Enthusiasm, Inspiration, and Ultimately Passion for All

One of life's greatest forms of enthusiasm has got to be when you're setting yourself up for getting a job, or doing anything that would encounter a positive change in life. One needs to have a positive attitude and enthusiasm to be able to move ahead. Most of us would like nothing better than earning more money, a better station in life, or that top notch placement at the finest restaurant. Or maybe the most expensive position at the Grand Wailea where one never thought of themselves as being able to have the possibility of attaining. All of this pertains to the positive belief in oneself that they are capable of doing anything they want or aspire to be, do, or have.

Music has always been a wonderful way for me to come to more inspirational thought as well as helping me to reach higher levels of thought. All in all, I believe that enthusiasm is the greatest attribute in relation to attaining inspirational thought. I personally desire more epiphanies, more inspirational thought, and this basically goes hand in hand with the desire to have a greater quality of life.

I believe that the way to the top is by essentially climbing there. In climbing there, I believe one needs to remember the importance of smiles and to believe in the art of smiling. It is amazing to see how powerful it really is. Smiles unlock so many barriers that are easily unlocked by just the very act itself. A smile is almost angelilc. Smiles go hand in hand with the very nature of God as quoted in Proverbs 15:13, "A happy heart makes the face cheerful; but heartache crushes the spirit." All in all, my greatest thought I wish to leave you with is that I am of the belief that the ultimate importance of enthusiasm cannot be overstated and I will leave you with this thought which may be my personal epiphany for the hour. There is nothing greater or more heartfelt to me than the importance of passion.

Don't Verb Nouns

It is interesting to listen to the way people speak in their dialect form as there are such "catch phrases" that people pick up on. For example, "it's all good", "don't worry be happy", "no worries", and "absolutely!" I wonder what it is that people are really trying to say. Could it be that our treasured English language or our American dialect has fallen short of where our forefathers always wanted it to be? My opinion is that people have chopped and changed this American dialect to the point where I feel that all the the interest or the intrigue that makes our English language so special is perhaps a bit missing. What I like to see in our chosen language is more intellect instead of shortened and more thoughtless ways of thinking. For instance, have you ever noticed the silly inuendos that are often used instead of intelligent conversation that is mindful of using the beautiful language that we learned when we were in middle school? I missed this so much because it forced us to really use our minds to create more laughter, more silliness, more worldliness, and better grammar.

Everything at this point is "like" something. There are no proper descriptions used. Instead, they're using "it's like" for everything. And therefore people are being lazy about finding better descriptions for what they're actually meaning. That to me is the biggest offender of all. Essentially what I'm saying is "it's like" needs to be almost eradicated out of the dictionary so that it forces people to think about what they really want to say so as to not continue to use the "it's like" version of nearly all descriptions today. To me it's nothing short of bad grammar because it's been so overused. I am certain that true grammarians will thoroughly agree with my belief, I just wish that I could cut and paste most of today's literature so not to include any piece of these above mentioned grammatical mishaps.

Happy Christmas and Merry New Year-To All of You Great and Small, the Good Lord Loves You All

Have yourself a merry little Christmas, and oh I hope and pray that you do. At this time of year, I find it so lovely to see and hear all the songs being played and happy faces abounding, mostly saying good day, happiness and cheer. I'm sure that there are many of you out there that are not having the Christmas that you may have always dreamed of. And to those of you, I have special things to say. Unfortunately, this time of year could be the most incredibly painful time for some of you and I wish to find the right words for each of you that would be filled with great meaning down to the tips of your toes and the bottom of your nose. And so at this moment, firstly I wish that all of you had a wonderful Christmas season, filled with joy and happiness, love and aloha. In so far that most people aren't able to grasp that wonderful thing called love, and maybe are feeling frustration or despair, I wish for each and all of you to think kindly upon these times as a time of growth and learning.

There is a wonderful bit of prose that I would love to share with each and every one of you. It came from a man named Max Ehrmann and I would like share part of it with you. It is called Desiderata and it goes a little like this:

"Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible without surrender
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons,
they are vexatious to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain and bitter;
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs;
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals;
and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself.
Especially, do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love;
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment
it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe,
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be,
and whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy."

To all of my wonderful readers whom I wish the merriest of Christmases and copious armloads of aloha, as you really are so special to me, Tara.

There are times that some of us come to where we feel as though we have tried just about everything. This very well might be one of those times. The lyrics to a potentially worn out song by Rupert Holmes come very close to matching the feelings I have right now. I'm sure that there are those of you who would agree that the feeling of hum drum occurs when one is sensing a feeling of sadness about which I can hardly explain. The lyrics from the song labeled "Escape" get at the feeling that comes close to mine and the song goes something like this:

"I was tired of my lady, we'd been together too long.
Like a worn-out recording, of a favorite song.
So while she lay there sleeping, I read the paper in bed.
And in the personals column, there was this letter I read:

"If you like Pina Coladas, and getting caught in the rain.
If you're not into yoga, if you have half-a-brain.
If you like making love at midnight, in the dunes of the cape.
I'm the lady you've looked for, write to me, and escape."

I didn't think about my lady, I know that sounds kind of mean.
But me and my old lady, had fallen into the same old dull routine.
So I wrote to the paper, took out a personal ad.
And though I'm nobody's poet, I thought it wasn't half-bad.

"Yes, I like Pina Coladas, and getting caught in the rain.
I'm not much into health food, I am into champagne.
I've got to meet you by tomorrow noon, and cut through all this red tape.
At a bar called O'Malley's, where we'll plan our escape."

So I waited with high hopes, then she walked in the place.
I knew her smile in an instant, I knew the curve of her face.
It was my own lovely lady, and she said, "Oh, it's you."
And we laughed for a moment, and I said, "I never knew"..

"That you liked Pina Coladas, and getting caught in the rain.
And the feel of the ocean, and the taste of champagne.
If you like making love at midnight, in the dunes of the cape.
You're the love that I've looked for, come with me, and escape."

"If you like Pina Coladas, and getting caught in the rain.
If you're not into yoga, if you have half-a-brain.
If you like making love at midnight, in the dunes of the cape.
You're the love that I've looked for, come with me, and escape."

