Come, Let's Fly

A L O H A,

Friend!

YOU are welcome, Come In

photos on the click!

Would YOU rather be an immortal, imposing image of a bird

or a tiny, tremulous, burbling, living, bird?

"Hear how the birds, on ev'ry blooming spray,

With joyous musick wake the dawning day."

Alexander Pope

Pretty - Poised - Patient

"Birdes of a feather will flocke togither."

Marcus Valerius Martial

One Little Boy in a Crowd

“The God to whom little boys say their prayers

has a face very like their mother's"
James Matthew Barrie

Do you still dream of flying?

Do you still consider strapping on some wings,

or a cape,

and running full speed

down the leaf-covered hill?

Are the birds your friends

whisperings secrets

of love

just to you?

Does your heart soar

and plunge

while whily wind

whoops

promising freedom

and speed?

To swim, to fly, to dance;

casting your fancy to capricious Gyre's chance.

Something it is - called the essential

"You"

that longs

not to leave this earth

but to kiss it from the

Blue. cloudia

Inspired by one of my favourite Poets:

Flying
by Richard Wilbur

Treetops are not so high
Nor I so low
That I don’t instinctively know
How it would be to fly

Through gaps that the wind makes, when
The leaves arouse
And there is a lifting of boughs
That settle and lift again.

Whatever my kind may be,
It is not absurd
To confuse myself with a bird
For the space of a reverie:

My species never flew,
But I somehow know
It is something that long ago
I almost adapted to.

Aloha.

You & I are birds of a feather! Cloudia

Never Say "Aloha"

A l o h a

to Each of

Y O U!

click on photos for pleasure

Indigenous Taiwanese Dancers TWIRL!

“Let us read and let us dance - two amusements

that will never do any harm to the world.”
Voltaire

“Put your hand on a hot stove for a minute, and it seems like an hour.

Sit with a pretty girl for an hour, and it seems like a minute.

THAT'S relativity.”
Albert Einstein

Spiral proclaiming itself!

Have you noticed it's infiltation of the culture?

"He drew a circle that shut me out --

Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout.

But love and I had the wit to win:

We drew a circle that took him in."

Edwin Markham

The Hawaiians of old
never said "Aloha"
by itself.





"Aloha Kakou - Love inclusive to all of us.
How are we all doing?"





"Aloha Kakahiaka Kakou -
How are we all
this morning?"





"Aloha Kaua - Aloha to we two;
how are we doing?"




Aloha is always inclusive and comprehensive.

<>< ><>





It is said that the Hawaiians of old
recognized a kindred spirit
in Jesus' words.




Thus adopting a Jewish brother
and their own religion
in "becoming"
Christian.





They forgave the gruff
and logical missionaries
who radiated condescension
and constraint.





The Hawaiians
in Christian patience
waited for them
to actually live
the religion they
professed.





Warmth & Inclusion to YOU, my friend.
How are WE today?

Cloudia

How to Become

A L O H A!

Waikiki Welcomes YOU-

click on photos to raise mojo

"Our pain doesn't come from the love we weren't given in the past, but from the love we ourselves aren't giving in the present. Salvation is only found in the present. Every moment we have the chance to change our past and our future by reprograming the present."

"We create what we defend against."

"We chose the patterns, however mistakenly, and He will not force us to give them up."

All quotes today: Mariane Williamson

Even though I lived through it, it still amazes me how completely my life has changed.

I find it breathtaking even now, how completely daily experiences mirror habitual thoughts. Shakespeare wrote that "Nothing is good or bad, but thinking makes it so." I have learned though hard experiment that this is merely a statement of bare fact.

Make no mistake.

It takes fearless commitment to face our thought habits.

They appear so self-evident, so obvious, that we never even notice them - they are the air we breathe: invisible.

We never stop to realize that there are alternative ways to respond to any situation. We keep responding the same way, over and over again, proclaiming: "That's just the way I am" all the while forgetting that it's just the way we've always been (up to now) as we keep hoping for a better outcome from our same in-put. "This time will be different," we tell oursleves, but somehow it never is.

Repeating nice affirmations will not help, if your gut is smirking and dis-affirming each one. We can not butt heads with habit. It's head is much, much harder. We must disrupt it's power through the unexpected. To change our energy, our responses, disguises us, and ultimately forges a new intentional identity.

