The path, On The Path,

Empath?

A L O H A !

" Without enough to eat,
life is nasty; 

with merely enough to eat,
it feels empty."

Adam Gropnik

" He who indulges in falsehood

 will find the paths of paradise

 shut to him." 
Abu Bakr

" The capacity for delight
is the gift of paying attention.  "

                                          Julia Margaret Cameron 

" All paths are the same, 

leading nowhere. 

Therefore, pick a path 

with heart!  "

Carlos Castaneda

" All along the untrodden paths

 of the future, 

I can see the footprints

 of an unseen hand.  "

Boyle Roche

Handprints?

" I can't say as ever I was lost, 

but I was bewildered once 

for three days.  "

Daniel Boone

“You cannot travel the path 

until you have

 become the path 

itself.”

 

Buddha

Thank You for joining hands

across the empyrean. 

                Join us in comments, share what arises!

      

                    Warmly, cloudia

the Shy Turt-Ocerous

A   L   O   H   A !

 

" A little onward

lend thy guiding hand

 

 

 

 

 

To these dark steps,

a little further on.”

 

 John Milton 

" In a land of immigrants, 

one was not an alien

 but simply

 the latest arrival.  "

Rudolf Arnheim

 

  >< } } ( ° >

Fish school together

turtles swim

alone.

I must be

a turtle,

For following

an idle current

agrees with my

constitution:

finding, musing,

doubling back.

Yes,

I like to marinate

in Thick,

Rich, Creamy,

Velvety

Solitude.

Spiced librally

with great blog pals

and Alohas

in passing.

And were I

Wealthy

I'd wander

just the same. 

 'Even as the lion

 not trembling at noises, 

even as the wind 

not caught in a net, 

even as the lotus leaf 

untouched by the water,

 so do thou wander

 alone like the

 rhinoceros.'

 Buddha

<>

Rhinoceros!?

That's ME!

YOU?

                  Warmly, cloudia

Illusion Lounge

 A  L  O  H   A ! 

picture-clicking incouraged

"Humanism - 
the belief that , while our lives

should be devoted to happiness, 
they are impoverished 

without and idea of 
happiness

deeper than mere property-bound 
prosperity.

The special virtue of freedom 
is not that it makes you richer

 and more powerful

but that it gives you more time 
to understand

what it means to be 
alive. "

Adam Gropnik

" I do not believe

 they've run out of 

surprises. "

Larry Niven 

" The distinction

 between the past, present
and future 

is only a stubbornly persistent

 illusion. "

                                                                     Albert Einstein 

>< } } ( ° >

Life itself

-they say-

is an illusion

from which

we awaken.

More and more

we know that

less and less

is

"Hard Fact.'

We live in the 

interpretation zone.

My narrative

and yours

are very different.

My inspiring leader

is your bete noire.

And vice

versa.

It's pointless

to be angry

at a dreamer.

For in doing so

we turn our dreams

into nightmares.

Sleep on!

All I can do

is to love you.

For after all,

in this realm of

dreams,

and sudden awakenings

what is there

but fellowship?

Sail on,

sail on

your cloud of dreaming.

And thank YOU kindly

for anchoring it

here

for a while.

                        fondly, cloudia

Join us in comment gulch!

Lava Claims Last House

Jack lived here,

 the last one in the neighborhood, 

as lava flowed all around;

Walking 4 miles to the nearest road.

Today Madame Pele 

claimed his home 

and sent him packing 

for the last time:

Costanza Effect

A L O H A !

" The noblest kind

of retribution
 is not to become 

like your enemy. "

 Marcus Aurelius

" One of the characteristics of the dream

 is that nothing surprises us in it. "

Jean Cocteau

" The day will come

 when the people will make 

so insistent their demand

 that there be peace in the world
 that the Governments 

will get out of the way

 and let them have peace. "

DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER

US President

broadcast discussion, Aug. 31, 1959

 >< } } ( ° >

When I was little

I didn't understand about

stress,

or personality issues,

or adult attention-deficit.

All I knew

was that my parents didn't

nurture or calm me.

In fact,

 they were a huge source

of stress in my child's world.

 I remember crying in my room.

Stuck in pain, I could only hold on to

"Some day"

the some day when I could escape.

"Don't forget!" I made myself promise.

"Don't forget how they treated you

when they are old

and try to pretend

that none of this ever happened.

Don't fall for their lies.

Escape, and stay escaped!

I had my first apartment

at age 16.

Fast forward

to today. . .

Watching SEINFELD on TV

I observed how George Costanza's family

is always yelling & screaming

like my own.

George ends up yelling back at them.

Doing so, he resembles them,

he acts like them,

he carries on the family

way.

I call it the Costanza Effect

and I don't want to do it!

I will count to ten,

I will excuse myself.

But I will not treat

THEM

like they treated

me.

Ah!  Meaningful Victory!

How do you handle difficult people?

Thanks for visiting

                              Warmly, cloudia

Unusual Experiences

ENJOY THEM

A  L  O  H  A !

" The years teach much 

which the days never know.  "

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Yesterday

I had a rare
 experience:

I rode in a

 Taxi !

Grandma survived the Great Depression.

And though Grandpa WAS

a Taxi Driver,

RIDING in one

was what RICH people

do!

So if the distance is do-able

I will walk.

If the distance in un-walkable,

it is WAY TOO FAR

to ride 

with a ticking meter!

The exception is called:

"That's What Money's For"

When I was visiting New York City

in FEBRUARY,

and it is MIDNIGHT

and my domicile is miles

and miles uptown. . .

On a freezing night

under THOSE conditions

I will take a

Taxi.

Still,

It is such a rare occurrence

that I remember the name

of my LAST NYC Taxi Driver

over 10 years ago:

Kufor Frimpong.

So yesterday

I dropped off the vehicle

for repair

a million miles

from ANYWHERE

and had to call a taxi.

Relax!

I only took it

to the nearest Bus Stop.

Tomorrow's Post:

OMG! I rode the Bus!

(in Honolulu:

Da Bus) .

Of course I had to 

"Talk Story"

with the taxi driver

about MY days

(and nights :-)

as a Honolulu Taxi Driver.

In FACT I WROTE A GREAT LITTLE HAWAII NOVEL ABOUT IT!

(That's a LINK Baby!)

"Even when you're relaxing at home

after 12 hours driving

your mind turns to

what's happening on the street,

and how much money

you're losing

sitting on the couch,"

I laughed.

" That's right!

THAT"S RIGHT!! "

He laughed right back.

Then he added:

"WE need drivers.

You interested?"

And I realized that

I WAS!

The street get's into your blood,

and sometimes into the family line;

Just ask Grandpa.

Fortunately,

my Husband remembers

my adventures

as a taxi driver

(and owner)

better

than I do-

So if YOU

are laying on the couch,

or whatever

is YOUR equivalent,

and it's costing you

NO lost revenue:

ENJOY it!

So what do YOU think:

Should Cloudia get back

into the game?

Thanks for riding along!

I'd be very happy to mail YOU

a signed copy of my book

for $15 USD:

PO BOX 89582

Honolulu Hawaii

96830 USA

(Be sure to tell me who to dedicate it to)

Warmly, cloudia

Hawaii 1938

A L O H A     Time Travelers!

" When we recall the past,

 we usually find 

that it is the simplest things

 - not the great occasions - 

that in retrospect 

give off the greatest glow

 of happiness.  "

                                                                          Bob Hope

Play the song, watch the video!