This song has given me a lot of room to ponder throughout the years of which case I'm not exactly sure why. The lyrics seem to speak to me so loudly from time to time that they have given me room for pause because they say to me that I am most assuredly not walking with my heart but instead only following the rules as set out by my due dilligence.

Instead what I would prefer to be speaking with is my sense of laughter and joie de vivre because that's much more akin to who I am and so that I am not speaking from the doldrums but instead speaking with a light heart. So if you're not into yoga but you are into champagne then make your life your own wonderful story instead. Then regardless of where you are standing or who you are standing with, just know that you are totally in the right place if you are living life to the fullest and getting every last drop of love and laughter and happiness almost until it hurts. ;)

Ruby Slippers

It gives me pause in watching the 70th Anniversary Edition of the Wizard of Oz and so that is why I wanted to share a few relics from many years ago. In fact, it was, to be precise, 70 years ago as google search would have it. Shirley Temple was originally seeking to be cast, however she apparently was expecting more money and so that's why she was not chosen and instead Judy Garland stepped into her ruby slippers and got the lead role. This film overshadowed Garland's career and it was the only film for which she received an Oscar. That Judy Garland ended up having the role of Dorothy with the ruby slippers was essentially because Shirley Temple was feeling as though she was too great an artist to be receiving so little money for her time. As Judy Garland received the honorary role of wearing the ruby slippers, and additionally receiving the phenomenol income that Dorothy would bring throughout the 70 years, whereas Shirley Temple essentially made nothing because she declined the part.

In reference to the making of the film The Wizard of Oz, Buddy Ebsen was removed from the film as the original Tin Man due to an allergic reaction to silver dust makeup. In addition, the producers used chocolate syrup as their medium for the Tin Man's oil. How clever!

While I, like a lot of other people like me, have had some "wild and crazy times" in my life, I just kind of figured that perhaps it was time to say something about me that was positively indiscriminate and absolutely joyful and hysterical at the same time. So it is that I have always been a very proficient snow skier and have downhill snow skied most of my adult life. It has given me such fun and wonderful exericise, albeit it has torn apart my knees a bit. But what the heck, I've lived my life to the ultimate most of the time which has been great medicine for my health. I've danced through the mountains of Aspen, Sun Valley, Squaw Valley in Lake Tahoe and Mt. Bachelor in Bend, Oregon as well as many other favorite ski resorts across the land. To say that I was kind of a ski junkie is to just scratch the surface of my extraordinary love for the sport. In fact, I used to ski with an Olympic skier and we had a blast as we sang tunes while laughing through the mogul fields and so much more.

...his name was Kasra and he was from Iran. He was not that great of a skier but he was definitely fun as we once skied through the trees, laughing all the way until we found a delicious spot that had our names imprinted on it, so to speak. It was as though it was a place lost in time in my memory bank. I've saved that delightfully delectably divine memory to savor and enjoy even though who it was doesn't matter anymore, it's just the memory that was patently distinctive. I had met him skiing and we were really attracted to each other. We romped around in the powder for hours and we just had a blast. We've since stayed friends and I will never forget the myriad of times that we shared at Vale, Colorado.

The Sweet Scent of the Ocean

And how I adore it. The reason that I love the scent of the ocean is because it reminds me of so many colorful memories that awaken my senses to a myriad of visions. One of the distinct visions I tend to return to quite often is when my family was living in Australia. It is quite easy to return to the way we spoke down there and especially to a time when I was walking freely and was clearly hit on by several nice looking gents and their mates. I was asked by one of them if they could take my picture and to say that I was flattered is an understatement, so the story goes...My father found out that this fellow took many pictures of me and he turned three shades of red through his tan. In fact, the Australian sun is quite strong and through this intense sun we all had fabulously dark skin. This led more to my father's incorrect perception of what was going on because I had such a striking tan. My father was new to Australia as well and was feeling the need to "bond" with his daughter but had no idea of how to do such bonding. The timing of this unfortunate event was after my father and I had gone for a long walk in the sand. It was so beautiful there, the sand was sparkling gold strewn across the landscape. Perhaps the timing was such that my dad just misunderstood the importance to me of being an up and coming or curious teenager who was really sowing my oats in a new place with lots of attention. My father was getting irritated at the interest that was being paid to me and wanted to reel me in. To do so was to put the reigns on me and he enlisted my mother to support him. Both my parents were in a startled position, kind of like the deer in the headlights, because to them this was how Marilyn Monroe got started. To me, it was positively ridiculous. They threw out a mile's worth of wonderful pictures because of their fear of me ending up like Marilyn Monroe. Ha! :) What a compliment that was! I wish that they would have just let sleeping dogs lie and let me be flattered. Oh well. I lived to tell the story such as it is.

My other thoughts about the ocean are that it is such a wonderfully peaceful place to be, where I can open up my mind and let the sensual relaxation caress my body. It thereby leaves a kiss of the lasting sunshine and I feel blessed to be able to wear the sun's striking color on my skin.

My Mother, God's Little Angel

I would like to write a little about the woman who brought me into this life, especially considering that her life is seeming that it will be shortened by the attack of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). We never know how long our life will be, nor do we ever know those long searched answers to our most intimate questions. While this makes me feel a heightened sense of sadness, I know that's the way that God made this Earth work and thus we need to live with what the Maker set out before us. I try not to be engulfed in the sadness but in the gladness for having ever known her (my mother). And had I never known her obviously I would not be here to tell the story.

My mother unfortunately took up the terrible idea of smoking while she was in her 20s and it continued on into her 50s and now she's paying the ultimate price by her realizing that this may have cost her her life even though she has had a really long go at it. She has certainly brought in her set of tears but she also has enlightened my life with a lot of laughter and good fun. What more can I say to my dear mother but that I want to say thanks for the good times as well as the tough ones.

