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| Friday, 19-Dec-2003 00:00 |
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Photo Challenge: Week 4: LIGHT
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Let Your Light Shine!
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My Dark Room contribution to the theme, reflections.
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My entry for this week's photo challenge, along with my favorite quotes on light: LIGHT
"Light and shadow are opposite sides of the same coin.
We can illuminate our paths or darken our way.
It is a matter of choice."
~ Maya Angelou
"Life is no 'brief candle' to me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations."
~George Bernard Shaw
Let Your Light Shine
"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, "Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?" Actually who are you not to be?
You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you.
We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's in everyone, and, as we let our light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."
~ M. Williamson
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My contribution to today's REFLECTIONS theme in The Dark Room is also related to light.
To my fellow Dark Room denizens, I wrote:
Your photos are just breath-taking! Mine is not very good; I am such a novice but I love the sentiment in the frame. I believe it applies to each and every one of you here. The words are REFLECTIONS of you, who surround yourself with beauty.
Mahalo for sharing the beauty in your world with me.
__________
Within moments of posting my reflections photo in The Dark Room, Mea of Canada writes this response in the comment section:
hawaiian eye! i have an 'angel of hope' made like the angels in your picture.. a very nice sentiment you have shared with your words and your photo!
I zoom over to Mea's Fotopage to be greeted by her Angel of Hope, beautifully photographed against newly painted RED walls as a backdrop. Red is the color that strengthens me, fires me up, and there it was. I have spent time this morning in prayer, gazing at the images of Mea's angel:
My reply back to Mea:
Aloha e Mea,
Your angel of HOPE is beautiful! She arrived into my awareness just in time to offer comfort to me. I just learned only last night that my dear friend is now in a wheelchair. It's been a tough cancer battle...
I just prayed for my friend as I gazed at your angel of HOPE. Since our angels are "related" -- Willow Tree Angels -- that makes us kin. Our angels represent such simple elegance...and an ever-presence.
I am also reminded that there are no coincidences. Within moments of posting my Willow Tree angels, you write me to tell me about your posting of yours today! I think I'm being reminded -- once again -- Who is in charge. Thank you for reaching out...
Synchronicity. A gift from Above. And so I go out into the world this morning, emboldened and strengthened.
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| Thursday, 18-Dec-2003 00:00 |
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The Dark Room - Our Fotopage Community's Gathering Place
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Love: A Mother's Day gift to me from my dear husband: a GARDEN!
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"What a desolate place would be a world without flowers. It would be a face without a smile; a feast without a welcome. Are not flowers the stars of the earth? Are not our stars the flowers of heaven?"
~Clara L. Balfour
There is a growing sense of community here at Fotopages. One of my favorite places to visit is a most creative fotopage, The Dark Room. (Discussion on TDR on the message board). It is a fotopage where any of us fotopagers has access to posting. Once a day, someone will post a theme, and folks here post away, making their contribution to the whole.
I've enjoyed every entry, but today's entry is extra special. Its request by one of my favorite fotopagers, Dragan, read as follows: "Please, post just ONE of your love photos today! Love Dragan http://thedarkroom.fotopages.com/?entry=25594
The picture above is my love photo contribution. It will be one of my all-time favorite expressions of my husband's love for me...
I have too much "stuff" in my life, so I am always requesting no "stuff" for gifts. Don't get me wrong, I love receiving gifts, but these days, I prefer and welcome "experiences" as gifts. This past spring, my dear husband (DH) decided to forego the traditional bouquet of cut flowers, and instead planted me an explosion of spring flowers outside our front door that I experienced with such joy all the way into summer.
Now, THAT is LOVE. 
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| Tuesday, 16-Dec-2003 00:00 |
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Too Wonderful for Words: A Card from our Oregonian Friends
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Our Oregonian Friends
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Oscar, as in Oscar Meyer weiner
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What a Face! Che Faccia!
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Just received this Christmas card from dear friends and fellow dog-lovers in Oregon, and thought I'd pass on its joy and creativity to anyone passing by this way:
http://www.jacquielawson.com/viewcard.asp?code=0212320003
Mahalo, Jeff and Claudia!
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12-20-03:
Hi Jeff & Claudia,
Thank you for sending us the URL to such a delightfully charming Christmas e-card. Such incredible creativity and webpage-building know-how went into that card. I am sharing its URL with others in our sphere, along with pictures of you, Oscar, and Lucy-fur so we can access them easily when we think of you.
