Below these plam trees sits my wife, on a palm stump while reading her favorite romance book of the day.
I'm out on the coast taking some photos: tides, whales, rocks, and then my eye turned to this great collection of cocoa plams that have grown over the site of one of the holiest places in all Hawaai: PU'u O' Honua O Hau naunau. It was the King's palace and a refuge for those who had broken Hawaiian customs such as murder, catching the wrong fish out of season or insulting the Royal family.
It is known as the 'place of refuge' and in quiet months we come here to relax and watch the sun set. Located about an hour drive south of Kailua-Kona it is one of the most magical, ethereal, serene places I have been.
My friend is a Buddhist monk and she "connects" with the elements here as we have walked these shores together with her. She is one here with the elements.
A tsunami almost took me out on the very place I took this photo from. And that is just fine with me, to die in one of the most beautiful places in the world.
Death holds no dominion over me. I've been there about 9 times over my lifetime and for some reason I wasn't ready.
Looking back over the course of a long life I realize that we must all travel lighter: fewer things, less baggage. We all are drifters walking shifting sands and are wave tossed orphans cast to and fro by currents winds and tides we cannot fathom.
Stay flexible and travel light. And remember: it is almost impossible to see completely into the heart of another human being. All we know are surface truths.
Men live by faith, hope and love. We travel blindly most of the time and it is our spiritual center that carries us through the storms and changes.
What I really mean to convey is that we have to relax, we cannot have forekowledge of everything that is coming our way.
I wear life like a loose shirt on a rainy April day.
LaoTzu of old China said, "Over the course of a long life one must be prepared to leave his baggage many times." Strange how these words echo from the past and become so much more important as the Autumn years settle in and we see a storm cloud coming and it is winter and change and age. But in all things the positive and negatives are inter-twined.
Learn to live the Paradox: One cannot have good government without its correlative misrule.
The storm coulds often bring dust, before they bring rain. Though our economy is in tatters from 2008 and 9/11 things could always be worse: we could be starving and preparing for war in 1941 with the likes of Japan. Things could always be worse.
I remain optimistic. Man will persist, self-correct and the species will continue. Our evolution may take a few thousand more years than we planned though.
SO: the oxen may be slow, but the earth is patient.
We do have time to get it right I hope.