I'd like to share a funny story about Kitty, my MOM. She loved to dance, and oh did she love to dance. In fact, my mom was dancing with a gentleman and having a very fun time at it. She danced right off into not a puddle, but a mini pool of water. And to say that she was intoxicated is probably pretty close to correct, however I wasn't there and I'm only here to tell you the story which I find kind of hysterical if you know my mother and her antics at times. She was wet from head to toe and I don't think she was terribly embarassed because of the level of intoxication that she enjoyed that evening. It took my mother a few years to tell me the whole story and I'm sure that I only have part of it correct, however as she tells it it was uproariously funny and so things were very often when my mother was around.

Another fun memory of my mother is how she loves to cook the most horrible things. Namely, everything from gizzards to liver to brains to the most putrid cheeses to anything that particularly smells beyond hope. And then she would eat everything raw. And that is the way that my mother liked to raise me. Even on Halloween she made me eat liver before I was able to go trick or treating. Oh yes this is my mother. There are many more stories about her that I would love to share in future blogs. So stay tuned! :)

Freedom is the Eternal Luscious Flower of Life Given to Us from God

The necessity to find freedom-whether it be mentally or physically-either way I believe that it's a necessity to dream of or to be realizing it. What is freedom to me? Freedom to me is the most empowering feeling and I think when I feel empowered or maybe when we feel empowered in our daily lives, we feel we can do most anything. Feeling efficacious is the feeling of being effective in your life and it goes hand in hand with freedom. Efficacious also might bring in the thoughts of empowerment; to be able to think and do and in other words feel very confident. It is the idea of mastery over the environment or the abilty to solve problems with grace, comfort, and ease. I feel very effective in that I can be, do, and have anything I set my mind to and therefore I am.

Vacations are a Necessity, not a Luxury

How many of you have been to the redwood forest or vacationed in Disneyworld? What determines the most fun place to vacation? Have any of you, as I call my "readers", ever dreamed of sailing on a big ship for a honeymoon or travelling to the Greek islands or fantasized about going to Tahiti or luxuriating in the Bahamas? I am lucky enough to have traveled to many far off places in my lifetime, and I'd like to tell you a little bit about a few of them because what's more fun than sharing wild and crazy times in far off places? Don't you think?

One of the most incredibly fun places I've enjoyed visiting has been the Pink Sand Beach in the Bahamas. WOW! It was a sight to see for sore eyes because it was like sailing off to a place in a very far off land that I never would have imagined existed. The beauty was incomprehensible if you can imagine seeing a pink sand beach right before your eyes that would just about knock your socks off. When it turns to dusk, it even becomes brighter pink, I would call it nothing short of incredible and anyone who has been there would likely say something similar about the Pink Sand Beach.

There were many moments that stand out in my mind as being kind of over the top if you will. On one of the side trips that we took we went to this area known as Atlantis and it was fabulous. You could swim through a shark's cave literally by swimming through a thick plexiglass tunnel with sharks swimming around. I actually went snorkel diving in crystal clear shark infested water by myself with many sharks around! The water was very shark infested and I was not aware at the time that I was swimming with a couple of Tiger Sharks! Thank goodness I did not know because I think I would have been freaked out had I known how many and what kind of sharks were there. But it was beautiful, and I had a BLAST. On top of everything we were told that we were swimming on top of ocean that had multitudes of shipwrecks in the past. Very exciting.

On the dining end of things, we got to eat some lobster and deep fried groper that were to die for. They were so divine that I find it difficult to even describe the taste of these lobsters. The quantity of beautiful food would make you head over heels to ever have an opportunity to go there. Just the lobbies in Atlantis were breathtaking because the colors are exquisite and part of the lobby ceiling was painted in Renaissance style painting. There was gold dripping from the bannisters and the delight in my eyes was clearly easy to see.

There are so many lovely tales and wonderful memories I was able to walk away with from the best vacation I have ever had in my life. I will never forget my trip to the Bahamas and how incredible this world we live in really is with all the beautiful things there are to see and do in this world.

It's a Bug's Life After All

What do you think about the livelihood of a mosquito? Personally, I feel that mosquitos were a mistake. They only rarely prove to be of limited value, however I'm sure that there are those eensy weensy no-see-ums that love to eat them. Maybe spiders might be included in the list of bugs that aren't necessary for the planet's survival and therefore not necessary for me and maybe even you. I would gladly include black widow spiders on the list of unnecessary creatures. Not only are they creepy but also are they known to be deadly. They are especially scary looking do to the fact that they have the red hourglass body which seems to be common with deadly creatures. What we absolutely should include is one of the truly unnecessary creatures of the ocean-the blue ring octopus and the stone fish. The blue ring octopus' venom is powerful enough to kill humans of which there is no antidote available. The stone fish is particularly creepy in that it occupies the oceans of some of my most favorite places. That would include the wonderfully gorgeous Tahiti where I was particuarly freaked out by walking on or stepping on the venomous stonefish.

What value do mosquitoes have? In fact very little, or probably none, according to me of course. Because for me, mosquitos are a waste of good larva. After all, one should not waste good LARVA. We all know that "waste not want not" and even the bugs have to fall into that category. Yuck! I understand that all living creatures are part of God's creation and that they are intrinsically part of the complex food web which envelops the planet. However, they very often sting me and bite me and cause me to itch and scratch uncontrollably. Eek!

Look For Your Rainbow

Perhaps this may not be my most humorous blog, however there are many people that may very well benefit from the words I am about to say. I feel that the subject of pain is an important thing to write about as I have some great information to share about this topic and after all I'm here to write important thoughts that will help some of my readers. For perhaps some or all of my readers, it will be a gift I can share; pain and how I have learned to deal with it. There are times when I believe that I can not go on dealing with the level of pain I have been given, however in fact I can and I must, and therefore I will. I have been told many times I am a trooper and I guess that is a correct estimation of who I am.

Who I am is actually a lover of many things. I love life, I love people who have the art of giving laughter to the masses, perhaps like comedians or entertainers. And those happen to be the people who offer a pathway to pulling onself up by the bootstraps and uplifting themselves to a higher place where the simplicity in life that includes love and laughter and cherished memories, etc. live. Frankly, I believe there is always a way to feel happy again and there are many ways to find those simple yet funny places inside oneself. Make up a happy song and make it your own.

