While the Sun Still Shines

Honolulu, Hawaii

Oi kau ka lau, e hana i ola honua 

"Live your life while the sun still shines."

~ Hawaiian Proverb

Live In Joy

From Ala Moana Hotel

“We cannot cure the world of sorrows, 

but we can choose to live in joy.”

~ Joseph Campbell

Memories and Magic

Waikiki Beach

"Memories and magic can happen at any moment."

~ Valerie Fraser Luesse

Writing In Truth

"What you are writing in truth-- that is good."

~ Levon Ohai

Find Ecstasy

"Find ecstasy in life; the mere sense of living is joy enough."

~ Emily Dickinson

The Mystery Is There

"Each time dawn appears, 

the mystery is there in its entirety."

~ René Daumal

This morning I had company watching the sunrise. A trio of deer right off the back deck. They froze as I snapped and I think they were actually more interested in me than the sun.

Stirred By the Wind

"What lay still in the calm is stirred by the wind."

~ Henry P. Judd

No Benefit In Worrying Whatsoever

"If a problem is not fixable, 

then there is no help in worrying. 

There is no benefit in worrying whatsoever."

The Dalai Lama 

Have Patience With Yourself

"Have patience with all things,
but chiefly have patience with yourself.
Do not lose courage in considering
your own imperfections
but instantly set about remedying them -
every day begin the task anew."

~ St. Francis de Sales

Which One to Surf

"Feelings are much like waves, 

we can't stop them from coming 

but we can choose which one to surf."

~ Jonatan Mårtensson 

To Change Others' Minds

"The way to change others’ minds
is with affection, and not anger."

~ The Dalai Lama

Loving Someone Deeply

"Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, 

while loving someone deeply gives you courage."

 ~ Lao Tzu 

We don't always understand life, but we do understand love.

From Pain to Change

"Passion is the bridge 

that takes you from pain to change."

~ Frida Kahlo

Tolerance and Compassion

Happy Birthday, Christy!

"If you have tolerance and compassion, 

you can go to the battle, 

in the metaphoric sense of course, 

fighting for your dreams without harming anyone."

~ Paulo Coelho

Happy Is The Son

Happy Birthday, Richard

"Happy is the son whose faith in his mother 

remains unchallenged."

~ Louisa May Alcott

Grain By Grain

"Grain by grain, a loaf... stone by stone, a palace."

~ George Bernard Shaw

The Years Teach Much

"The years teach much which the days never knew."

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Aloha Sunrise with Rick

Growth Is Intentional

"Change is inevitable, growth is intentional."

~ Glenda Cloud

Great, Fresh, Unblighted, Unredeemed Wilderness

"In God's wilderness is the hope of the world-- 

the great, fresh, unblighted, unredeemed wilderness."

~ John Muir

Up here, I am immersed in lush greenery. That's what happens in the summer when the rain and sun dance daily.

Clarity of Mind, Body and Spirit

"Clarity of mind, body and spirit 

is the key to creativity, 

to finding and producing the art 

in our work and our lives...

I associate clarity with 'spirit.'"

~ Dan Wakefield

Dream Grow Holy

"Dreams grow holy put in action."

~ Adelaide Procter

The Bridge Is Love

"There is a land of the living and a land of the dead
and the bridge is love,
the only survival, the only meaning."

~ Thornton Wilder

Give What You Have

"Give what you have. 

To someone, it may be better than you dare to think."

~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Love Grows

"Love grows by giving."

~ Elbert Hubbard

The Whole Universe

"God is a shorthand for everything. 

Like 'tout le monde,' there's the whole universe."

~ Kurt Vonnegut

Keep In the Sunlight

"Do not anticipate trouble, 

or worry about what may never happen. 

Keep in the sunlight."

~ Benjamin Franklin

The Art of Art

Looking eastward

"The art of art... is simplicity."

~ Walt Whitman

Simple Contemplation

Meditation, prayer, and an empty mind. 

The birds know the sky.

A Grand Teacher

"A garden is a grand teacher."

~ Gertrude Jekyll

Small little patches of work. My top garden is so huge, so I have many patches to tend to, but I am so satisfied by the baby steps, what I am able to do, with time and love.

Here's the result of two mornings -- yesterday and today -- waiting for the sunrise.

We are here for only a short time. Let's live with joy, show those we love that we do, and create our art.

Before

After

 "All gardens are a form of autobiography."
~ Robert Dash

The Glory of Friendship

"The glory of friendship is not the outstretched hand, 

nor the kindly smile, nor the joy of companionship; 

it is the spiritual inspiration that comes to one 

when you discover that someone else believes in you 

and is willing to trust you with a friendship."

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Cleaning the area around my rose bush in the front, waiting for the sun to rise. With all the rain and sunshine lately, I have work to do, but the work is satisfying.

I am thinking of my classmate Susi who lives in Washington State. She is my gardening mentor. Her plant knowledge and landscaping abilities are remarkable. She works hard, yet still finds time to believe in me. Often when some plant in the garden delights me, I send a thought of gratitude westward to her.

People who help us, who inspire us, change our lives forever. And if we are lucky, they remain life-long friends.

Rose petals in sunlight.

Humanity of the Moment

"Photography must contain one thing: 

the humanity of the moment."

~ Robert Frank

Our Honest Self

"I feel the greatest gift we can give to anybody 

is the gift of our honest self."

~ Fred Rogers

Even when the sun 

is blocked by clouds, 

the sky sings.

The clouds and fog are doing the tango. 

Quite a show to watch this morning!

Relentless Fidelity

"What the human eye observes casually and incuriously, 

the eye of the camera... notes with relentless fidelity." 

~ Berenice Abbott

Picture Anything

“You can take a good picture of anything. A bad one, too.” 

~ William Eggelston

Picture anything
A rose, a frying pan, a glove.
Your nail polish.
My sharpened pencil.

Good pictures
are talisman.

Attitude About Life

"It's the attitude about life, man. 

Looking at the light instead of the dark. 

Looking at love instead of fear. "

~ Quincy Jones