Ahh, those bucolic Robin Road days with you as our neighbors. Gosh darn, you are SO missed -- the neighborhood is NOT the same without you two and the doggies. A lot of the joy of getting up there for us was seeing and visiting with you and just knowing that you were across the street enjoying and appreciating the mountains as we were.
I hope this finds you two thoroughly enjoying your new digs. We miss the updates, but how gratifying that your house is complete and now a home. Thank you for taking the time, as you diligently did, to share them with us. Your pictures gave us a visual taste of future things to come.
The future has arrived, as our house-building is now very much in progress as I write. The house is coming along. When we get uneasy about deadlines and our fingernails get tempting, our builders, Denise and Fred, reassure us. They must know their business better than we can guess.
I don't think I'll do this experience again anytime soon. It's like flying, which I don't particularly like doing. One must put one's life, faith and trust in the hands of others... Calm Me does not like being the Nervous Nelly. This has definitely been a test of my Faith and faith in people. If you would like to keep up with its progress, I'm chronicling it here, not only for us, but for family and friends like you. The site is: http://ah.fotopages.com/
I look forward to February, when we reunite. Again, I'll remind you: you always have a place to lay your heads -- and the doggies will feel right at home. We'll be sure to put flowers on Buster's grave then.
Love, your dog-lovin' friends, always neighbors in the heart,
D&T
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| Monday, 15-Dec-2003 00:00 |
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Why I do these Fotopages...
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I wrote the following in an e-mail to a friend:
Mahalo for your thanks. I am happy that you are enjoying these foto-pages. I kept my Internet journal -- and now keep this Fotopage -- to stay in touch with my family scattered across the Hawaiian archipelago -- mom, sisters, brother, nieces and nephews, aunts, uncles and cousins -- as well as dear friends (like you) scattered everywhere on the planet.
In this busy, hectic world with all of its distractions, it is too easy to lose track and lead isolated lives. My online, stream-of-consciousness writing has allowed a sharing of heart matters with those I care about, and not just the superficial, "Hi, hi, how are you, hope you're fine" kind of fluffy communication. The fotopages allow my heartstrings to reach out to those I love.
It takes but a few moments of my time to sit down, reflect and share our corner of the world, T's and mine and the dog-kids'. If doing so gets my family and friends to huddle together with us, once in awhile, however electronically, I think this is a fine application of 21st century technology.
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| Sunday, 14-Dec-2003 00:00 |
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Celebrating Beulah's Birthday
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"There was a star danced, and under that was Beulah born."
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A friend is the man who knows all about you, & still loves you.
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"I get by with a little help from my friends."
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Please click on the pictures for enlargements.
 "Friends are like thighs, they are always sticking together."
Mahalo to Gylene for organizing us, The Hula Maidens & Friends, and attending to the birthday surprises (the triple carnation lei, the Classic Hawaiian heirloom pendant with the inscription, "Happy #@th Birthday, the love-filled card!). You pulled this party-within-a-party off without a hitch.
We hugged one another, then for those who are healing and needing comfort, we sent our mana*-filled prayer on the wings of our collective breath. We dined, danced, sang, and kanikapila'd (made music).
We reveled in our friendship and celebrated Beulah's birthday. Sticking together, it was the most special of times.
Ka Pule No Ka Malumalu ~ Ka Pule Lôkahi
The Prayer for Protection ~ The Unity Prayer
Ka mâlamalama o ke Akua e ho`opuni mai iâ kâkou.
The light of God surrounds us.
Ke aloha o ke Akua e kîpuni mai iâ kâkou.
The love of God enfolds us.
Ka mana o ke Akua e ho`opakele mai iâ kâkou.
The power of God protects us.
Ke alo o ke Akua e mâlama mai iâ kâkou.
The presence of God watches over us.
Ma kahi â kâkou, e hele aku ai he Akua nô.
Wherever we are, God is.
Amene.
Amen.
"Friends are like flowers, beautiful flowers;
friends are like flowers in the garden of life."
* mana = spiritual energy
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| Saturday, 13-Dec-2003 00:00 |
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A Christmas Dance
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An opportunity to dance? Yes!
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The festive setting...
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... the charming centerpiece...
