A powerful yet celebratory message. You can listen to the amazing song, "Break The Chain," they danced to below.
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.
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As part of a freelance writing gig I got for Kaua'i Traveler Magazine, Emily and I went kayaking on the Wailua River with Kayak Kauai. There are many companies that do this trip, but Kayak Kaua'i were the pioneers and launch directly from the Marina. We were with a group of 12 people, including our excellent guide Jaime who grew up on the island. The two mile paddle was relatively easy on the broad river. Motor boats were seen on the way back; otherwise we had the river to ourselves other than a few kayaks! Later the river got too shallow so we beached our kayaks, crossed the stream and climbed up some serious roots! The trail was unbelievably muddy and washed out - the worst in at least 13 years according to one guide. But we made it, er, waded through! There were even ancient remains of the irrigation canals used to irrigate the taro crops and later sugar cane fields. Finally we made it to the Falls, known as Secret Falls - the best known Secret, or Sacred Falls, or Uluwehi Falls, which means "lush and beautiful" in Hawaiian. There were some beautiful offerings at the base of the pool with smaller pools created by rocks a guide had arranged. Can you see the heart-shape the pool makes? This offering resembles the traditional Hawaiian dugout canoe. There were even some people rappelling off the falls! (illegal according to our guide) And of course, there were chickens and roosters aplenty. And after we trekked back to the canoes, a beautiful peacock swooped down from the trees onto the riverbank before us! It was a very serene - even sacred! - stream, and a lovely tour.
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: 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!
As my wife and I seek to make a living in a very beautiful but expensive place (Kaua'i), we are constantly exploring different ideas on how to be successful. That is, we are trying to answer: How do we make money such that we can stay and keep on living in this wonderful place?(!) People here in Kaua'i do all kinds of things to make a living. Tourism is the number one industry, followed perhaps by the big agricultural industry (which has transformed from sugar cane to ranching to now GMO-testing or tourist ranches). Then there is construction, environmental monitoring/protecting, bodywork, small businesses serving various clientele, etc. Overarching lesson: Each person has had to be quite creative to make a living here. Given our experience, I read the NYT article, "What Drives Success?" There are lots of details and anecdotes, but the core reasons that drive success culturally are in this key paragraph: It turns out that for all their diversity, the strikingly successful groups in America today share three traits that, together, propel success. The first is a superiority complex — a deep-seated belief in their exceptionality. The second appears to be the opposite — insecurity, a feeling that you or what you’ve done is not good enough. The third is impulse control. To summarize, cultures who have these traits/beliefs tend to be more successful as a group. They believe they are:
The last point is no surprise for those familiar with The Marshmallow Test: So controlling one's impulses while having a sense of insecurity yet also a sense of exceptionality leads to success in groups, in general. This makes sense to me, and therefore the stories we tell to ourselves and to each other are crucial to our belief system and our future success.
Here's to telling positive, inspirational stories that also remind us of our insignificance/mortality, all the while building up our patience and perseverance! 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. 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. In a previous post I highlighted the ongoing debate over the new Farm Bill, which looks to become law soon.
The Farm Bill effects not just farmers but also those who rely on Food Stamps, now known as S.N.A.P. (Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program). The Agricultural Act of 2014 cuts $23 billion:
As the NYT notes, it's a far cry from perfect:
The $500 billion legislation had already been delayed two years, and given this is the least productive Congress in U.S. history, many are amazed anything at all passed. As with all politics and legislation, there is much compromising with the negotiations. The longterm unemployed lost out on the recent budget negotiations, and now some of the poorest Americans are no longer receiving needed subsidies. May we not continue to balance the budget on the backs of the poor, favoring instead a greater distribution of credit and cuts. Our first visitor came to Kaua'i on a medical conference. We visited Laura's family when Emily and I were in Minnesota last August. Her husband, Dave, was my youth pastor growing up in Wilmington, DE. Laura and I took the dogs for an epic exploration of Waimea Canyon - check it out! Had a grand hike up Sleeping Giant (Nounou) Mountain with incredible views of the East shore. Another view of Wai'ale'ale and the Wailua Homesteads, further on the trail. After about two miles we made it to the top. With some spectacular views of the East Shore! We had to share the picnic area near the top with this dude. These "king toads" are quite big and plentiful but harmless.
Emily and I decided to take the dogs, Uila (WEE-la) and Koa (KO-a), up the Moalepe Trail up near us between the Wailua Homesteads and Kapahi. After passing by some pastures on a gradual ascent along a washed out dirt road, we got up into the foothills for some incredible views of Sleeping Giant, bits of the ocean and Kaua'i's central mountain, Waiale'ale (which was covered in clouds, as usual). The trail is 2.5 miles and you may catch the quarter-mile markers beginning around 2 if you keep an eye out. There is a sign marking the end of the trail at a bridge with a cool grotto area. I strongly recommend continuing on the Kuilau Trail up around the grotto area to a breath-taking lookout about 100 yards beyond the sign. A half mile further (so 3 miles out) is a picnic area with a near-360 view, open grassy area big enough for a football game or frisbee, and simple picnic pavilion. If you stay on the trail you will end up at the Keahua Arboretum, another possible starting point that is not as far (you would be taking the Kuilau Trail to the picnic area). Getting There: This is an East Side hike up behind Kapa'a. Take Olohena Road all the way until it ends with Waipouli Road. You will see the dirt road clearly marked beyond the metal the gate. What to Bring: Bring at least a quart of water, especially on a hot day. Sun protection is recommended as lots of the hike in the beginning is exposed. The trail is rated as moderate with gradual gains and descent; very few steep sections. A few muddy spots but overall not bad at all (for Kaua'i!). Trail can be slippery at points but most of the time it is wide enough for a vehicle. We saw cyclists and horseback riders in addition to hikers - dogs did fine and great one for them!
This month we are staying in a lovely little cottage with an open veranda/deck area between the bedroom and kitchen/living area. Here are some of the sights we've since arriving!
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