Sky Eye

A L O H A !

" I thank you God

for this most amazing day. . . "

  ~e.e. cummings

 What a comely eye glances down, 

with pursed lips of cloud?

 

" Maybe that's what life is... a wink of the eye and winking stars.  "

Jack Kerouac

 

" Imagination is the eye of the soul.  "

Joseph Joubert

Don't see the sky eye? 
Look again at this enhanced shot:

“ May the alert

and the watchful divinities

guard thee- ”

 

Atharva Veda 

 

 

So lucky we live Hawaii.

For one thing, 

right after the holidays

we recuperate. . .

. . . 

in Hawaii !

Yes, we have been swathed

in volcanic haze (VOG)

from the big Island's eruption

for a few days

making us sleepy, sneezy

and stupid:

But the Trade Winds are filling back in,

bringing the best weather

on the planet.

(Hey! it's not MY fault!)

Here's your free sample:

No, 

we do not settle in

for a long 

dark

COLD

winter.

*Snicker*

I mean:

SORRY!

All over Honolulu Town

folks are preparing for 

Chinese/Japanese New Year!

There will be rice pounded

into mochi,

Taiko drums,

dancing lions

and fire crackers.

So please keep posting

about YOUR weather.

Otherwise

how will I know

what I am missing?

I especially enjoy pictures of

thick snow,

frozen water,

and your well-written discriptions

of JUST how cold

it is-

elsewhere.

Can you really see your breath?!

Your visit is most appreciated !

Please join us in comments,

& PLEASE

don't boycott me

for spite

                              Fondly, NOT at all gloating, cloudia

Wisdom on the Web

A L O H A !

" I'm Nobody! Who are you?
Are you – Nobody – too? "

Emily Dickinson  

One of the Blog-O-sphere's true gifts

is the knowledge that there are others

like ourselves

out there.

A blog friend of mine, 
FRIKO, 

composed a thoughtful poem

that has stayed with me

since I read it last night.

While it is deeply particular,

it is also universal,

and speaks for 

me too

with lovely, simple,

elegant language.

I posted it to a friend's FB wall

and it was JUST what he needed!
Another FB friend just commented:
"Wow. . . WOW"

So here it is pasted below.

Her name is a hot-link to her blog.

You can tell her
that YOU

are nobody too.

But my, 

there are lots of us!

Jolly . . . 
                                        Warmly, cloudia

<<>>

"Speaking to Myself"

by Friko

" Remember,
first of all,
you are no better and no worse than anyone.
You are human,
not super-human,
not less than human,
Just human.

As good as anyone else.

Once considered tall,
at the head of every line-up in school,
you've shrunk a little,
the people coming after you having grown taller
than those who lived before you.
Capable hands,
a straight back,
eyes that have grown a little dim with time
but still able to see clearly in the ways that matter.

Sorrow and joy,
laughter and tears,
the good days and bad,
accept them all.

Indifference is death.

Be kind to yourself,
or you will not be kind to others;
Forgive yourself,
only then will you forgive others.
Make empathy, patience and goodwill
become your golden rule.

Your life is yours,
and yours alone.
So live it well,
discard the fleeting fashions of the world.
Accept wise counsel but
ignore the siren voices of the fools who
call to you to follow them.

The world is yours,
take care of it.
The moon, the stars, the sun to light your night and day,
all yours, to share with every living creature.
The whole world is your garden,
so treat it gently.

You have lived more than half your life by now,
you've grown a little wiser
than the foolish girl you knew when you were young.
you've learned to place your trust
with careful circumspection;
you speak in truth to others
and always to yourself.

Delusion is best served in tiny measures,
but never to yourself.

With every breath you take,
remember that your time on earth is limited,
be mindful and courageous,
and face each day as it unfolds
in all its myriad diversity
with equanimity.

But above all,
be human."

 

Friko

boscage:

 'a mass of trees or shrubs'

A L O H A !
Do click on these shots

A mass of palms below ,

like toys across the floor-

" You are

what you

repeatedly

do. "

Shaquille O'Neal

Usually we see them silhouetted against the sky - 

not the ground

" Passion surprises.

One doesn't search it.

It can happen to you 
tomorrow.  "

Isabelle Adjani

Green Shoots dream

of towering times ahead

" It matters not

what someone is born,

but what they grow up

to be. "

J. K. Rowling

We are being watched

" The greatest pleasure in life

is doing

what people say

you cannot do. "

Walter Bagehot

Sheltered

" You always pass failure

on the way

to success. "

Micky Rooney

Dream of tomorrow's scenes. . .