Out of such mysterious change a space is created, where new growth can bring forth shoots. Soon it becomes beautifully clear how we daily experience pretty much what we expect to. You begin to comprehend the subtle cause & effect between your attitude, behavior and the world you inhabit. Change yourself, change the world. Think of the power in this! Expecially as more and more of us liberate ourselves from the "same old thing."

It turns out that people really do know subconsciously how you think and feel about them. We "read" each other all day long. Victims will find willing victimizers unerringly. This graciously presents each with the very opportunities each one needs to work through these issues along the way, and to make other choices. Once we thus come to become ourselves more deeply, we no longer require such lessons, and somehow they cease to show up in our life.

Seeing and being newness,

in ourselves and in our lives,

is the only way to change positively.

And don't forget that change is inevitable.

I have come to enjoy focusing on the daily bounty.

To me the inevitability of change, or endings, only makes today the more exhilarating and glittering. I no longer waste time fearing future, or lamenting the past. Either is a waste of time, a sacrilege in the face of glories too oft obscured by such unworthy considerations.

Attitudes and lives can change - just ask me: a former anxious depressive hanging on day to day. But a dragon guards this treasure's way. He holds a mirror, and only the courage to see yourself, and to grow, will get you past the fear.

A L O H A Friends, Cloudia

Vertical Evacuation

A L O H A !

Welcome Back to Waikiki, Friend!

clickity click click click on the photos!Those hills would seem far away

if I was stuck in a panic traffic jam

trying to beat a tsunami inland!

"A timid person is frightened before a danger, a coward during the time, and a courageous person afterward."
Jean Paul Richter

Some might just give up and grab a Primo, Hawaii's beer.

But there is another solution.

Have you guessed it?

"Fortune does not change men, it unmasks them."
Suzanne Necker

Paddlers carrying their canoe. In the windshield glare it looks like

they are carrying a blur.

It's called "Vetical Evacuation."

Going above the third floor in a solid, modern building

should render one an observer (rather than a victim) of a

tsunami here in Waikiki.

Mom lives on the 20th floor (mountain side) of a cement pile called The Waikiki Banyon.

With modern warnings here in Hawaii,

there should be plenty of time for me to get up there

and to start bickering over the TV news channel to watch.

Of course, she'd have first call on the bathroom!


Meanwhile, our Hawaii Air National Guard has made numerous flights to Samoa bringing medicine, food, & supplies.

Look around you.
If your world is in Normal Chaos
instead of Disaster
count yourself Blessed.

Your visits are certainly a blessing to me!

Thank you, Friends.

A L O H A! Cloudia

Thank YOU Bloggers

A L O H A

Friends!

click-da-photo :)

Palm Shadow Path

“There are no foreign lands.

It is the traveler only who is foreign.”

Robert Louis Stevenson

Pink Pleasure

“Our battered suitcases were piled on the sidewalk again;

we had longer ways to go. But no matter, the road is life.”

Jack Kerouac

What's Over the Next Hill?

Ted Trimmer Photo

“A journey is like marriage.

The certain way to be wrong is to think you control it.”

John Steinbeck

“No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel

until he comes home

and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow.” –

Lin Yutang

Mahalo, Danke, Merci, Salamat, Kahmsamneda, Arrigato. . .

Thank YOU, Bloggers

for taking my far-seeking mind

winging around this world

to land in your own distinct neighborhoods.

You show me real life

that tourists never meet.

For I live in the Shangri la

of Hawaii's magic realm:

Waikiki,

and fear that-

should I leave-

some rift in reality,

terrorism,

financial collapse,

could prevent my homecoming;

So I remain here.

And should the cleft

of sky & sea

heal over,

I'll be safely here:

Sealed in Island intimacy.

So

Thanks EACH of You

for showing me

a world apart

of hearts

that are close.

A L O H A, Cloudia

Recuperating From Saturday

A L O H A!

What a Saturday It Was!

You're gonna want to click on photos :) Lions Being Brought to Life! They are watching

the Dragon chase the pill of immortality.

This thrills me anytime, anywhere.

Happy Autumn Moon Festival.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. . .

Uusually I'm driving past.

But yesterday I had time to really LOOK

at Makiki Christian Church (See yesterday's post for info).

Why look at this ornate interior.


But the festival was outside; Here I come!



"It's no accident that the church and the graveyard stand side by side. The city of the dead sleeps encircled by the city of the living."
Diane Frolov and Andrew Schneider

These folks are proud to make Andagi (Japanese donuts)

just like grandma used to make.

They ran out early;

luckily I got one of the last bags :)

I didn't even know that the church had a courtyard,

but it was full of food &

fun yesterday!