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"Dancing is the loftiest, the most moving, the most beautiful of the arts, because it is no mere translation or abstraction from life; it is life itself." ~ Havelock Ellis
Nothing lifts my spirits faster and better than dancing. And dance we did last night -- foxtrot, cha cha, rumba, rock 'n roll, line dancin', two-step, waltz, and just swaying back and forth...
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| Friday, 12-Dec-2003 00:00 |
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Breaking Up is Hard to Do
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Good friends must not always be together;
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It is the feeling of oneness when distant...
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That proves a lasting friendship. ~ S.P. Schultz
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"They say that breaking up is hard to do; Now I know, I know that it's true..."
So goes the Neil Sedaka tune. It is true. I am losing one of my best friends from my work life, and in my life. Life events, circumstances and choices have propelled her into another work environment.
For almost nine years, Cia and I coordinated our busy schedules to share lunch together once a week. It was a time that we proactively niched out to get caught up with office business, then devote our full attention to one another and tend and nurture our friendship.
It's been said: "A simple friend thinks the friendship over when you have an argument. A real friend knows that it's not a friendship until after you've had a fight." Every true friendship has its misunderstandings and misperceptions; suffice it to say, we've had our serious disagreements, thank goodness, rare and far between. We've spoken our Truth with one another, not always easy, but always fulfilling and uplifting once we hashed things out.
http://www.geocities.com/sptmbrmrn/051502.htm
http://www.geocities.com/sptmbrmrn/031102.htm
http://www.geocities.com/sptmbrmrn/121601.htm
http://www.geocities.com/sptmbrmrn/121401.htm
http://www.geocities.com/sptmbrmrn/101201.htm
http://www.geocities.com/sptmbrmrn/101001.htm
http://www.geocities.com/olelo.geo/twm/cd.html
http://www.geocities.com/~olelo/hmd/z-melelana.html
http://www.geocities.com/kristenandsean2002/
We spent the morning tying up loose ends, then explored our parting thoughts and clarified our feelings. We spoke our Truth. The Truth has cost me dearly in the past, as it has her. She has temporarily lost a sister and her beloved nieces and nephews -- the apples of her eye -- because of it.
On our last work day, we spoke of those losses:
I was once estranged from my mother after my parents divorced. My mother and I were close before it happened. Loving her with all my heart, I risked that closeness by being Truthful about the events and circumstances of her life, back then, and her choices. She thought I was being harsh and unsympathetic. I thought I was handling the situation with kid gloves, tact and courtesy, but still being truly kind by being honest and clear.
Ultimately, anything less than the Truth would have only hurt my mother, if not destroyed her soul. Soft-pedaling, padding the Truth, denial, lying by omission, false sympathy and empathy would have only strengthened her resolve to walk a destructive and negative life path. Believing in the beauty of my mother's soul and having faith in her inner strength and wisdom, I took the path less taken by searching my heart, then speaking my Truth. I stuck to the Truth, and waited it out. I know who my Authority is.
I stuck to the Truth of my mother's life, and did not make it easier on myself by yielding to her false perception of herself. And I did lose that mother who felt wronged by life, who falsely believed herself a victim to circumstances. A loser. God-forsaken.
The Truth was unconfrontable for my mother at the time. She wrote me off. I was dead to her. For 14 years. She sought solace in well-meaning friends who told her what she wanted to hear. I was prepared to lose her for all of this life, believing, "If not in this life, then the next..." I would return for her in the next, if need be.
But my mother was always alive for me, EVERY day. In the meantime, she traveled the world looking for herself. In time, Love found her on a trip to China, and, in due time, she found herself again. She was able to peel off the layers of pain, hurt and disillusionment, temporarily cemented in place by untruths, that hid her True Self. The Self that I never lost sight of and remained committed to in Truth.
With help from my friend, Israel "IZ" Kamakawiwo'ole, my mother was returned to me. She retracted the anger -- and yes, self-hate -- that she had projected on to me, a safe target. Her soul knew that I was protected; she had after all helped to provide that armor. Her heart knew that I would love her unconditionally. No matter what. She is back to being the lovable, cherished, strong and capable, and dear person that I knew . A winner in life. A non-victim. The one who rests in full faith in the Palm of God's Hand. The one who raised me to be the same. And to be no other.
The Truth won out and over the last four years, we have handily made up for lost time. We picked up as if we had never parted, and now we are closer than ever. My mother is more than a mother to me now. We are true friends; our friendship has been tested, put through fire and now steeled for any eventuality that comes our way. Besides the Love, there is a profound respect for one another as there never was.