I am hoping that I am helping the few people who do need to learn to deal with pain. I'll itemize a few things and let me know what you think.
1. Control your mind. Watch where your mind drifts and make a conscious effort to not dwell on the negative but instead focus on the positive.
2. Make use of your happy friendships. In other words, the people that bring you joy. Concentrate on what gives you joy from the people you hang out with. Be sure not to hang out with the Debbie Downers in life. After all, they're only there to show you the negative side of life and what you need to do is be light hearted as they will always help you to find that bit of joy that is always there if you look for it.
3. Find a source of medication that works for you, whether it be herbal or pharmaceutical.
4. Laughter is truly the best medicine. Do your best to make light of every situation as much as is possible.
5. Pray to whatever God you believe in.

What I am talking about here is chronic pain. There's a lot of people who have chronic pain, so this is a gift to anyone and everyone who suffers with fibromyalgia to peripheral neuropathy (I actually have peripheral poly neuropathy). It's not fun but I have learned to live with it and find joy at the same time. If you're dealing with the kind of pain that cancer sufferers deal with, I emphathize with those of you who have tremendous pain like that but I do believe that these methods will help. Please know that I learned to have a full life and to laugh heartily about most things in life. I've triumphed over great adversity and now I hardly give it a thought. Please feel free to contact me via email at tarabrock@hawaii.rr.com.

Be True to Yourself

Be true to yourself. I think it is extremely important to always be true to God first and yourself second. I believe it is so important to firstly concentrate on your happiness meter. In fact ask yourself the question of, "how happy am I appearing today". Even if you're not feeling terribly happy, at least fake it until you make it. It is one of the most important things that you can do for your own personal happiness, is to behave as though you're already there. And all of a sudden people will respond to you differently. In fact, if you behave as though you're already there, then by golly you're halfway home by just believing in it. And believe so hard that you make it so. These are such simple words but if you learn to live by those words and truly make them yours I believe they will work.

I don't think all of this is simple to do, but it is so worthwhile that poets write about believing in oneself and actors employ the use of happy words. Walk as though you have a spring in your step and a glow about yourself. And suddenly people will begin to notice something a little bit different. They may not be able to name it or even say it, but all of the same people will notice a subtle change. Maybe it's a twinkle in your eye or a gregarious smile you are wearing. Show your glow and people will notice your joy and they'll feel your warmth. It's not that I'm so perfect, but I am certainly working towards that happiness goal because it works and everyone knows that it's more fun to hang out with people who are funny or light-spirited. Something to think about-try the idea of thinking about your favorite comedian and see if you can't employ the humor of someone like Seinfeld. Everyday things are funny and that's what Seinfeld capitalizes on; simple humor is often the way he draws people in. All in all, the essence of what I'm getting at is that just like Bobby McFerrin likes to whistle his tune, "DON'T WORRY, BE HAPPY", employ the same attitude because attitude really IS in fact everything. Wising you joy, love and lots of laughter, Tara.

I Want to Find the Love of My Life and Let It Be, Let It Be, Let it Be

I long to be called *bright eyes* again. I long to be loved so truly and graciously as I used to feel at all times as his partner in fun, partner in skiing, partner in exercising, and doing just about anything that brings joy and laughter to the corners of his eyes. I am now searching for that sensual gaze that tells me that he's always there for me and will never leave my side. Yes that person will find me I am certain of this as I hear it so often from others but just not from him, that special person in my life that gratifies me down to my soul.

I want to speak about what things that I long for-to do and to say and to think as I have so much I can bring to this "party" and would happily bring to it now. I love to be loved and gratified both mentally and physically and not as a one way street but as a mutual love or exchange. It being a one way street is not fulfilling, instead it's depleting. When it gets to a point when it's depleting, it's only a matter of time until we're together less and may need to move on.

I want someone who believes in God for all that he is to me. I want someone to love me, I want someone to cherish me, and to think of me first instead of it's all about him. Because it's really all about the both of us. As an uplifting love where neither one of us cancels each other out, instead we uplift each other to find new ground and a greater love than we've ever thought of before. I'd like to find a man who is athletic, intelligent, and caring, who thinks about more than himself. I want a man who is sweet but not too sweet, who is capable of sharing love and being loved for a lifetime. I am a lady who loves to laugh, to sing, to dance, and to be filled with romance, whether it's on the pillowtop or whether it's a twinkling of his eye toward me. These are all the things that I am thinking of this day.

I am Lost in the Mire of the Words That I Seem to Need to Use on a Daily Basis

Filler words-or the overuse of filler words such as "um". Have you ever noticed how the word "um" becomes the principle part of the language most of us tend to speak? "Um" has become a filler word because we don't have in our mind yet what we want to say. So instead, we use some other kind of word to try to express our meaning.

I have started watching my language and realizing that I too am guilty of the same "literary transgression". And so, the word "so" is one of my really bad transgressions. That's probably my favorite transgression and I am presently working like a slave to eradicate it from my dialect. Although I don't think that it's terribly easy to let it go because it seems like it's stuck like glue to my brain, if you will. "Uh", is another one of them. "Uh", is a creepy crawler, like a snake that doesn't want to let go of its prey. What can I say more about "uh", other than it takes so much more to try to get rid of the word "uh" than it does to say it. "So" what I want to do is get rid of it. How do we get rid of it?

How does one let those "literary transgressions-lt's" go. I don't have an answer at this point. I am afraid of using those words over and over again. Not that I want to, just that they are uninvited. And I am still going in circles. No matter how much I try not to, I am still speaking in circles. Know what I mean? Know what I mean Jean? There are funny little rhymes that we tend to make as maybe a faux pas. "Know what I mean" is another cute little filler. "You know" is "so" badly overused. And because they are "so" overused, it is hard not to say them all the time. Let's try to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps. Now is that a colloquialism or a euphemism? A euphemism is something that you're saying that is nicer than what you could have said. Let's pull ourselves up instead of falling flat on our okole. I am lost in the mire of these words.

Let Me Tell You How Agreeable I Can Be...

