Lens of Love

A  L  O  H  A !

 

" In all things of nature 

there is something of the marvelous. "

Aristotle

"  I knew, of course,

that trees and plants had roots,

stems, bark, branches and foliage

that reached up toward the light. 

But I was coming to realize 

that the real magician 

was light itself.  "

Edward Steichen

 " If your actions inspire others

to dream more,

learn more, 

do more 

and become more, 

you are a leader. "

John Quincy Adams

   > < } } ( ° >

Lens of Love? 

 

No, 
not talking about
Beer Goggles!

What you see,

and who you see,

truly depends

on the lenses

that you are looking 

through.

Charles Dickens wrote of Christmas

that it helps us to regard

"those below us

as fellow passengers

to death."

That has stayed with me in recent weeks
(ignoring 'those below us' as
historic anachronism)

Are others objects

that you must maneuver around,

or are they ultimately 

the purpose of the trip?

Thank YOU
for joining us here
for part of your journey
today.

                                        Warmly, cloudia

frondescence:

leafage; foliage

A  L  O  H  A !

" We are each of us angels 

with only one wing,
and we can only fly 

by embracing one another. "

Lucretius

" I would rather be a superb meteor,

every atom of me

in magnificent glow, 

than a sleepy 

and permanent planet. "

Jack London

 Jack London 

received six hundred rejection slips

before he sold his first story.

" Darn the wheel of the world! 

Why must it continually turn over? 

Where is the reverse gear?  "

Jack London

 > < } } ( ° >

 

 

 Elton John

played Honolulu

last night.

Lion Dancers

pranced

in Chinatown.

 

 

But my greatest hits

and good luck wishes 

all revolve 

around home.

Thank YOU for looking in today-

so NICE to see you

No Ticket,

or firecrackers

required.

But your comment

is received

as a

gift!


                            Warmly, cloudia

Resolution Solution

A  L  O  H  A !

Click on these shots!

" ...And great cloud-continents 

of sunset-seas. "

Thomas Bailey Aldrich

" Nobody got where they are

today 

by living for

tomorrow. "

Tom Wilson

 Life is a voyage.
 Victor Hugo

" Voyage upon life's sea, 

To yourself be true, 

And, whatever your lot may be, 

Paddle your own canoe. "

 Sarah Bolton

" The greatest wealth

is to live content

with little,

for there is never want

where the mind is satisfied. "  

Lucretius

<>

All signs

point

to YOU

having
a lovely weekend!

Regardless of the moods 
of others around,

cherish your secret joy.

You are entitled
to it.

If they are succeptible

they will share it with you
in some way;

if they are in a darker 

place,

they will feel your passing 
by

as a healing breeze.

Don't shoulder their pain

in misguided compassion,

but hold your love

and they may

in some small way

move towards it.

You love-bearer!

Thanks for bringing some
HERE


                                                                                  Warmly, cloudia

Special Visitors

A L O H A !

It is the season 

to see humpback whales

in our Hawaiian waters. 

They migrate here from Alaska

between September and May 

to calve, feed, and relax. 

Some claim that they 

like the local acoustics

for singing !

We expect to see them

breaching offshore, 

so yesterday

was a little wild.

Chris Kojima was working

at Pier 30 in Honolulu Harbor 

(Thursday morning) 

aboard the Young Brothers tug

Manuokekai

when two humpback whales

suddenly surfaced right 

alongside!

 I got blasted a couple times 

by the spray coming of their nostrils,"

he told HawaiiNewsNow

William Winn,

the captain of the fishing boat,

Ocean Pearl,

told KITV that the whales 

followed his boat

into the harbor this morning

all the way to Pier 38.

"Yeah, for some reason they liked the boat.

They just hung with us for like, seven days.

They never left our side,"

said Winn.

"It was neat to have some company out there.

We've been out for almost 20 days,

so it was nice to have something to look at

other than my crew,"

said Winn with a laugh.

The mother & adorable calf 

were seen in the harbor

in the company of two or four

adult humpbacks.

shortly after 7 a.m.

"- whales aren't typically in harbors.

The reason why they're there is unknown,"

said Eric Roberts,

U.S. Coast Guard Marine Mammal 

Response Coordinator,

in typically colorless

science/military-speak.

State Department of Transportation’s

Harbors Division spokesman

Dan Meisenzahl 

recalled seeing whales in the harbor

around 1996.

 "Out of 21 years I've been here,

this is the first time I've seen whales

in this far,"

said Kaipo Pomaikai,

Sause Brothers (tug boats) 

assistant port captain.

The Coast Guard 

which received the report

around 7:45 a.m

dispatched a 45-foot response boat

to establish a 100-yard 

safety zone around the animals

 The rare visitors

completed their celebrity appearance

and left the harbor on their own by 1:45 p.m.

Presumably after saying "Aloha"

to their friend Captain Winn.

Further ashore, it was just another day

" Don't forget to show hospitality

to strangers,

for some who have done this

have entertained angels

without realizing it! "

Hebrews 13:2

 New Living Translation (©2007)

 " What's a whale? "

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Your visits here

mean a lot to me,

so I really try to share 

images and ideas

that are worthy

of your time.

Like many of us,

I'm on a post-holiday

mental "blank - out"

So I'm especially appreciative

of these visiting cetations

for giving me a

whale of a story!

Please visit "Comments Cove"

                                                         Warmly, cloudia

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