Sufficient for the Day

I have so sorely neglected my writings here. This may have been the longest hiatus thus far. Having other forms of catharsis has not necessarily been the healthiest thing for matters of posterity and introspection. I intend to change that.

Yet--I intend many things. People who know me best know that I am never lacking the very best of intentions, but intentions are not the stuff of good character or respectability. And certainly not what leaders are made of.

Recent discoveries...

• hula ma'i
• Leo Hone
• grooved lei kukui (of ancient times)
• "Nâ kapu are often written on the heart."
• Maika'i Kaua'i (classic Hawaiian mele)
• Dad's ukulele is "kani"--sweet-sounding.
• Even during the Kalâkaua era, there were country people who maintained a way of life relatively uninfluenced by Westernization, this apparent in the construction of their homes, their daily dress, their eating habits....
• The triangular styled petroglyphs representing humans was unique to Hawaiian culture.
• One man spent 10 hours a day for 4 months to create a large Hawaiian quilt in record time.
• Early 'ûli'ûli were often covered with bird skins, rather than fully ornamented with feathers, as the modern implements.
• Early Hawaiians played a long, narrow stringed instrument that was held between the teeth on one end.
• Early wooden plates crafted for dining often featured a smaller compartment specifically for holding salt. The samples I saw closely resembled modern styrofoam or plastic picnic plates!

~~~

I don't know what the future holds for me. I cannot say I never think about where I might be someday, but the potential for that achievement has so little bearing on what I do now! I find that so surprising. In the past, I have worked toward something, and it's not that I am not mindful of this now. But honestly, the work is what's important to me. The task at hand. Learning from this particular circumstance. Do the best I can with this present challenge at hand.

It's like sculpting a life. I have a vision of what the completed piece will look like, but that is not so important to me as is, say, perfectly molding the hand, or smoothing a perfect arch in the back, or pressing the chin up just so high. The bone must be perfectly conceived. The muscle must be precisely engaged. The skin must be true to the contour beneath. Weakness or untruth in any feature does not render expression, but portrayal. These are not one and the same. Each and every detail must be drawn straight from the heart, of painful attention and critical completeness.

I do not think much about the future. I only push this day as far as it can go. I would die peacefully at any moment, content to have reached with all my might.