Hearty Laughter

"Hearty laughter is a good way 

to jog internally without having to go outdoors." 

~Norman Cousins

Catch the Trade Winds

"Throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. 

Catch the trade winds in your sails. 

Explore. Dream. Discover.." 

~ Mark Twain

Kolo surveys her kingdom...

Thanks, And Thanks

"My kind Antonio, I can no other answer make but thanks, And thanks."

~ William Shakespeare, Twelfth Night

Word After a Word

"A word after a word after a word is power." 

~ Margaret Atwood

This is the first year in a long time that I did not brave the midnight Black Friday crowds to find Christmas bargains. 

Instead, I was able to sleep in, cozy under comforters, then capture my sun, rising aglow over the strong, bare trees and snow-kissed mountain ridge...

Spirit and Soul

“I paint the spirit and soul of what I see.” 

― Brian Froud

Instead of a photograph, I captured this morning's sunrise in watercolor...

Our Language

"Our language has wisely sensed the two sides of being alone. 

It has created the word loneliness to express the pain of being alone. 

And it has created the word solitude 

to express the glory of being alone."

~ Paul Tillich

Joyful Heart

Happy Birthday, Kaylala

"A joyful heart is the inevitable result of a heart burning with love."

 ~ Mother Teresa

Every Single Day

“There's a sunrise and a sunset every single day, 

and they're absolutely free. Don't miss so many of them.”

~ Jo Walton

Kayla caught me in joyful motion, just chasing my morning sun...

True Strength

"In separateness lies the world's greatest misery;

in compassion lies the world's true strength."

~ Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha

When my sun crests, I know everything will be all right. Aloha takes over.

Travel

“The world is a book, 

and those who do not travel

read only a page.” 

~St. Augustine

Heading in the cold fog on Interstate 64 from Lewisburg, West Virginia, to Covington, Virginia, I was lucky enough to get this shot from the Harley.

Holy Spirit

"I myself do nothing.

The Holy Spirit accomplishes all through me."

~ William Blake

Learn, Teach

"When you learn, teach.
When you get, give."

~ Maya Angelou

Quite Vast

"So then, I expressed the word 'aloha,' very simple, 

but real meaning of aloha is quite vast. 

You need a lot of effort to implement 

the real meaning of aloha."

~ The Dalai Lama

Another view of this morning's sunrise on my Tumblr account...

Yes: I am a Dreamer

 "Yes: I am a dreamer. 

For a dreamer is one who can 

only find his way by moonlight, 

and his punishment is that he sees the dawn 

before the rest of the world." 

~ Oscar Wilde, 

The Critic as Artist

Heaven

"Heaven is under our feet

 as well as over our heads."

~ Henry David Thoreau

Be Yourself

"Be yourself;

Everyone else is taken."

~ Oscar Wilde

Joy

"Let a joy keep you.

Reach out your hands

And take it when it runs by."

~ Carl Sandburg

Weeks and weeks of rain in Asheville, but this morning, finally, a sunrise. And a surprise bird in flight.

In Colors

"The world speaks to me in colors, 

my soul answers in music."

~ Rabindranath Tagore

Another beautiful Asheville morning. As I waited for the dawn to creep in, there was a hint of more rain and lots of fog, but still the sun smiles through.

Our Wings

“We have to continually be jumping off cliffs 
 and developing our wings on the way down”

~ Kurt Vonnegut

Make Today Count

Utterly spectacular, rejuvenating Asheville sunrise...

A Poem

"A picture is a poem without words."

~ Horace

Asheville has had days of rain, breaking records set over a century ago... So my July mornings have been spent praying with fog, rain, or cloud coverage. Still stunning and dramatic, but not my sun.

This morning seemed like another covered morning, but I waited patiently and the sun came a-blazing through.

Center Stage

"God made the world round 

so we can all have center stage."

~ Carlos Santana

It is Carlos Santana's birthday and I love him, so of course I did I celebration of his life on dailycelebrations.com. Check it out. I did this morning and forgot that I also linked from dailycelebrations to my blip account the song "Hope You're Feeling Better." 

And if you are not feeling on top of the world, you will after listening to that song.

When I think Carlos Santana, I think joy. Many many hours of pure musical joy. Happy Birthday Carlos-- thank you and aloha nui loa...

Vast Similitude

"A vast similitude interlocks all."

~ Walt Whitman

The fast-moving fog is so beautiful this morning. The air is moist and fragrant. The roosters from the cove, hidden under the fog, still voice their good morning sounds.