There are different kinds of agreeable, don't you think? I have been in several relationships where I find that agreeability doesn't always come so easy. I wish that it did, because that would make my life SO much easier. Of course, that would indicate that everybody would agree with me, and funnily enough, that certainly is not the case. In my estimation, most people find me to be rather agreeable although I should highlight the rather because it's only my opinion. After all, I think that I am extremely agreeable, just ask me, because I'll tell you all about how lovely I can be.

Whatever is righteous, humble, honest, lovely, honorable, think on these things and make them yours.

I feel the necessity to express my personal need for calmness around me, in my hands, in my heart, and essentially throughout my body. I'm imagining that some of you among my readers may feel the need for serenity as much as I do. So why do I seek the calmness. I seek it because I haven't found it to be mine at this point in time. I love to laugh, I love to bring joy, I love to bring funny thoughts that help to locate people's funny bones. That might be why I am choosing to write this blog in this way today. Calmness to me is being with the people that I love. I want to be around people that I love, honor and cherish, as well as so many other appealing and attractive mannerisms. So I am posing this question to you, what does it take for you to feel calm and joyous? Do they even come in the same "box" together? I want it to because I seek it now.

I express my calmness to you now by way of giving you some quotes from some of my favorite scriptures from the Bible as they have helped me on so many occasions. I am in hopes that you will find peace and joy through these lovely thoughts and phrases. Think on these things: whatever is good, whatever is lovely, whatever brings joy, remember to think on these things. Whatever brings happiness to anyone around you, always think on these things. Whatever is holy or righteous, think on these things. Whatever is kind, always think on these things. From Philippians 3:4, "Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things."

I want wisdom and humility-these are the things that I honor so much in this life. I don't find that there are many people who really understand what it is to have honor and to really live a life filled with honorable thinking at all times and who choose to walk this path. What honor means to me is hard to describe but yet so incredibly important to do. I believe that honor is what I want to show in myself at most any time if not all the time because it really is the principle ingredient of what God gave to all of us-honesty and righteousness. Bringing myself back to the thought of attaining calmness, I find that wisdom, humility, honesty, and righteousness help me along the way. People constantly tell me about how they are so stressed out and I believe that the stress we're all talking about needs to be let go of and the calmness needs to be let in.

Within nature is a lovely way to help find calmness. What within nature helps me to feel such calmness? Is it the water dropping? Remember a few blogs ago I wrote about the negative ion charges you get when you inhabit water for a time. Especially crashing waterfalls, the ocean scent at sunrise or sunset, and the beach. I am in hopes that more resonating calmness can be yours with just the simple action of walking into a tropical rainforest in Hana or sitting by a beautiful lake.

My Angel Garden of Love & Joy

I'm sure we all have "mother stories", and I am certainly holding on to my own "mother story". My mother has a very funny sense of humor, at times, and one time I wanted to mention to you my reader, that I had a lovely bottle of wine and shared it with my mother. The funny thing about that story is that my mother can't really handle liquor very well, in fact she can't handle much liquor at all, and she continued to get wasted on this particular bottle. My mother, while she is not normally very funny at all, she really found her funny bone and she was absolutely hysterical. We laughed so hard about whether one could be rock solid and spontaneous simultaneously. And I laughed so hard that I cried. Do you think you can be rock solid and spontaneous at the same time? This is a question I'm posing to you my readers as well. So, if you have a wicked sense of humor, I pose this to you to see if you find this ridiculous or somewhat comical.

The thing is about my mother is that I really love, honor, and respect her. For all the lovely things that she has done for me, although it is very hard to remember them most times, but I really want to say that I am lucky to even have a mother who is alive and I do love her very much. But getting back to the point of realizing that my mother has given me a lovely idea of starting a garden. I want to have a whole potpourri of garden flowers such as pansies, petunias, and plumeria. All these flowers bring so much joy to me because they are alive, growing, and luscious. Flowers make me feel like I am mid-tropics which is ideal for me considering that I am, of course, a Maui girl and there's no way that anyone can take that identity away from me. When I see flowers it reminds me of my mother and my deep love for her so my garden will be a tribute to her.

Aloha.... I'm back!!!

Hello my friends....I'm BAACK!

I'm sorry for the long break I've needed to take. Although it has been an unecessary time as my mother has been ill, I'm back now and intend to be writing to you, my wonderful and beloved listeners.

Fear not, I'll be writing to you for a very long time to come. So for now I'm sending you a bouquet of flowers with much ALOHA.

Tara

onomatopoeia

Tongue-tied is a situation we find ourselves in when we are too excited to speak. I would like to speak about one of the more difficult words I have recently learned from the English language. I find it rather exciting because no matter where I have spoken it, I have found that no one can spell it or pronoun it or define it. It is a true word and it is a wonderful word that one can use to glorify or explain or stupify - it really boggles the mind. I would like to pass this fun little word on to you, my reader. I personally love words such as this one, because they most often do that very thing, which is to either stupify or boggle. It also would be very good for a game of Balderdash.
The word to which I am referring is onomatopoeia, pronounced |ˌänəˌmatəˈpēə; -ˌmätə-|. It is a noun which means the formation of a word (e.g., cuckoo, sizzle) by imitation of a sound made by or associated with what is named. The use of such words is for rhetorical effect.

The Sensational Feeling of Dark Chocolate

I would like to remind you about the blissful feeling you get when you ingest the incredible taste of dark chocolate. It is like no other feeling I know of on this planet. Perhaps the best way of describing this feeling, is that it is the ultimate sensation of ecstasy. Euphoria is possibly the best word I can think of that matches what I feel when I ingest that lovely sensation of dark chocolate. I want to be respectful of others that have come before me, that have developed this luscious taste that we now know as See's Candies, and all their magnificent tastes that follow. What more can I say, but that I love it, and it is par excellence to all that choose to make their mouth sing as never before.

It's a Frog's Life After All

For laughs and giggles, sing along with Mr. Frog and his happy, jumpy trio! After all, I really love to find laughter in everything, and today is the day that I found my funnybone in this little ditty about Mr. Frog and his happy, swinging trio.

Come join in with our happy trio! We are here to help you to enjoy frogs at their finest! Joy is what we're all about! Frogs sing. Frogs, you know, they leap to get from place to place. Frogs pull out their horns and play their funky music intended to bring laughter and enjoyment to all!

