Green-colored lenses

This has been a really irritating week for me.  I wish I didn't get irritated or upset or afraid, but I do; I'm just not at that place yet.  Anyway, it was irritating because some things happened that brought back some angry/painful memories for me.  I was trying to sort through that and found myself with some very low frustration tolerance.  The kids were asking me, "Are you okay Mom?" and "What's the matter Mom?"  I did a lot of self-talk this week and a lot of praying, and I woke up this morning with that nagging, biting feeling gone.  I woke up with a new perspective, which is the usual one- that life is good, that the world is beautiful, and that God hears and answers prayers.

Perspective is an interesting thing.  It's the view from where you stand, and it's different for everyone.  We're all standing at varying life angles and in our own particular shoes   No matter how much we may think alike, our view will always have a slightly different tint to it.  My life hadn't changed this past week, but my perspective was dark and the view was me standing where I am, but looking backwards.

 Reminding myself that I've weaknesses too, and that I can never completely understand why others do what they do, because I don't know where they've been or what they've been through, or why they do what they do brought me peace.  Trying to stand in their shoes and see things from their perspective helps a whole lot too.

 

Perspective is about angle and lighting.  Today I'm standing where I am and looking around me right here, right now, and a little ways ahead too, and the tint is green.  Some people see things from rose-colored lenses, but we all have a hue and our own varying shade of it; mine are green with a big dollop of sunshine mixed in, that's just how I like it- it's my favorite perspective.

 Here are a few scenes, one green and one blue, to brighten your perspective on a winter day:

Shoreline by Siwa

Left Handed Hermit crab in a Auger snail shell.

A cluster of young Brown Purse Shells (Isognomon perna) with three common Nerites ( Nerita picea)  found under a rock in the shallows.

The burrow of a Pallid Ghost Crab (Ocypode pallidula) showing the white sand  dug up from beneath the olivine sand.

A Black Purse Shell ( Isognomon californicum) opened to display the pearly interior.

A Zebra Hermit Crab (Clibanarius zebra) peeking out of its shell.

True beauty

To the women in my life:   

You are beautiful.
I'm not talking about a pretty face or nice hair or the color of your eyes.
I'm talking about you, all of you, from the inside out.  You are daughters of God.  

You have inherited love and kindness, thoughtfulness, courage and virtue from Him.
These things are beautiful.  And in you, they are beauty- true beauty, lasting beauty, 

the only kind that really matters in the end.  

No matter what others may say or do to you, they cannot change the fact of your beauty,
the truth of it, the reality of it.  It just is. . . the truth.  The words and actions of others are not who you are, they do not define you. Those words and actions define them.
You define you and God defines you.  

You come from Him and there is divine potential within you.  

Can you understand what I'm saying?  Can you even begin to realize how awesome you are?  Do you believe who you are? Yes, that's right, a daughter of God, literally.

True beauty is not what others think of you, or how others see you; it's not what's on the surface; it's the goodness and love that's knit into the fibers of your spirit; it's nobility and patience in the face of trial and hardship; it's joy and gratitude in the simple things in life.

You are beauty.  No one can change that.  It's just who you are.  

You come from God and He defines you and so do you.

Beach plants by Siwa

Tree Heliotrope showing the flowers and silvery leaves

A close up on a Tree Heliotrope (Heliotropium foertherianum) leaf with the sun shining through.

Beach Morning Glory ( Ipomoea pes-caprae) vines growing in the sand. The scientific name pes-caprae means goat's foot referring to the resemblance of the leaves to the shape of a goat's hoof print.

Naupaka (Scaevola taccada) with a Pandanus tree in the background. Local divers and snorkelers rub the leaves into  their masks to keep them from fogging up too much.

An example of a Naupaka flower.

The fruit of the Naupaka plant.

Beloved

Yesterday I went to the temple.  I believe God can answer our prayers anytime, anyplace, 

but in the temple my mind is clearer and answers come more readily.  I love being there. 

I come away feeling that I am a daughter of God and that I can face life and do good, even great things. After my visit inside the temple I sat on the temple grounds thinking for awhile, it was a beautiful day and I was recalling so many things that have let me know that God lives- 

things that softly spoke His love for me. 

 I have felt the peaceful glow of the moon upon my upturned face. 

 I have felt the soothing steady rhythm of the rain pattering on the earth.  

I have heard the rustling of the wind combing gently through the trees.  

I have seen the sunrise and the sunset. 

I have seen sunlight steal softly, silently across the land.  

I have felt it like a gentle hand upon my head, warming my back and seeping into my bones.  

I could go on and on.  