In recollecting this part of life with Cia, I was even more steeled to my commitment to my departing friend's future success and happiness. I will miss her dearly. Hers is a heart of gold; her intelligence, keen.
With her, goes a big part of me. In many ways, she was more than a friend, but a mother in my mother's absence. Now, perhaps, it is her time to be a REAL mother, herself. Or to someone who needs one and doesn't know it yet...
She will remain in my heart. I also pray that her sister and her nieces and nephew will be returned to her; may the Truth win out for her.
We were headed out to our usual lunch haunt, when I said, "Pick the restaurant of your choice...your heart's desire."
And so we headed off to Lucille's to have our last lunch at work together. There, over huge platters of beef ribs, corn on the cob, baked beans and baked potato with everything on it but no sour cream for me and no chives for her, we reflected over recent events, the thousands of people we have served together and come to love, and reminisced over splendid times together, while our souls cried.
My heart is again broken and it will ache for a long time...
If not in this life, then the next...and Love works in Mysterious Ways.
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| Wednesday, 10-Dec-2003 00:00 |
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Lunch with a Bevy of Beauties -- Inside and Out.
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Reminder: write Stan.
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| Tuesday, 9-Dec-2003 00:00 |
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Once three perfect strangers...
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Devotion
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Sparkle
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Gallantry
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To any one else viewing these pictures, these are three perfect strangers.
At work I am blessed with a steady stream of kind people who visit me on a regular basis and who are uniquely dear to me. Every picture -- every person -- has a story. My camera was on my desk and I randomly took pictures of three of them:
The first is a devoted mother and grandmother who does the most exquisite needlework I have ever seen. Twice a year, she visits me and with her brings her most recent creation to share with me, including needlepointed stockings for her grandchildren. Her lovingness warms my heart.
The second is a sparkling woman who brings so much cheer to my life and to every one else her life touches. As she does every year, she presented me with her hand-made Christmas card, crafted with much Aloha. She lost a daughter to leukemia some years ago. Her daughter and I share the same name. So whenever I see her, I hug her, and then I give her an extra hug, but first I ask her daughter to use my body to give her mom her hug.
The third is my handsome Spanish Don. So gallant. Whenever I see him, I think of vast rancheros... He recently lost his beloved wife, and though it is a loss beyond words, he carries on with a happy smile and a gratitude for life. He continues to work as a volunteer at the local VA hospital bringing cheer and goodwill to those less fortunate.
Such blessed people. And I am blessed to have them in my life.
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| Sunday, 7-Dec-2003 00:00 |
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Photo Challenge: Week 3: "HOLIDAY CHEER" : Here are my entries:
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Nothin' like home-baked Christmas cookies to bring some cheer!
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A dawg and her tree. Her eyes match the lights on the tree!
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Christmas Morning, 2002: Breakfast in snow country, Big Bear, CA
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Wow! I've been cheered by every one of the Photo Challenge entries. http://discuss.fotopages.com/viewtopic.php?t=120
The cheer is especially appreciated as it is gray, drab and rainy today (not exactly the sunny California that we've come to know and love). We were a third of the way up to the mountain today but turned around as the fog was thickening (and therefore dangerous for driving in the mountains). This became the perfect day to stay inside, warm,dry and snug, and make fotopages!
Hope y'all enjoy these bits of Christmas cheer from my life to yours.
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UPDATE on the FOTO-CHALLENGE: 1 week later
The winners of Photo Challenge: Week 3 rippleboom (LLC-LLC) and her mother! Here is her winning entry:
http://rippleboom.fotopages.com/?entry=24073
She won because of the quality of her photos, her narrative, her bringing Holiday Cheer via the computer screen to me, and as those who know me know, I'm a sucker for dogs! Such beauties, those two retrievers. Check them out. And the people they own are attractive folks, too.
Mahalo to all of you who participated in this week's challenge. You certainly fulfilled its intention: to bring HOLIDAY CHEER to all here!
Rippleboom: you are now "it" -- the challenger. Please post the above guidelines and come up with a new theme. Ho`omaika`i! (Congratulations! in Hawaiian)
Mele Kalikimaka, me ke Aloha,
Merry Christmas, with Aloha,
Hawaiian Eye
P.S. One of my favorite all-time books is WATCHERS by Dean Koontz. One of its lead characters is EINSTEIN, the smartest canine ever. He was a retriever, just like Rippleboom's dogs.
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