Blog of Evans McGowan - ƒ a r ƒ e t c h i n g

O Muse My Fuse - Spoken Word Poetry

4/6/2014

Here is some spoken-word poetry I wrote after being inspired by a passage in Steven Pressfield's The War of Art, and excellent kick-in-the-butt manifesto for creatives. He encourages artists to invoke a muse before beginning their creative endeavor. Listen here:

The Greeks
full of aspiration
had a source
for inspiration
a course
for perspiration

They called it the muses
and made no excuses
seeking a vocation
they made invocation

invoking the gods
provoking the odds
with a shout
they cried out:

O Muse
My Muse
Be my fuse.
Light my fire
My true desire
lest I tire
in the mire
of stuck and slow
and luck run low.

I have no clue
yet just a few...
inklings
among my...
weaklings

O muse
my fuse
give me some clues
lest I return to the booze

My muse
my fuse
MINE
to lose

Invest in me
lest I divest
from thee

now’s not the time
to nickel and dime
or count
the mount
-ing cost

for I am lost

O muse
my fuse
give me some clues
'fore I put on my shoes

O muse
my fuse
MINE
to lose

You pursue the meek --
Now rescue those you seek!

find me
lost
in the mi(d)st
of the wilderness

find me
lost
in the bliss
of a kiss

find me
lost
at all cost
find me

for with you
my muse
I cannot
lose.

Way Too Many Sports

4/2/2014

One thing I was concerned about coming to Kauai was being able to play team sports. Well, it turns it out is has not been much of a problem at all!

Sundays: Soccer @ 2 or 4pm in Waimea, Wailua, Kapaa or Hanalei; Frisbee @ 5pm in Hanalei or Kalaheo; Basketball @ 5:30pm in Kilauea.
Mondays: Soccer @ 6:30pm in Kapaa at the hockey rink.
Tuesdays: Soccer @ 5:00pm at Lydgate Beach Park, 6:00pm in Hanalei or 7:00pm in Kilauea.
Wednesdays: Basketball @ 6:30pm in Kilauea.
Thursdays: Frisbee @ 5:00pm at Lydgate Beach Park.
Fridays: Soccer @ 5:00pm
Saturdays: A day of rest!

I may have overdone it, however, as I didn't stretch my hamstrings well on Tuesday night, and in rainy weather I twerked, er, tweaked my lower right back muscle, possibly my interior oblique. I tried to play basketball the next night, which - surprise, surprise! - wasn't a good idea.

Looks like it'll be several days off nursing a pulled lower back before I'm back at it. Some light stretching, laying on my back with knees at 90-degree angles, ibuprofen, and as little lifting as possible!

It feels a lot like being sick...

But boy, has it been fun!

HOLOHOLOKU HEIAU

3/22/2014

An article I wrote for a forthcoming driving tour on CD for Kaua'i. Visit www.kauaidrivetours.com for more information.

Turning onto Kuamo‘o Road (Highway 580), you are now entering Wailua Nui Honoa, the Great Sacred Wailua river basin, one of the two most sacred sites in all of the Hawaiian Islands. Less than a quarter mile on your left is a small turnout at the Holoholoku Heiau, the oldest place of worship on Kauai. Here the Hawaiians honored the beginning and end of life.

The low stone wall you see, measuring 24 by 40 feet, marks the original foundation of the heiau. This heiau honored all of the Hawaiian gods, giving particular recognition to Ku. Ku literally means “rising upright,” as in the rising sun over the ocean nearby, and often the Hawaiians worshipped Ku for good fortune and prosperity in their endeavors. Archeologists believe animal or possibly human sacrifices were part of the worship here.

Just as life ends, so does it begin. Walk a few meters beyond the heiau to a small cliff face and another sacred site called the Birthstone, where the last king of Kaua‘i, King Kaumualii, was born. The flat sandstone in front of the small stone foundation marks the remains of a sacrificed dog, making the area kapu or forbidden to commoners.

Inside the stone wall was a hut for the expectant mother. When the time came, she leaned on the birthstone, Pohaku Hoohanau, to your left, and placed her feet on the umbilical stone, Pohaku Piko. The umbilical cord, representing past connection, was wrapped in kapa leaves and wedged in the large crack in the cliff to protect it from rats. A rat eating the cord meant the child would become a thief. No matter one’s lineage, a future chief had to be born on this stone in order to be chief and absorb the sacred mana or energy of this place. Here, place matters.