" What the heart knows today

the head will understand

tomorrow. "

James Stephens

@}-;-'---


A Rose for YOU -
Thanks for looking in !
YOUr comment is appreciated

                                                                    WARMLY, cloudia

Renewal and Rest

Aloha New Year

" The last time I checked,

it was still legal

to take long, deep breaths. "

Jeff Davidson

" True silence

is the rest of the mind.

And it is to the spirit 

what sleep is to the body -

nourishment and refreshment. "

William Penn

" Inside myself 

is a place where I live 

all alone 

and that is where I renew my springs 

that never dry up. "

 

Pearl S. Buck

" In quiet places, 

reason abounds. "

Adlai Stevenson

" Never be afraid

to sit awhile and think. "

Lorraine Hansberry

 < ° ) } } > <         > < } } ( ° >

Funny;

just when we've completed

the great emotional & physical tasks

  of the Holidays

instead of retreating

to take it all in,

to recover,

to make ready the New Year-

Instead of behaving sensibly-

We are expected to

Get Back To Normal.

It's a plot. 

Ignore 'normal' for a while.

This is YOUR time!

Your time

to take your time.

Perhaps to Re-Define.

Well that's Fine!

Personally,

I feel as empty

as a scoured bowl-

Fit repository

for a soul.

So be gentle with your New Self,

you paradox, You!

As we grow,

we become our truest selves.

The best growth has flavors of

break-through, 

and also 
remembering.

Thanks for making it over here today.

This thing of ours

is a soulful cafeteria

and wouldn't be the same

without the flavor that

Y O U

bring!

Thank You-

Leave a 'leaving' in comments!

Warmly, cloudia

unfolding

ALOHA     FRIEND !

" Silence at the proper season

is wisdom, 

and better than any speech. "

Plutarch

" Childhood

is a short season. "

Helen Hayes

“Do not wait for leaders;

do it alone,

person to person.” 

Mother Teresa.

“ There is no better exercise

for your heart -

- than reaching down

and helping to lift

someone up.” 

Bernard Meltzer

 > < } } ( ° >

Hope this was a restful interlude

in your busy
festivities.

Thanks for looking in - 

each comment makes me SMILE

                               Warmly, cloudia

Year's Final Day

A L O H A !

" Be at war with your vices,

at peace with your neighbors,

and let every new year

find you a better person. "

Benjamin Franklin

" Celebrate

what you want

to see more of. "

Tom Peters

" No one is so old

as to think

he cannot live

one more year. "

David Viscott

 > < } } ( ° >
     

Youth has an inexhaustible treasure

called "Some Day."

Every yearning,

every grievance,

every wish,

may be salved 

by a generous dose

of "Some Day."

I know.

I lived on it for years.

But one day

you ask yourself:

"What am I saving it for?"

"What am I waiting for?"

"If not now-

WHEN?"

And from that plateau,

you think:

"Finally, this is perspective,

this is wisdom."

But a day comes 

when you see

how quickly

things are moving.

I'm no longer the fastest walker

on the sidewalk.

The lyric and words

of a song you've know for years

suddenly stick in your chest

like a flaming arrow:

"The days dwindle down

to a precious few. . ."

True as it's ever been

for ALL others,

but not for

Me!

But the bell does toll for me

too-

yes it does.

Sometimes that awful understanding

makes me feel faint,

like I can't catch my

breath.

And though I believe

that I have glimpsed

that expansive place,

that happy place,

of coming home

to who I

REALLY

am.

Still

I love this body,

this history,

this person

that fate & choice

have made

me.

Thank YOU

for sharing this journey with me

throughout the

year.

It means a lot.

Honolulu journalist

John Heckathorn

said of teaching at University:

"One of my students

came to class,

opened his Mac Book,

saw that Steve Jobs had died,

and asked:

'Who is Steve Jobs?'

It's odd to be turned into

a living history lesson,

but rather fun

in it's own way. "

John never gave me any writing jobs,

but he encouraged me,

a thoroughly nice guy.

I noticed this morning

that I have his office

and cell (mobile) numbers

in my phone.

John suffered a heart attack at home

on Christmas Day.

He never regained consciousness

and died Wednesday morning.

John was only

65.

The days dwindle down. . .

I choose to spread

all the kindness I can.

To enjoy every minute of

LIGHT!

Thank YOU

for shedding your kindness

here

with us!

It does;

It means a 

LOT-

                                             Fondly, cloudia