Don't you wish you were a frog?

They're so good that they eat their own flies! On top of that they hang on lilypads for their exuberance and unabashed joy.

These are the Things I Most Cherish In Life

What I want in this life is a myriad of different things. Essentially, what is really important to me is that I am loved for being who I am - because who I am is a person who loves being in love and who is willing to put her best foot forward and really shine for all that she can be.

I would love to find a true love who is capable of sharing a love for a lifetime. A man who loves to laugh, who loves to go out and have fun and who is funny, who loves to treat a woman like she likes to be treated, who is receptive to receiving love, and who will always be true to me as his hopefully forever partner. He will share the same interests as me, and he will be athletic, intelligent and caring. He will be fond of me, and of doing just about anything that brings joy into our lives.

I want to be with someone who is kind and sweet, yet not too sweet, who is talented and ready to rock and roll! Someone who loves to dance and who is willing to teach me the way he loves to dance as well. Someone who has an innate belief in our God above and shows it by his character, in his actions and by his love of life. Someone who is romantic. Someone who has humility, as though it's stamped on his face, from corner to corner.

I believe that I am already fond of this man that I am looking for and feel that I deserve nothing less than what I'm asking for in him, because I have put my best foot forward in all things that I am speaking of to this point.

This man will hopefully be the love of my life and will stay by my side, wishing me the best, as I wish the best for him. I want to honor him in all of his beautiful actions. I want us to let each know how much we love each other.

The Dream Catcher

Today is Wednesday afternoon, Blog Day! However, due to the exhaustion I felt from having recently broken my leg, I drifted off to sleep when my dear, dear friend who helps me write my blogs arrived. It was as though she passed me in her dreamlike state and this is what her dream sounded like to me.

A man, his daughter and a few of her friends were swimming in the ocean off the coast of New Zealand when they noticed there were quite a few dophins in the area - in fact, there were at least six or seven - six or seven really, really big dolphins who were circling around them in tight circles while they continually flapped their tails. They worked their circle tighter and tighter, packing them together as they drifted down towards the beach. The girls began freaking out - the father broke free from the dolphin circle to see what was going on. A large dolphin came swimming after him but suddenly submerged itself and that's when they saw the large grey object swim around them - a great white shark! The dolphins went into a high state of agitation and herded the father and the girls into a tighter circle and continued to circle around them for another 20 minutes or so, until the shark finally swam away.

What my friend realized was that she, as I, was in somewhat of a dreamstate herself - I was asleep in my dreamworld - she was reading an almost surreal story of her own.

You Are So Funny (at times)

Have you ever awakened in the morning to find that something just made you laugh, yet you can't remember what it was that brought on that piece of silly humor?

In the morning I awaken with a lot of humor and I think that it's a wonderful thing to find humor in the small things, as well as in the large things. For instance, I find humor in myself, because it seems that what I do to myself is kind of nutty. I like to laugh heartily with my friends who know me well - well enough to understand that I might kick myself or say something that I believe is really stupid; however, if you can't laugh at yourself, who can you laugh at? I can't find humor in much of anything right now - and that's why I need to find humor!

I ask myself, "What really makes me laugh?" I think what really makes me laugh is when other people hurt themselves. Isn't that sick? It's not that I really want to have people hurt themselves, but the truth is, that's what's really funny at times.

For instance, I have a friend who continually hits his head, nearly every day. When I look up and see, yet again, another bruise or bang or something that obviously caused another large "owie" to his head, I laugh hysterically. He's forever hurting himself. It's not that I relish people getting hurt, it's just that this person seems to not have the measurements of his head locked in. Hence, it is commonplace for him to ram his head so hard, which brings me great laughter. Sorry to my friend, but he does give me a lot of opportunity to laugh. It really appears kind of stupid, although I don't know that he does these things out of stupidity - I think it's more from not paying attention.

If the Truth Be Told

I like it when people say what they mean, mean what they say, and are capable of being honest to the bone.

I'm thinking about people who have an honor disability - they say they will do things, yet those things never come to pass.

This is something that drives me crazy, because I believe that above everything else we must have an air and a distinction of believability and a genuine loving and caring for all people, regardless of who they are. I believe that without those traits, who are they? I really don't know. It is very difficult for me to name those individuals as they don't seem to know who they are themselves. I wish that they would get out of the road, as they're taking up too much space. Additionally, I believe that those individuals essentially make me feel less jolly and instead they bring me to a place of utter frustration and ultimately a lack of understanding of who they are trying to be. The price that they are charging is too expensive for all of us and I basically feel the need for those individuals to smarten up and be who they say they are and really mean it!

They should just not say they are going to do something, if they are not going to do it. We all need to be at peace with each other, find the good things about each other and state them honestly. Being honest with ourselves and with each other is a good place to start.

When I say that I love, I mean it to the "n"th degree. When I love, I love clearly and deeply and I hope that I will always be able to speak frankly and honestly - to those ears who will listen and understand.

To all of those people who are listening to me this day, I wish you love, honor, believability and ultimately the greatest happiness of all: to love and be loved.

My Great Aunt Madge Who Wasn't So Great

With Mothers Day approaching, thoughts of my Great Aunt Madge have been coming to mind.

Great she was not, but she certainly had several silly habits that give me rise to speak about her at this moment. She was forever saying "How 'bout that? How 'bout that?" She never stopped saying "How 'bout that?" and it drove everyone kinda nuts - in fact, it's what draws me into writing this little blog about her. She was so silly that the memory of her remains quite in tact.

My Great Aunt Madge, who wasn't really so great, was really quite silly in her manner of communication. My Great Aunt Madge was exhaustingly silly and everyone in my family was just so annoyed by the utter sound of her conversations that droned on and on, seemingly forever.

She was so funny that you couldn't extract yourself from the conversation - once trapped by her you had to pay the penance of her catching you and boring you with her long, drawn-out conversation, when in reality, all you wanted to do was to talk on the phone with your boyfriend.

But you had to sit and listen as it was truly the only thing you could do to be polite and show good manners.