The modern staircase leads to a Japanese cemetery dating from the 1890s. Return to your car to continue up Kuamo‘o Road, built on an ancient path called “The Way of the Kings.” Many chiefs would travel along the Kuamo‘o or “Spine of the Lizard” on their annual pilgrimage, stopping at one of seven sacred sites, including Holoholoku, until they reached Mount Waialeale.

Kauai Bike Path

3/11/2014

Spectacular Shoreline View looking south toward Kealia Beach

The Kauai Bike Path is a multi-year project designed to follow an ancient Hawaiian path entirely up the east coast of Kauai. It currently connects Lydgate Park in Wailua with Donkeys Beach north of Kapaa. The paved path ends well before Anahola but one can follow a dirt path up to the point just before Anahola Bay. Many people say it will never be completed, yet the 7 miles currently paved make for a nice and beautiful stroll or ride.

Donkeys Beach
Named by the Hawaiians for the mules seen hauling sugarcane up in the hills from here

A nice rest area overlooking Donkeys Beach

Smooth Riding

Some sort of old fishing pier

Our Little Cottage That Could... Not

3/7/2014

Since mid-February, Emily and I have been living in a small 100 sq. ft. (10x10) cottage. We sleep in the loft above. There is no plumbing and just an extension cord coming in so we can charge our phones at night. When we first saw it, the place was filthy, covered in gecko poop and mold, as if no one had lived there in ages. There are no windows - just screens - meaning we're exposed to the ocean breezes as well as any rain! We walk about 20 yards to an outdoor shower. There is a separate indoor sink and toilet for us to share with other small cabins on the property. We also have access to the main large community building with a large living room and kitchen and dining area. There are four apartments, most filled with families, that connect to the main area.

In sum, it's a lot like camping, with a bit of a community feel, although most people do their own thing and there's little-to-no sense of common purpose.

Our front entrance, living room, dining, office, bedroom... you get the picture, right?

Our shelf, storage, closet, hanging space, desk... again, you get the idea.

The ladder to the loft space

Our bed in the loft

All-Or-Nothing Marriage And Inequality

2/26/2014

Emily and I lighting the unity candle at our wedding.
(The two candles behind us represent are deceased maternal grandfathers, George and Roy, while the two candles in front of us represent our families of origin.)

I just finished reading an excellent piece in the NYT on the current overall state of marriage. I'm also currently trying to finish this post as my wife would like me to get off the computer and spend time with her!

The quick takeaways for me are:

Marriage has changed: we expect more out of the marriage and our mates than previous generations

Marriage takes time: those able to spend more time on their marriage get more out of it, those who spend less get less enjoyment or end up divorced

Marriage is unequal: those with more resources (i.e. rich) are more likely to stay together than those with less resources (i.e. poor).

The resulting inequality marriage success rates reflect the broader inequality in our society. The rich get richer (and stay married) while the poor get poorer (and get divorced).

What ways can we better support our marriages? How can our livelihoods (i.e. jobs) support our spouses? Will companies recognize that a healthy marriage makes for better (i.e. more productive) employees?

Marriage is hard work. It is not all that is cracked up to be. And yet don't those who choose to get married be given every opportunity and support to succeed?

I think so.

One Billion Rising

2/14/2014

For the second year in a row, Emily participated in a V-day (Valentine's or Vagina, take your pick) event to celebrate women's bodies and bring attention to the abuse women suffer from around the world.

Last year we were in Ann Arbor on the Diag at the University of Michigan. This year we were at the Kaua'i Community College of the University of Hawaii.

The choreographed dance was beautifully done, and ends with hands raised before they slowly lower and point right at you, the audience, to remind us that we all have a duty to stand up and defend women's rights.

A powerful yet celebratory message. You can listen to the amazing song, "Break The Chain," they danced to below.

One billion rising indeed.