There is so much in life that tells me that God lives and loves me, 

that He created this world 

and gave me this life filled with wonder

 to make me happy. 

 I love Him for it. 

 Beloved means greatly loved,

 it's how I feel He feels about each of us, 

(having so much evidence all about us)

and that really does make me 

happy.

Tide pools by Siwa

 Three Hawaiian Snakehead Cowries (Cypraea (monetaria) caputophidii)

An example of the above cowries (Hawaiin Snakehead) with its mantle extended. The mantle is the body of the cowrie, it is the part that produces the shell. Cowries can extend their mantle or pull it all back into their shells like in the above picture.

A Mustache Conger (Conger marginatus), more commonly known as a white eel. We found this one stuck in about a foot of water trying to hide under a rock that was too small for it. These can grow to five feet in length.

Thin-shelled Rock Crab (Grapsus tenuicrustatus) in Samoa. The Hawaiian name is 'a'ama and the Samoan name is ama'ama.

Two Dotted Periwinkles (Littoraria pintado) and some Hawaiian Periwinkles (Echinolittorina hawaiiensis).

An Eyed sea hare (Aplysia oculifera). Sea hares are a type of sea slug. They feed on red algae and most can exude a red or purple ink if disturbed.

A Pleated Rock Crab (pachygrapsus plicatus)

A Wavy Bubble Snail (Micromelo undatum). Wavy bubble snails cannot pull themselves into their shells for protection like most other snails; instead they eat poisonous worms and store the poison for their own use.

Beach days with cousins

We've had family visiting over the holidays, 

and some sunny days in the middle of a lot of gray ones.  

So one day this past week the kids, their cousins, an auntie and some friends 

all met down at the beach.  They swam, talked, played in the sand, 

and the big kids put the little kids on their shoulders and had "chicken fights"  

They came home a little burnt and really happy. 

Later on in the week a bunch of them got together again and went to the water park; 

the kids also found time to have a movie night and another night for frozen yogurt. 

We also met on Sunday for a potluck.  

We spent hours together eating really good food, talking and laughing.  

There is something so nourishing to the soul

  when we take the time to be with family- to talk and laugh.  

Here are some shots of beach days with cousins and friends.

 Tonight the cousins left to go back home.  We went over to say goodbye, helped them pack a few last minute things and then Scott joined the caravan transporting people and luggage to the airport.  We'll miss them, but are grateful for the time we had, knowing it was time well spent and filled to the brim.

Tree anomalies by Siwa

Here are some cool and interesting trees.

A Lemon-scented gum tree (Corymbia citriodora), with a nose.

A hollow tree trunk.  I like the color and texture of the inner and outer trunk.

One of the most unusual trees I've ever seen was this pine. I have no idea how it got this way.

A couple summers ago I went to Samoa to spend some time with family. This picture was taken at a beach called Aleipata.

The same tree, but this view makes my tree climbing skills look less impressive.

A thorny tree at Ho'omaluhia Botanical Garden.

A close up on the bark of the tree above.

Here's to change

On New Year's Eve we put our Christmas away.  I told Scott I was over Christmas, but never over Jesus. So within an hour, all of us working together, we had taken the ornaments down, dismantled the tree, wrapped the nativities, and packed away the wreaths, candlesticks, stockings and everything else.  I like change.  I've been thinking about it lately.  There are two kinds of change in my life- the external, like putting away the stockings, or moving the furniture around; and the internal, like seeing life with a new perspective.  I've learned that most changes in my life are good for me.  They may not seem like it at first, but something good always seems to come of it in the end. 

After the cleanup, the girls and I walked the beach.  Since winter began we haven't been there much.  It was interesting to see the changes in the landscape.  Seaweed and algae covered the old part of the reef.  The colors ranged from green to tan to a reddish brown, with purple patches here and there.  You can see the gradual change from one color to another.  The changes in the beach, since I last looked, and the changes from one color to the next got me thinking about the new year.  One of my mottos is "People change, they get better."  It reminds me to give people the benefit of the doubt.  It reminds me that we all make mistakes, but we learn and improve. I've learned that most real change, lasting change, comes gradually, a little at a time, over time, "by small and simple things are great things brought to pass. . ." It all starts with baby steps- heading in the right direction, and when I stumble on those baby steps, I know I can get up and try again.  God and life have helped me to calm down and accept life and people (myself included) with greater patience, to take them as they come, knowing that we can change, we can become better, we can be who we are meant to be.

  Here's to small and simple things.  Here's to baby steps.  Here's to change.  

One day we can all look back and say, "I've come a long way."

Happy New Year everyone!