 For Authors: April 05, 2017 Issue [#8219] |
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This week: Observations on a Journey Edited by: Fyn  
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It is good to have an end to journey toward, but it is the journey that matters in the end.~~Ursula K. Le Guin
Every single journey that I've embarked on, I've learned something new.~~Shailene Woodley
Focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it.~~Greg Anderson
Life is a journey and it's about growing and changing and coming to terms with
who and what you are and loving who and what you are.~~Kelly McGillis
A journey is a person in itself; no two are alike. And all plans, safeguards, policing, and coercion are fruitless. We find that after years of struggle that we do not take a trip; a trip takes us.~~John Steinbeck
If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away.~~Henry David Thoreau
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Seeing ... observing ...are they the same or is there a difference? Seeing to me is a simple act of looking at while observing is looking with more depth and remembering it on a deeper level. This was abundantly clear on our recent trip as i am taking tons of pictures yet still trying to see everything without it being through the view finder. Many times i would be (every pun intended) more focused on capturing a moment and missing the broader picture. Or... I'd be intent on capturing a glorious expanse and missing a tiny detail right under my nose.
I wanted to capture as much as possible to keep everything fresh in my mind, to look at later as I knew I'd be using many different nuances of what I saw in my writing. I wanted to see it, record it, observe it, remember it and preserve it all at the same time. I captured water spewing forth from a blow-hole, and missed a breaching whale. Got a perfect shot of a whale fluke and missed the albatross landing three feet away from me. Just couldn't see it all at the same time.
So I handed the camera off to my hubby and spent one day without taking a single picture, knowing I'd simply have to be sure what i saw was indelibly imprinted on my mind. That day I was all about observation. Instead of looking for the next camera-worthy shot, I looked deep and through. I saw the waterfall cascading down a thousand feet that was too far to pull in through the camera's zoom. I saw the iridescent emerald and sapphire lizard as it scooted under a leaf the size of a dinner plate. I watched a a large winged bird somehow flew through the middle of a bamboo forest at top speed. I observed and thus saw the beginnings, middle and endings of an entire event verses capturing a specific moment and each had its own special thrill.
As I said earlier, i looked deep. I looked through the rainbow eucalyptus trees and saw beyond the rainbow to a dazzling cliff. I looked beyond the waves crashing on ancient lava rocks and watched a coconut come crashing to the ground at my feet! I watched black cardinals be flummoxed by a spectacular purple butterfly. I didn't get the picture, but I've still got the image.
I watched people. The wide variety of folks from across the globe approached so many things differently than I might. Some, were exactly the same. Bikinis walked next to people swaddled to avoid the sun. Children freely played in the sand at water's edge or were held by both hands away from even the smallest of waves.
On the Arizona memorial, people listened and respected the words of our guide who explained how it was a memorial to the men who lost their lives that day. Or, unfortunately, they chose then to argue over who forgot to bring a hat in words angry and foul. They kept their children close, teaching them about what they were seeing or they let them run rampant, tossing garbage into the water to splatter the oil tears. I saw people with tears, saw folks praying and saw disrespect and rudeness. At the USS Arizona Museum grounds, i heard the National Anthem play at 8 AM and saw everyone ... and I mean EVERYONE stop in their tracks. American's saluted and men removed their hats. People from elsewhere stood still, showing respect. No one moved or talked until the last note died away. There were well over five hundred people milling about and for a few moments, they were frozen in place. A very special moment, indeed.
Observing is more than seeing. It is hearing and listening. It's both feeling and touching. It's experiencing and being touched. We learned how to pronounce words in the Hawaiian language and how to read them. We listened to the words and the music, watched and understood movements of their dances, learned of the many cultures that over time meshed into what is now Hawaiian.
We were in rush hour traffic on Oahu. Three solid lanes of traffic, stalled out and we hadn't moved in perhaps three minutes. Not a single horn blared. Then, back behind us, we heard an approaching siren. How could the possibly get through? There was no place for anyone to go. Until, they did. Like Tetris or puzzle pieces, cars moved, inched impossibly close to each other. Cars in the outer or innermost lanes edged beyond the minuscule shoulders or barely had their wheels up on sidewalks. In seconds, a lane opened up and the ambulance was able to go straight on through. No horns, no yelling, no fuss, no bother. That wouldn't happen back home, sad to say. I watched it unfold and could barely imagine it!
It is not just a saying that people are on 'Hawaii time." At home, I will ask folks if they noticed a glorious moon or a spectacular sunset or the green tinge come spring and the vast majority look at me like I'm crazy or shrug, say no and keep trudging along their merry way. Hawaiians notice these things. They talk, dance, sing and experience them on a daily basis. They look at the clouds and know, KNOW, it will rain at 4 pm or that the sunset will be excellent that night. Who needs the Weather Channel? They look out at the water, reading waves. They notice the leaves and will tell you it will be cold tomorrow. (IE; in the 60's!) There are braided long leafed leafed trees called the 'Traveler's Palm,' that face only in an east-west direction and birds that sing only when a storm is coming. A gentleman pruning dead palm leaves sixty feet up said he needed to get them done today because it would be windy tomorrow. "See the way the lokilani blossoms have fallen? That means winds tomorrow."
We saw and we observed so much. The observing helped to imprint what we saw in a great way. Small details stick when you take the care and time to truly see. When the time comes to describe, in detail, in some future writing, I'll be able to pull out the nuances to make the descriptions real in a way I might not be able to otherwise.
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'brom21  says: You know it might be cool if you used the wonderful Hawaii scenery and your experiences as a writing prompt. I only wish I could see some of those sights you saw. I can turn anything into a fantasy story. Enjoy the rest of your time there!
It was amazing!
hbk16 writes: This is a nice trip to Hawaii.But it reveals also the language debate as a background.How much does a language differ from one nation to another, it conveys the same thing,meaning and idea.The human interaction is the pass word of all language messages.Indeed when we discover other people we automatically put them as a human culture target and at the first step the language.
Very true!
Quick-Quill  comments: I love the movie UP and we are all the time saying "Squirrel" when someone abruptly changes points out something off conversation.
Now we say, 'Whale!' lol
Bikerider  says: Sounds like you're having fun. Your newsletter brought back my own memories of my trip to Hawaii. It was 47 years ago when I met my wife there. I was on R&R from Vietnam and hadn't seen my wife for almost 10 months, (although I received a letter nearly every day). I arrived at 6 in the morning and was met by my wife. After long hugs and kisses we walked hand and hand along the streets of Honolulu right after it rained. The air smelled so fresh and clean, so, so fresh and clean.
Thanks for bringing back a few old memories.
It DOES smell different. And I noticed a difference from Oahu to Maui to the big island. Maui was it for me!
Phrase: Happy as a clam. Because, supposedly when a clam is slightly open it appears it is smiling. Or it is high tide and the clam is mostly safe from predators. BUT: who ever did a study to find if clams can indeed be happy or otherwise, as in, do clams even have emotions? And if so...what does being as happy as one actually entail? Seriously, I'm curious and to know! *My brain gets side-tracked by the weirdest things sometimes!!!*
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