Mixed with light, the sunrise experience is transformed into the ritual of breathing in mystery and magic. 

Imagination... and wonder seem to rise and flow with the fog...

Respond to Every Call

"Respond to every call that excites your spirit."

 ~ Jalaluddin Rumi

Extraordinary Opportunity

 This morning's prayers are whispered to the fog and light. Carry my thoughts like swirls to the sky...

I woke up this morning with the thought, maybe today a sunrise....

We are covered with fog. And the birds continue to sing sweetly...

My brother has been sending me Hawaiian sunrises and I have been adding his thoughts to the photos and sending them back to him. The collaboration revitalizes my creativity. Makes me look deeper, experiment with my work. Last night I found this new application and added the words to my photo.

Above the fog, the sky is blue. "Hope for the sun," I say aloud...

Often, I think the sun will rise and it simply cannot make it through the heavy clouds. Light comes, sure. But this morning, the birds stopped singing for a moment. A pause of thick anticipation...

I am not disappointed.

Finally, after days of waiting, my sunrise. Streams of light, peace and patience. The fog makes the sun glow even more. The birds are singing like angels.

"Whenever you see darkness,

there is extraordinary opportunity 

for the light to burn brighter."

 ~ Bono

Daring Plunge

"The only way of full knowledge lies in the act of love; 

this act transcends thought, it transcends words. 

It is the daring into the experience of union. 

To love somebody is not just a strong feeling--

it is a decision, it is a judgment, it is a promise."

 ~ Erich Fromm

The Art of Loving 

I am honored to be guest hosting #SpiritChat this morning with the very wonderful @AjmaniK.  What a celebration he and the community he has built are... 

Our topic? Celebration Awakenings...

The Heart

"It is the heart which experiences God and not the reason."

 ~ Blaise Pascal

Morning Asheville colors are a bold smear. The shy sun seems to be giggling behind the clouds. And the fog, a cauldron of bubbles moves into the cove.

And quite appropriately, from @Maven_7 on Twitter, a morning song...

Beatles, ♪♫ ♪♫ Good Day Sunshine♪♫ ♪♫

You Are You

"Accept everything about yourself—
I mean everything. 
You are you and that is the beginning and the end— 
no apologies, no regrets."

~ Clark Moustakas

Contentment

"A harvest of peace is produced from a seed of contentment."

~American Proverb

Love's Gifts

"Love's gifts cannot be given, it waits to be accepted."

~ Rabindranath Tagore

Simple Fact

"The simple fact of yourself...there it is. 
 A very simple fact, the only thing you have. 
 Keep it as clear as you can."

~ Georgia O’Keeffe

Ajar

"The soul should always stand ajar. 

Ready to welcome the ecstatic experience."

~ Emily Dickinson

5:19 am

Grief

"The only cure for grief is action." 

 ~ George Henry Lewis

Beloved

Brand new day. If you look closely enough at this Twitter photo, there is a sliver of the moon dancing in the swirling clouds.

Then I took a gentle walk outside, just to see...

Waiting for the sun this morning in the front garden, I added the treasures I collected this trip along the shell pathway.

I thought I would have enough time to finish and catch the sunrise from the back deck. The sun had other plans.

The sunrise shot below is taken sitting on the ground, looking up.

"And did you get what 

you wanted from this life, even so? 

I did. 

And what did you want? 

To call myself beloved, to feel myself 

beloved on the earth."

~ Raymond Carver

Friends

My friend Beverly has returned to Honolulu and I am waiting for the sunrise, thinking about all the good things I have and planning my work day. I am amazed how green everything is in the cove and the birds are singing in full chorus, as if they, too, can't wait for the sun to crest the ridge.

The clarity from here to Asheville is amazing. The beauty here truly is miraculous.

It is a new day, full of possibilities.

"Friends are not only together 

when they are side-by-side, 

even one who is far away... 

is still in our thoughts." 

~ Ludwig Van Beethoven

Determination

"I ran and ran and ran every day, 
and I acquired this sense of determination, 
this sense of spirit 
that I would never, never give up, 
no matter what else happened."

~ Wilma Rudolph

Solution

"The only solution is love." 

~ Dorothy Day

Magic

"We ourselves cannot put any magic spells on this world. 

The world is its own magic."

 ~ Shunryu Suzuki

Excursion

 Chilly walk, watching the sun rise. Beautiful solitude. Planning my day.

 Thoughts, suspended. Hurt on hold. Only beauty and love exist in this perfect moment...

"The excursion is the same 

when you go looking for your sorrow 

as when you go looking for your joy." 

~ Eudora Welty