Ho'opi'i Hike, East Side Kaua'i

2/4/2014

I did this fun little hike with the two dogs Koa and Uila (pronounced Wee-la) I was sitting and a local MeetUp group, the Kauai Adventure Club. This is a great hike in the Kapahi neighbor just off of Kapahi Road:

View Larger Map

Parking is parallel and off-street, on the opposite side from the houses:

You can find the trailhead at the yellow gate marking a public access dirt road:

The trail begins quite broadly but quickly narrows and you feel like you are going deep into the heart of the jungle:

Soon you come across the lush Kapa'a stream running through the forest.

And in less than a mile you arrive to the first of two falls:

Some people, like our unofficial guide Manfred who has been living here for 30 years, swan dive off the far side of the falls (but only after checking for rocks and debris below first, of course!).

The next section of the trail goes through some pristine forest of what I believe are called wiliwili trees, with a lush tropical vine growing on them I see everywhere on Kaua'i but can't remember the name! ...It reminds me of kudzu.

A little while longer and you come across some larger falls. In high water, the falls apparently go all the way across the stone rim!

There is a trail around to the right that leads down a fairly steep but doable trail to the bottom, where you are richly rewarded with a nice picnic and swimming area, complete with a rope swing!

All in all, a great, short, refreshing hike not ten minutes from where we live!

Pastoral Care: Listening is a Skill

2/2/2014

One of my top skills on LinkedIn is "Pastoral Care."

I've always found pastoral care to be an enigma. Compared to doctors, firefighters, psychologists and others who give care to people, a pastor's care feels somehow both superficial and substantive.

I would venture to say that most spiritual things embody this conflicting traits: superficial yet substantive.

Pastoral care training is essentially about becoming a better listener.

It takes an incredible amount of attention and a lot of humility.

It is like meditating in someone else's head.

I thought about this after reading this story from the comments section of this post:

"I remember a mini-Paradigm Shift I experienced one Sunday morning on a subway in New York. People were sitting quietly -- some reading newspapers, some lost in thought, some resting with their eyes closed. It was a calm, peaceful scene. Then suddenly, a man and his children entered the subway car. The children were so loud and rambunctious that instantly the whole climate changed.

The man sat down next to me and closed his eyes, apparently oblivious to the situation. The children were yelling back and forth, throwing things, even grabbing people's papers. It was very disturbing. And yet, the man sitting next to me did nothing. It was difficult not to feel irritated. I could not believe that he could be so insensitive to let his children run wild like that and do nothing about it, taking no responsibility at all. It was easy to see that everyone else on the subway felt irritated, too.

So finally, with what I felt was unusual patience and restraint, I turned to him and said, "Sir, your children are really disturbing a lot of people. I wonder if you couldn't control them a little more?"

The man lifted his gaze as if to come to a consciousness of the situation for the first time and said softly, 'Oh, you're right. I guess I should do something about it. We just came from the hospital where their mother died about an hour ago. I don't know what to think, and I guess they don't know how to handle it either.'

Can you imagine what I felt at that moment? My paradigm shifted. Suddenly I saw things differently, I felt differently, I behaved differently. My irritation vanished. I didn't have to worry about controlling my attitude or my behavior; my heart was filled with the man's pain. Feelings of sympathy and compassion flowed freely. "Your wife just died? Oh, I'm so sorry. Can you tell me about it? What can I do to help?"

Everything changed in an instant."

When we listen with intention and care, we get out of ourselves and into another.

We enter a new world.

And our world is forever changed.

May you listen today with all of our mind, all of your heart, all of your soul, and all of your strength.

Community as Key to Believing

1/2/2014

It is the new year, and with it come all of the end-of-year summations, highlights and stories. I was amused if not horrified to read that even less Republicans believe in evolution compared to four years ago, down to 43%.

After reading the classics Robert Putnam's Bowling Alone and Sam Harris' The End of Faith, I wonder if people identify their religious beliefs not on scientific reasoning but community connections. Our increased individualistic society is only made worse by internet companies that keep us in what Eli Pariser calls a Filter Bubble. Yet finding common cause on the internet can create and support shared common values, of the religious or areligious type.

Community is key to believing. We are influenced by those around us and the sites we visit. Diversity is important not only to 'keep things interesting,' but also to ensure we do not become stagnant in our beliefs. If we want to share our beliefs, be they secular or spiritual, it is better to do so through relationship rather than pure reason.