When Great Aunt Madge passed away, we all felt really bad - like we had done something that was beneath us. We realized how much we really did care about her and wished that we would have been far grander to her for her loving, heart-warming spirit. In fact, in the end we all felt saddened by her memory as she really had been a lovely person who deserved better than we had given her. Now that I look back at her with a clearer eye, she really was great!

How Crazy Life Can Be

How crazy life can be when you think it’s going so well. This is not to mention the other pieces of my recent history, including the fall where I slammed my face into the concrete. So on it goes about my swimming pool incidents or should I say swimming pool farcical J. This swimming pool situation ended up with me having to go to the hospital the very next day. Unfortunately, this has now required that I pay a visit to my orthopedic surgeon. I believe that I have torn the ligaments around my knee. I won't know for certain until my follow-up appointment, which will be in about five days … hopefully. At this point in time my rather deflated ego needs a little lifting.

Just as I was excited to get back into the pool and start my swimming routine again, I now find myself unable to give 150% to my extremely important workout, and for this I feel sad. However, I shall rise again as I always do when times get rough. Now all I have to deal with is the wedgie that is bothering me to no end.

The Bizarre Life and Times of Tara

Well here I go, yet again, embarking on another very interesting day filled with trials and tribulations. I have now embarked upon another interesting although “not very” journey down what lane I absolutely never want to go down and it is called pain in the outrageous. I don’t like to talk about pain very much, but in fact it seems like that’s a lot of what’s happening in my life at this point. You might remember that I had a serious bout with pain in which I gave myself a serious black eye, about a month ago. Can you believe it? I have just begun to deal with a ripped tendon in my leg, or is that in my calf, I’m not sure which one. Either way it goes, I am dealing with something that I fear never having to do again and yet here it is. It’s landed on me to be in a place where I’m in pain that I have been dreading to have happened to me. And yet here we go again. So it is that I am trying to deal with something I thought I was done with hopefully forever. So it is that I am trying to find the best humor I can muster up because that’s what I do best, is gather up the energy to start again, brush myself off and set on my path to hopefully a greater future.

As for how this has happened, it is as simple as going to the swimming pool, which is one of my loves to do. All of the sudden I just lost my footing, slid down and my leg buckled, I went down on my knee, as I went down on my knee, I went down into a slide backwards, so that my tendons were more than stretched. In fact, when I go to the doctor tomorrow, I hope to learn more of what I have done. Is it broken? You know when you have a tendon that snaps, or something horrific, similar to that? Exactly what I don’t know at this time. What I do know is that I am on another journey, which I find kind of crazy, considering the fact that I am so careful with myself to not do anything that would cause me to fall. That’s just the kind of person that I am, is that I like to be careful, and it seems that being careful is not something I have figured out how to be just yet. If I want to have a fun life, I want to play the game as it should be, by having fun. And fun is what I am all about… Or so I thought. Hahaha. In any case, I just thought I would write a little diddy about the continuation of the craziness of my life that the reasoning of which is hard to explain. I think that when my mother hears about this, she will probably just go, “Oh my gosh, Tara, what have you done THIS time?”

I prayed to God that this would never happen again, yet here it is. I just have to laugh at my circumstances.

Stay tuned for my next blog, in which I will explain my latest bout with the crazy events in Tara’s life. I should write a book about it. In fact, that’s what this is becoming, is a mini-blog/book, or so it seems. Aloha for now. –Tara J

The Importance of Friendship

What does friendship mean to you? I had quite the opportunity to learn about the meaning of friendship just this afternoon. My trustworthy friend did not show up when I expected her to. I was really frightened. So much so that I wept and felt tremendously alone, a feeling I do not like to experience - ever. This gave me an opportunity to examine myself.

It stands to reason that trust is a really important part of friendship, as we obviously need to trust the people we are embarking on this journey of life with - at least on some level or another. It was a beautiful afternoon on Maui, my beloved home, when I had this experience of feeling like I had no control, of being stuck and totally alone, with only my music and prayer to keep me company.

I suppose that the most important realization I learned is that God is always there so we need not fear being alone.

Another realization I came upon was how lovely it is to have good friends, hopefully in abundance, so I don't have to feel alone, because solitude is not something that I thrive on. In fact, I prefer to have the company of my lovely friends, of which I am blessed to have many. However, when they're not around I feel disconnected and a little lonely.

So how do I solve the problem? I need to feel confident that, no matter what happens, I will always be "covered" by God's love for me, no matter how grim I feel about the circumstances I am experiencing.

I think what I'm really trying not to say is that I, too, have fears that make me very human. I need to always remember that through God's love I am strong and always protected. I can find laughter and great joy if I will just turn around and look so that I will see that it's been there for me all along.

In essence, "Don't worry, be happy."

Lyrics Reflect the Signs of our Times

What I would love to speak about today is the magical correlation between music and the signs of our times. I believe that music is essentially another form of writing about such interesting subjects as love, war, the environment, personal relationships, politics, family upsets, and such.

For instance, the vibrant lyrics that came from Billy Joel in his epic tale about "We Didn't Start the Fire" reflected the times that many of us grew up in. Many thanks to Billy Joel for such a brilliant portrayal of life in the 20th Century. In my opinion, Billy never sounded wiser or more "hip" to what was going on in our life and times.

Let's also remember Joni Mitchell, Sonny & Cher, Bob Dylan, the Beatles, Bob Marley and many countless others of their genre who are to be saluted for the contributions that they made.

Memories of the Sweet Scent of the Plumeria Tree

Can you recall a scent that triggered one of your favorite memories? Mine was, undoubtedly, the scent of the plumeria flowers in the haku leis that I used to make for Henry Kapono when he sang in a small venue on Maui in the early '80's. They were memories of the most special kind, because they bring me back to a place in time that I now can only dream about. I wish I could take you there, as it was so vibrant and lovely. I'm at a loss for words to even come close to a way of describing this insanely beautiful memory.

It has been a huge statement coming from my heart, as I had never experienced anything similar ever before. I was positively in love with this new land that I was to call my home.

