August 29, 2012
Read this quote from 
In Praise of the Slow Read by Jeremiah Jacques

"Recent studies show that the desire and ability to undertake a slow, thorough reading are rapidly going the way of the dodo. 

Rather than reading books at length and thinking deeply, we erratically sample our knowledge morsels from a vast array of fast-food factoids buffets. 

For the the sake of connectivity, we sacrifice our *capacities to reflect and synthesize these facts into a coherent bigger picture."

*we sacrifice our ability to articulate our own voices

Think about this deeply and publish a response...............

AUGUST 29

2012

This flower garden is not in Hawaii; it is in the backyard of some of my in-laws on Vancouver Island, in a tiny beach community called Fanny Bay. These are hydrangea; the colors are rich and invigorating.
I love the beauty of flowers in my life. This backyard is a healing balm to my soul.

The Dole Plantation

 The  morning of July 5 we left Waikiki and headed around the edge of Oahuto the windward side of the island and a more rural setting. I must admit I feel far more comfortable in
the country than the city. We journeyed along fantastic scenic highways twisting around little bays and under Palm and Monkey pod and Myrtle canopies and along glorious beaches until we reach the very little town of Laie. We soon found our little cabin on Bathtub beach where we lived for the next 11 days. That  afternoon we continued our adventures driving along the north shore and heading back over the middle of the island looking for the Wal-Mart in Milliani Town.

 On our way we came to the Dole Plantation. Well, we had to stop . These pictures show Chris and I
in the botanical gardens. And you can see how the heat and humidity was curling my hair!

I think these were papaya? or was it mango?

Yes, this is a Bird of Paradise flower! A flower, what creativity!
And below are Mangrove trees, walking on tip toe.

Like giant pick-up-sticks, the roots lift the tree right off the ground. and consider the
hibiscus below; the glorious color. Peering through my camera at them sent some kind of
power - some shock of electric creativity igniting my very soul.

My articulation, my vocabulary, my use of metaphor is woefully weak! The effect of my experiences
upon my being was wonderful and profound and I realize I have control over very few words that
adequately convey the message. I struggle onward in my quest.................

We did find the Wal-mart and we found Hawaiin shirts to make us 'official'. And I discovered chocolate covered macadamia nuts and ..... I am still having withdrawals!!.

More about pineapple next time.

Mrs. J at the Zoo

One more posting tonight, while I await a phone call. 

This is ME on Waikiki! We had just crossed the street from hotel row and were entering the Honolulu Zoo grounds. I was tired after a long flight - we arrived at our room about 2 in the a.m.
But, obviously, happy. Trying to collect, organize and share my thoughts, now, after the fact, I realize the impact of SETTING in a story. I was  in a totally unfamiliar setting. Old habits and agendas just didn't apply here. Chris and I had to create a new script. We sat under the Banyan tree by the front gate in the immense shade and read for a while, and began to relax and breath deeply and ponder our opportunities.

We visited with an 'information' volunteer at the Zoo gate, before entering, and discovered she was a transplanted Albertan!

July 4 on Waikiki

August 17, 2012
We were on Waikiki Beach on the 4th of July; the streets were flowing with masses of tourists
from widely separated corners of the globe. We talked to many people from New Zealand and
Australia. The beach, the blue sea, the surfers, were incredible to watch. Across the street from our
Aston Waikiki Beach hotel was the Honolulu Zoo. Chris and I spent the entire afternoon at the zoo.

Here we saw our first Banyan trees. I chose to include this image of a Banyan tree. It poorly portrays
the immensity of the tree. A human standing next to one of those roots would would be barely a 5th
of the way up the image. The trees grow up and up to create a canopy probably 60 or more feet
overhead. The various branches drop roots straight back to the ground creating walls and rooms
and a castle-like structure. Kids played hide and seek between the roots; some young boys climbed to a 'knee' and swung on 'root' vines, teasing each other all the while. A photographer was doing a fashion
photo shoot in now of the alcoves. I like trees and these were fascinating.

The sun went down every night at 7:15 and it was dark by 7:30. Just after dark on July 4, we watched fireworks exploding out over the water.

Articulation score: h-m-m ?

Hibiscus on Oahu

                                                            Welcome to Hawaii!

 August 16, 2012  I will be posting pictures from my experiences this summer and working hard to refine my ability to  ARTICULATE my own thoughts by writing my responses to the images portrayed. I hope you can learn from my growth. Enjoy!

 Hibiscus flowers grow everywhere in Hawaii. I took these pictures and others that were reds and
oranges. They were growing in gardens and hedgerows and over back fences and covering utility boxes and... they were a treat for the eyes and the heart. My husband and I spent the first two weeks of July in Hawaii; the flowers, shrubs and trees (especially the palm trees) were....here I struggle to find the words...soul nourishing..?  Work needed....

Articulation is hard work, but empowering. I will share more of Hawaii in the days ahead as I work on this personal growth project.
Yours in learning,
Mrs. J

August 15, 2012
Articulation - gaining power over words 
A description of the work of articulation taken from the scholarship of Ralph Waldo Emerson: 
-quoted from page 23 in Lessons from Great Lives: learn to be rich in all areas of your life 
by Sterling W. Sill and Dan McCormick 

"As one of his most profitable stimulants (one of the ways he got his mind working), Emerson decided to keep a journal, and once began, he kept it up faithfully. In his journal he wrote down every thought,  every helpful suggestion, and he recorded every success. Each day he collected in his journal his disjointed dreams, his mental reveries. and the fragments of all of the ideas that his mind was able to conceive. The act of writing an idea down improves both the idea and the mind. Bacon said, "Reading makes a full man, but writing makes an exact man." You have to think an idea through before you can write it down. Writing the idea down gives it form, exactness, and makes it visible. When one's ideas can be 
brought under the scrutiny of the eyes, the ideas can be more readily improved. 

(And in this paragraph describes ARTICULATION  personified:)

"Mr. Emerson's journal also became the hive in which he stored the honey of his mind as the bees of his brain produced it. Once his ideas were written down, Emerson could then go back and review them again and again, with the idea of making needed improvements. As he visited with great ideas, every day he grew accustomed to their faces. He discovered among them a great many family resemblances, and some intrriguing future possibilities were suggested. Then he measured their abilities and learned to arrange them a little more attractively. After he improve their dress, brightened their faces, and increased their muscle power, he was able to join them together in a more effective order. Almost always, his ideas came in fragments, but he knew that the missing links would soon show up to make his thoughts complete. 

Once snared by Mr. Emerson, no good idea was ever allowed to get away. He not only wrote it down immediately, but he put it in his mental incubator so the idea itself could grow. He knew that ideas have a natural tendency to propagate. Each idea has the possibility of an extensive posterity and ideas come from parents just as people do. With all of these laws working in  is favor, Emerson became a great, man, a great thinker, a great communicator, and a great writer. His journal was very valuable, and he knew that even his unused thoughts would fit somewhere into an effective pattern of expression." ……

What does this mean to you? Write your thoughts in your own journal.