"Cherish your own emotions and never undervalue them."
Robert Henri

Then I went to the Splendor of China Trade Show & Festival

just a few blocks away.

I was JUST in time to see the lions brought to life to dance and open the event. (Top photo)

Great timing again, blog girl!

"There is nothing new under the sun

but there are lots of old things we don't know."
Ambrose Bierce

After which, I crossed King street to Thomas Square to

attend the InterTribal Pow Wow just in time to catch this

Wolf Dance by the Suquamish People of Alaska.

Your visit today is so very appreciated. . .

But I need to lay down for a while now.

L O L :)

A L O H A! Cloudia

Satur-Crazy

ALOHA!

Welcome Back To Honolulu

click on photos - because you CAN

Makiki Christian Church

"I want freedom for the full expression of my personality."
Mahatma Gandhi

"It is unwise to be too sure of one's own wisdom.
It is healthy to be reminded that the strongest might weaken
and the wisest might err."
Mahatma Gandhi






"The weak can never forgive.
Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong."
Mahatma Gandhi

"Whatever you do will be insignificant,

but it is very important that you do it."
Mahatma Gandhi

What's a Honolulu obsessed gal like me supposed to do on a weekend like this one? Everything is happening all at once: too many treats, too little tummy.

Say: This is good practice for Halloween!







There's an "Autumn in Honolulu" buzz that started humming on Thursday with the opening of our first Victoria's Secret! The lines around the mall, and gushing local TV coverage were actually kind of sweet. But I needed to save myself for today.







The Daughters of Hawaii were founded in 1903. One must have a documented ancestor who resided in Hawaii circa 1880 to be a Daughter. These ladies "preserve the culture, history & language" of our Isles. And today they hold their big, public fundraiser of the year, the 33rd Annual Day at Queen Emma's Summer Palace in the cool uplands of Nu'uanu. This historic summer home of King Kamehameha IV and Queen Emma (from 1857 - 1885) is one of the properties that the Daughters administer, maintain, and share with the public. Queen Emma was the first Hawaiian Queen to visit the White House. She also met Queen Victoria who said of her: "Nothing could be nicer or more dignified than her manner." This is the lady who started our Queens Hospital too.


Queens Hospital:








Daughters of Hawaii:


http://kgmb9.com/main/content/view/21610/108/





Food, island crafts, Displays of historic Victoriana & Hawaiiana, and the best local entertainment, from 9:00 am-5:00. Pace yourself, girl!








. . . Because the historic Makikiki Christian Church is having their


Fall Festival today too, a celebration by members of both the Japanese and English language ministries. Built in 1932, the building (one of my local favorites!) resembles Kochi Castle in Japan's Shikoku Prefecture, the home of church founder Reverend Okamura. Look for the two golden dolphins dancing atop the castle tower, Christian symbols known in feudal Japan. Rev. Okamura ministered to the Japanese immigrants who came in the late 19th century to work on the sugar plantations, especially as they found their way to jobs and small businesses here in town. 8:30am - 1pm. . .





A few blocks away at the Blaisdell, The Chinese Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii,and Panda Express, proudly present the 61st Narcissus Festival's Splendor of China boasting:
• 130 Booths – Shop, Eat, & Enjoy Interactive Cultural Exhibits
• Narcissus Queen Contestants Debut



• Keiki Corner



• Chinese Dog Show



• Acrobatic Pole Lion Dance



• 2010 Shanghai World Expo Display.





Historic 200 Photo Exhibit –"30 Years of China-US Relations"



PLUS:

• World Famous QiGong Grand Master Tu from Taiwan
  


• Beijing Acrobatic Dancers from Heartbeat Hawaii
  


• World Famous Chinese Folk Singers
  


• How Could I Miss All That ????!!!!

But how can I do all this AND make it to Hawaii Pacific Islands Kava Festival at the University of Hawaii too? I think I'm gonna need that slightly narcotic, traditional Pacific drink that the Hawaiians called "Awa" to unwind after all my globe trotting and time shifting. I don't see how I can do ALL this, and STILL make it to the opening ceremonies of Filipino American History Month at the main branch, Hawaii State Library at 1:30pm!

Glad I made it an early evening at last night's monthly First Friday gallery walk and pub crawl down in Chinatown!

Should I survive, you may expect to see a collage of interesting and disjointed photos over the next week. It's a tough gig, but somebody has to do it. . .

I mean (of course) Walking in Waikiki. . .

ALOHA, Friends! Cloudia