting it done.

In honesty, I must tell you that I felt really out of it afterwards, and that I'm just beginning to feel like myself again (the test was Monday - I even missed posting yesterday which is rare for (big mouth) me ;-]

So today I'm babying myself with great self-indulgence. My favorite husband (who I usually leave out of this blog-thing) has been a trooper throughout, even taking yesterday off to stay home and annoy, er, distract and care for me!

Having seen my Dad fight a losing battle with cancer back in the Spring makes everyday seem precious!

So thanks to each and every one of you who share this blog-y life with me. Our friend Sepiru Chris of Cuneiform Scratchings (see my blog roll) sent me a cool postcard from Hong Kong. His cat companion, Pommes, also mailed a delectable "double-fish" seal to Miss Kitty who enjoys having it over her treat-spot. I'm resting in bed and reading Walking Man's book of verse: "Stink." (See my blog roll for his worthy blog also)

And I've noticed a lot of positive, under-reported news stories lately too. Many of the bailed out banks and financials are PAYING BACK bail-out funds and the Fed Gov't (you and me) is even showing a profit! Big Money Authorities (OK, I forgot the source) stated that the Federal Gov't "saved the financial system from disaster." (Even though we all know that it requires more balancing & fairness to us little guys)

And General Jones said this week that the Obama administration has made us all demonstrably SAFER in the world!

I look forward to getting around to visit all of YOU very soon, though I'm still feel a bit tentative, and I feel a televised, late-season WNBA game coming on ;-]

I love you guys - thanks for EVERYTHING!

Warm Aloha, Cloudia