Fri

ALOHA !

Gratitude Day

A L O H A !

“If you want to sleep more soundly,

count blessings,

not sheep,”

Robert A. Emmons, 

University of California, Davis

“Thanks!”

 his book on gratitude research

God does not need our gratitude,
nor does any other benefactor
so much as we ourselves
need to know it
and express it.

 

“ If you have lived,

take thankfully the past. "

John Dryden


"As each day comes to us

refreshed and anew,

so does my gratitude 

renew itself daily. 

The breaking of the sun 

over the horizon 

is my grateful heart

dawning

upon a blessed world. "

Terri Guillemets

Try a gratitude visit. 

This exercise, recommended by 

Martin Seligman 

of the University of Pennsylvania,

 begins with writing a 300-word letter

to someone who changed your life for the better.

 Be specific about what the person did and how it affected you. 

Deliver it in person, preferably without telling

the person in advance what the visit is about. 

When you get there, read the whole thing slowly

to your benefactor.

 “You will be happier and less depressed 

one month from now,”

Dr. Seligman guarantees 

in his book “Flourish.”

" Cultivating an “attitude of gratitude”

has been linked to better health, sounder sleep,
 less anxiety and depression, higher long-term satisfaction with life and kinder behavior
 toward others, including romantic partners. 

A new study shows that feeling grateful
makes people less likely to turn aggressive
when provoked.

Start with “gratitude lite.” 

That’s the term used by Robert A. Emmons, 
of the University of California, Davis 

(the pepper-spray university!)

in his pioneering experiments he conducted
along with Michael E. McCullough

at the University of Miami.

They instructed people to keep a journal
listing five things

for which they felt grateful,
 like a friend’s generosity, something they’d learned,

a sunset they’d enjoyed.

The gratitude journal was brief 

— just one sentence for each of the five things —

and done only once a week,
but after two months there were significant effects. 

Compared with a control group, the people keeping
 the gratitude journal were more optimistic 
and felt happier. 

They reported fewer physical problems
 and spent more time working out.

Further benefits were observed 
in a study of polio survivors 

and other people
with neuromuscular problems.

The ones who kept a gratitude journal 
reported feeling happier

and more optimistic

than those in a control group,
 and these reports were corroborated
by observations from their spouses. 

(can't fool them!)

These grateful people also fell asleep
more quickly at night, 

slept longer and woke up
feeling more refreshed.

Go for deep gratitude. 

Once you’ve learned to count your blessings,
Dr. Emmons says, 

you can think bigger.

“As a culture, we have lost a deep sense
of gratefulness

about the freedoms we enjoy,

a lack of gratitude
 toward those who lost their lives
in the fight for freedom, 

a lack of gratitude

for all the material advantages
 we have,” he says. 

“The focus of Thanksgiving should be 

a reflection of how our lives 
have been made so much more
 comfortable

by the sacrifices of those
who have come before us.”

Derived from an article that appeared in print 
on November 22, 2011,
 on page D1 of the New York Times, 

NY Edition with the headline:

A Serving of Gratitude May Save the Day.

 
I'm grateful for YOU

your visit is a gift

that I cherish!

                                                      Warmly, cloudia 

Un-paraphras-able

ALOHA !

 

" That we want

is enduring;

What we want

changes

as culture does. "

Helen Fisher

" Research shows

that experts are no better

at predicting the future

than dart-throwing monkeys. "

Vinod Khosla

“There is no reason

anyone would want a computer

in their home.”

Ken Olson,

co-founder of Digital Equipment Corp.,

1977

Have you ever held a palm tree in the palm of your hand?

" If you look deeply into the palm of your hand,

you will see your parents

and all generations of your ancestors.

All of them are alive in this moment.

Each is present in your body.

You are the continuation of each of these people."

 Thich Nhat Hanh

“It doesn't matter what he does—

he will never amount to anything.”
 