Stringing my haku leis for Henry Kapono became my gift of Aloha that I made as an offering to this artist from Maui. It was important to me because it was my way of thanking the Islands for their wonderful gift they had given to me - enabling me to merge with nature - beautiful to hold, beautiful to smell. The sweet scent of the plumeria flower on my very tanned skin lead me further into the full Maui experience. It was all a part of it to me because my heart and soul were enraptured with Maui. It gave me a sense of belonging that I could produce and enjoy these gorgeous haku leis that had these wonderful scents - the scents of Hawaii.

The Positive Effects of Negative Ions

What most of us don't know is about the positive effects from the negative ion charges that we are surrounded by every day. Negative ion charges are amazing.

The importance of negative ion charges to a healthy, happy body are incredibly important to know and understand. For instance, if one understands why they feel so invigorated when they spend time in the mountains or at the beach, that is just the beginning of the story. The story continues whereby the negative ion charges continue to invigorate people when they are surrounded by a natural environment. For instance, these areas would include beaches, forests, areas of rapid water movement such as rivers, streams, oceans, and waterfalls, as well as areas that experience thunderstorms and lightening.

Did you know that the negative ion charges created by the rapid movement of water at Niagara Falls are perhaps the greatest energizer of all? If this interests you, then listen up! It may not be just because of the excitement of getting married and all the joys that come with it that couples honeymoon at Niagara Falls, but maybe there's something possibly even greater than getting married, and that is to do with the negative ion charges that exist at Niagara Falls and other places similar to it.

Negative ions increase the flow of oxygen to the brain, resulting in higher alertness, decreased drowsiness, and more mental energy.

Conversely, the areas that we should watch out for are those where there is a lot of smoke or smog in the air, computer terminals, fluorescent lighting, air conditioning, and modern building materials, all of which generate an overabundance of positive ions.

The bottom line to living a healthy and happy life really has everything to do with the way we choose to live and where we choose to live.

In essence, we must Think Nature First.

On Forgiveness and Love

One can never over-emphasize the importance of forgiveness. In essence, forgiveness does many things to the mind, the body and the soul. Through forgiveness we heal from the inside out and we learn to love one another unconditionally. Another feature of forgiveness is that it is very freeing to oneself, so that we might think more clearly. When we think more clearly, we can show the love we have in our hearts.

While we're in the process of freeing ourselves, we are also manifesting the care and love that inevitably comes from our God in Heaven. As we let go, God can come in and heal our hurting hearts. We can then be freed from the sadness and move into the gladness.

Forgive as the Lord forgave you. (Colossians 3:13)

Aloha nui loa and hui ho!

Love and Gratitude

I wanted to let my wonderful readers know that I have survived the major drama from the horrific fall I took. Miraculously, I did not lose anything other than some brain cells. I certainly have a story to tell for everyone who wants to listen about how terrible I looked and how joyous I am that I no longer am bearing this black and blue mark. Thank you and aloha to that special someone for your lovely thoughts that greet me each day.

Happiness in times of great catastophes

. . . Yes! And I'm doing far better since that blasted accident where I just about broke nearly every bone in my face. Or, maybe just my zygomatic arch . . .

Recently we witnessed the earthquake in Haiti. The incredible amount of pain and suffering that the people of Haiti have had to endure, most of us have no conception of. Nor can we conceive of the kind of poverty that these people live in. Is it possible the Haitian government is negligent in allowing builders to disregard building codes? That would have helped an entire nation, as far as I see it, yet they didn't appear to have that going for them either. What is going on with the building codes in this day and age? The answer to the question is, there are no building codes for people who are suffering so without a government to enforce the rules and regulations for people who are groveling in such poverty. I pray for them most days, and have sent funds their way. I know many others have done the same, and I salute everyone who has aided them in their plight.

Additionally, what's to become of the impoverished people of South America? Apparently they do follow many of the proper building codes in Chile, but there's a lot of improvement to be done to help the poorest among them. Right now in our world there is an insane amount of ever widening poverty. The world economy is a global issue literally circumnavigating the planet, and at times I carry a heavy heart because of the unfathomable amount of people who suffer on such a grand scale. People who have been doing it so hard and for so long that I believe we could all do a little bit more to help in their regard.

With the theory of relativity in mind, I know that we can make a difference for all people great and small.

Does Your Face Hurt?

Soooo... I have one question to ask; Does your face hurt? Whelp, it IS killing me !!

I say back to her as a coloquialism. And, with tongue in cheek. 'Cause it IS in fact killin' me.

What all this in essence means is that I got a major boo boo on my face, because for some reason I slipped and banged up my eye to the point that it is so black and blue that I can't even open my eye to greet the day. Nor, can I see out of my right eye at all.

So, that is the beginning of my story about yesterday and the headache and black eye that I proudly wear, much as I did not want anything of the sort to happen.

But, we must remember to think in the positive. Therefore, I decided that I could write a little ditty about how there's always the positive and the negative to every situation. Do you want the good news or the bad news? Which do you want to hear, I say to my dearest friend.

I would always respond with, I want the good news; except for the fact that I have one blazing black eye, I'm not so sure now which I would prefer. Yikes! I am NOT enjoying my black eye, but I am enjoying the humor that it is striking out before me.

Old Friends... And ReConnecting

The feeling you get when you reconnect with and old friend you've lost touch with-someone who meant so much to you; when you realize that they've been missing you too.

The feeling is nothing short of sweet and wonderful. And Gosh, I wish I had that happen more often. So make sure you keep your eyes open for such a fun thing to happen. It brings light to my eyes and song to my voice. How about you? What do you feel when someone shares that they were thinking about you too?

I have recently had a personal experience in which through Facebook, I found out that several people had been looking for me, and I did not know that. So, if you do have Facebook; make sure you check it often, so that you have left no stone unturned should somebody be looking for you. It is very exciting to learn that you have a friend from University or from High School or from any time in your past where someone may be attempting to reconnect with you as in fact; they are out there, we just need to know that they are there.

This has happened to me several times this year from Facebbook and let me tell you, it is really fun to find out that someone out there still has a place in thier heart for you. Especially when you have room for them in yours.

Just keep your eyes open! :)