Pic of the Week: Awe, Yahweh and Auwe!

One way to sum up my three score and ten is to say that the years have been blessed with 26,400 sunsets. I haven’t viewed them all obviously, but the ones I have serve as a constant reminder of the “awe!” that, for me, symbolizes life eternal. Some of the most beautiful and picturesque right here in Hawaii, as illustrated in this Pic of the Week.

I remember vividly our very first trip to Honolulu as Territorial Youth and Candidates Secretary for a Youth Council weekend. We arrived a day early and barefooted, walked along this same Waikiki Beach at sunset. It was as if we had stepped into another world, the awe and wonder of it all overwhelmingly breathtaking.

Now living in Hawaii, part of the time, just steps away from this same beach with its perennial sunsets, the awe and wonder has faded somewhat. Many evenings, even though a perfect view right off the lanai, we forego it for Larry King Live, a Lakers game or God forbid, The O’Reilly Factor! Auwe! (Hawaiian expression for “that’s awful or sad”).

Last evening, I walked over to the beach just as the sun was setting. I watched the tourists gather and listened to the camera’s clicking. And as the sun peaked over the celestial edge, its rays dancing off the clouds, a chorus of “ooh” and “ahs” sounded round me stereophonically. I was transported back to that first visit as together with these first time visitors, we stepped momentarily into another world. 

There is poetic resonance between the words “awe” and “Yahweh,” isn’t there? "Then God spoke all these words. He said, ‘I am Yahweh your God who brought you out of Egypt…” into the Promised Land. Now fast forward this promise prophetically into the 21^st Century.

It’s a promise that should strike “awe” within us and must never be taken for granted. And if it is… AUWE!

JN

Pic’s of the Week: Hang Loose!

Doris took this photo on Veteran’s Day here in Hawaii at world-famous Kuhio Beach in Waikiki, just 150 steps from our small, humble little Hawaiian abode.

Rob, Denise, McKenna, Riley, Shea, Parker and Hayden are waving the Shaka sign, conveying what locals in Hawaii call the “Aloha Spirit,” a gesture of friendship and understanding between the various ethnic cultures that reside within Hawaii. Our grandkids symbolize a representative mix of these cultures: Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Italian, Irish, Scottish, German and only God knows what else. Their maternal grandfather was adopted and not sure of his heritage on the fraternal side.

Or another way of saying it is, "Hang Loose!" And that's exactly what we were doing on this day. My prayer is that this “friendship and understanding” spirit be replicated throughout America, beginning in Congress, Republicans, Democrats, Independents, Tea Partiers alike. Let’s make the “Spirit of Aloha” in Hawaii a microcosm of what the United States of America should look like. I think this is what President Obama was signaling when he waved the Shaka sign during his inauguration.

The message meant to be portrayed in these photos: “HANG LOOSE, AMERICA!”

Pic of the Week: Creative Extremists!

Here’s one of my favorite quotes from someone I admire greatly:

“The question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be... The nation and the world are in dire need of creative extremists.” (Martin Luther King, Jr.)

Hate filled extremists destroy. Love filled extremists create. Therein is the difference: destructive or creative extremists. Which label did Jesus wear?  Which sign will you carry this week?

Visioning Westward!

Commissioner Jim Knaggs (Territorial Commander, USA Western Territory) is laying out his vision in Cyberspace:

http://tcspeak.com/blog/2010/10/27/territorial-visioning-page-1/ (Follow it through Page 7)

It is both innovative and participatory. Innovative because its taking advantage of the Internet. Participatory because you’re invited to comment. When was the last time you participated in a territorial visioning process?

Let’s get behind the TC with positive, creative feedback and support.

JN

One Day, A Dream! (Part 2)

This is today, over a Century later, an Army firmly established with systems galore - some of them necessary, many not. What to do? - “…less restrictive, more imaginative and accommodating.” A tall order indeed! Click on the following for my take on “What To Do.” http://therubicon.org/2010/11/one-day-part-2/ There will be a link to Part 1 if you haven’t read it already.

JN