Albert Einstein’s teacher

to his father, 1895

 

 

 

 

 

   > < } } ( ° >

Harvest

We must not hope to be mowers
and gather the ripe gold ears
Unless we first have been sowers
and watered the furrows with tears

 
It is not just as we take it
This mystical world of ours
Life's field will yield as we make it
A harvest of thorns or flowers

Goethe

Thank YOU

for spending time here with us!

Your comment is always valued

                                                                  Warmly, cloudia

Obama Is -

ALOHA !

Obama is not

a golden-skinned socialist

who gives away

free healthcare-

- You're thinking of Jesus

“What you do

speaks so loud 

that I cannot hear

what you say.” 

Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Charity is no substitute

for justice withheld.” 

Saint Augustine

“ When I give food to the poor,

they call me a saint.

When I ask 

why the poor have no food,

they call me a communist. ”

  Dom Helder Camara

 > < } } ( ° >

Thank YOU for visiting today!

Your comment is appreciated

                                               Warmly, cloudia 

 

Sunshine Means a Lot to Me

ALOHA !

"Music is invisible cinema. "

Aaron Parks

"God gave us the gift of life; 

it is up to us

to give ourselves

the gift of living well. " 

Voltaire

"Share instead of compare. "

Wavy Gravy

 > < } } ( ° >

Lately it has occurred to me

that if my emotional balance

depends on the moods

or opinions

of others

I'll never achieve

it for long.

True balance emerges

within myself

and does not rely

on the judgements of 

others.

Gosh!

I hope YOU agree with me!!!

                                                                Warmly, cloudia

 " Anyone can hold the helm

when the sea is calm. "
-Syrus Pubilius

Natalie Wood

 ALOHA !

" At night, 

when the sky is full of stars

 and the sea is still 

you get the wonderful sensation

 that you are floating in space. " 

Natalie Wood

"When you are sorrowful

 look again in your heart, 

and you shall  see

that in truth

you are weeping for that

which has been your

delight. "

 Kahlil Gibran

This is the boat from which Natalie departed this life,
docked here in Honolulu

"I like being on the water

 or near the water,

 but not in the water."

Natalie Wood

  =^.^=

Perhaps

 it is because she grew up before our eyes

in the movies

that Natalie Wood seemed more than

a "movie star."

There was something

 very individual,

honest,

vulnerable,

and familiar

 about her.

She was beautiful too,

but in an unassuming,

un-brassy way.

Like an ancient hero

she was taken too soon,

 taken into 

the realm of 

the immortals.

The boat from upon which

 she sailed

from land for the last time

has been re-sold,

and docked here in Honolulu

for many years.

Now that the case surrounding her death

is being re-examined

officials are coming over from California

to scrutinize the vessel.

Meteorology

was my college lab science.

The professor told us

that he would give us extra credit

for every weather-related news story

we clipped/printed

and brought to class.

"How many weather stories can there BE?"

I wondered.

But that turned out to be

just what he was teaching us:

the importance of weather,

( once you notice it )

all over the world

week after week.

I had no problem

finding such a story

every week,

all semester.

Have YOU found

that visiting Hawaii

 via this blog

has been a little 

like that?

Here on the most remote islands

on Earth,

my life MUST be quite different

from yours

-and yet-

there always seems to be

something

that I find

 to present to 

Y O U.

In this case,

my connection to Natalie

goes beyond sharing a harbor 

for many years

with the 'death boat.'

When the film

"Inside Daisy Clover" came out

I was the same age

 as the character she played:

a tom-boy who mostly raised herself.

If you watch,

really watch,

the performance at the beginning

 of the video below,

you will see an extraordinary

"something"

that spoke deeply to me

as an adolescent;

A yearning,

a determination,

a 'self-pumping up'

an unconventionality

that I really identified with.

You're Gonna Hear From ME ! 

Thanks for letting us hear from

Y O U 

in comments

                                            warmly, cloudia

Inside Daisy Clover HERE