"Nani" by Bodhi Smith

Nov 17, 2023

 
beautiful aloha
hello is goodbye, 
goodbye is hello.
two in one, a never ending cycle 
one and the same, a constant encounter
after every goodbye comes hello
and after every hello comes goodbye
beautiful, aloha, beautiful
a full circle of non-separation
just like after a sunrise comes a sunset, 
and after a sunset comes a sunrise
the sun is always there, even when it's not
and so am i, and so are you, 
even when we're not
nani, beautiful
 
 
MY THOUGHTS
I wish you were here with me, walking on the beach in Hawaii. Playing on the golden sand, looking at the ocean now I understand. Love is like the open sea, and I wish you were here with me ― Ziggy Marley, Beach In Hawaii.
 
"Nani" which means "Beautiful" in Hawaiian is defined by Merriam-Webster as:
1. delighting the senses with pleasure
2. exciting intellectual pleasure or emotional happiness
3. of a very high standard; excellent
4. pleasure to the eyes while warming the soul (Bodhi definition)
 
"Nani" is the perfect Hawaiian word for this impression. It translates simply as "beautiful" and it's the only word that can describe exactly how I'm feeling and how my senses are in an exquisite overload standing here on this beach in Kauai...
 
The beautiful is inside us. Wherever we go, we take it with us ― Bodhi, Beautiful
 
Standing above this untouched pristine beach, mother nature fills up all my senses. I'm feeling the fresh tropical breeze in my leaves as I watch the sun say its brilliant hello to start this new day. The waves gently kiss my roots which I've dug into the warm soft sands. The fresh smell of the sea dazzles me. I can taste the salt in the air. I'm engaged in feeling everything, with not a single care in the world except this moment. My god, I feel beautiful. I am beautiful. Life is Beautiful. The ocean is beautiful. This sunrise is beautiful. My world is beautiful...
 
Every beautiful wave says aloha as it kisses the beach...and the beautiful beach says aloha to every wave as it returns to the sea ― Bodhi, Beautiful
 
But alas, I'm me. I'm all alone here, so one beautiful thing is missing--her. Everything beautiful simply reminds me of her, she is so beautiful…
 
I know her. I sense her. I feel her beauty deep inside me. I can picture her in my mind's eye, though I've never met her in this world yet...I miss her dearly every day as I wait to meet her. I look for her in everything beautiful. I want to hold her, kiss her, make love to her right on this beach as the sun rises... 
 
She is searching for me, trying to find me too. She possesses both outer and inner beauty, and that is a rare and amazing quality in a soul...she's beautiful both inside and out. she's beautiful on the outside because her beauty illuminates from the inside...
 
So beautiful, she's so beautiful. Like a wonderful smell penetrating right into my soul warming me in eloquence. She's a song becoming visual, touching the invisible words of me. The taste of her sings through me. I'm wrapped in her adorable spirit, knowing the poem of her endearing heart is pulsating into mine. Such a beautiful vision. My god, so beautiful ― Bodhi, Beautiful
 
My beautiful vision of her fits into all the words that are synonyms of beautiful (I could think of 77)...admirable, adorable, aesthetic, alluring, angelic, appealing, arresting, attractive, bella, bewitching, bodacious, bonita, breathtaking, captivating, charming, classy, comely, cute, dazzling, delicate, delicious, delightful, divine, drop-dead, elegant, enthralling, enticing, excellent, exquisite, fascinating, fine, foxy, glamorous, good-looking, gorgeous, graceful, grand, handsome, heartbreaker, heart-stopping, heavenly, hermosa, hot, ideal, inviting, illuminating, lovely, linda, knockout, magnetic, magnificent, marvelous, mesmeric, nice, pleasing, pretty, precious, preciosa, radiant, ravishing, refined, resplendent, rica, sensual, sexy, shapely, slightly, smashing, splendid, statuesque, stunning, sublime, superb, symmetrical, tall cool drink of water, tasty, tantalizing, teasing, tempting, well-formed, wonderful, wow, and...Nani!
 
Beautiful things don't ask for attention ― James Thurber, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
 
I know her and I will meet one day soon, I just have faith in that to be a fact for me...and when we do, life will be completely beautiful...
 
Btw, just in case no one has told you today, I want to tell you this: "Nani Noʻoe" – you are beautiful! Remember that always, and no matter what!
 
He's a tree, grounded to the earth, yet reaching for the sky. But he loses hope at times. His faith has been shaken to his roots. He tries to believe in something more and sometimes it’s hard. But he's sifting through the fallen leaves, working through the lessons and crafting new beliefs with his own fingers. He has been struck by lightning and burned to his core. He has been split in two by love and suffered the aftershocks....He's a dancer. and even without a partner, he'll continue to dance and thrive, but it can take time. He needs someone who can meet him equally in the bedroom. He’s not looking to dampen down his desires and swallow his fantasies. He wants someone to dance with him in the fires of ecstasy. He’s looking for a passionate, soul deep sacred union, not just a disconnected quick-fix one-and-done dance...He’s deep, dark and layered. within him beats a kind heart of gold, glowing with love and hope. But with feelings just as deep, he can spend a lot of time dancing with his shadows and moving through the darkness. There are lessons for him here, between the light and the abyss...He does want to be deeply loved, cherished, and adored, but it means that the bar is raised higher on who he'll let dance with his sacred soul and be embraced by the powerful beauty of his love. For his heart is worth it. His love is a once-in-a-lifetime, out of this world, rare and mystical dance to behold and be enfolded by. His heart and his love is one of the most courageous, beautiful, passionate and powerful things you will ever encounter on this planet. True, his dance is not for the faint of heart, but this dance is worth it. he will make every single step and movement count, every moment beautiful, every breath truthful, every heartbeat real, always, this I promise you ― C. Ara Campbell (with modifications by Bodhi)
 
 
Some music to go along with my photo today...Released over 16 years ago in 2007, this song about realizing just how life and our world is so beautiful is the perfect piece of music to accompany my impression today. It's quite easily one of my favourite songs of all-time, and appears on so many of my favourite playlists...This song, “Life is Beautiful.” was written by Nikki Sixx. Born as Frank Carlton Serafino Feranna Jr. in 1958, he's an American songwriter, photographer, bassist, and co-founder of the famous rock band Motley Crue. He's the main architect behind the group Sixx A.M. The title “Life is Beautiful.” was conceived from the life of Nikki Sixx.  It's all about the difficulties that Nikki went through during his drug addiction days. At one point in time, he had a drug overdose and was close to death. He thought deeply about how people would be at his funeral and it made him realize that life is precious, so very precious. The song made Nikki reflect how he felt during his addiction and the aftermath of his addiction. The song's message is heartfelt--saying a person with a problem should not live with their eyes closed but should look at reality and work on their problems, and then they'll truly realize just how beautiful life is ... "Life Is Beautiful" by Sixx:A.M.. ... (just click on the blue links to listen to any of the songs)

Can't quit until you try
Can't live until you die
Can't learn to tell the truth
Until you learn to lie
Can't breathe until you choke
Gotta laugh when you're the joke
There's nothing like a funeral
To make you feel alive
Just open your eyes, just open your eyes
And see that life is beautiful
Will you swear on your life
That no one will cry at my funeral?
I know some things that you don't
I've done things that you won't
There's nothing like a trail of blood
To find your way back home
I was waiting for my hearse
What came next was so much worse
It took a funeral to make me feel alive
Just open your eyes, just open your eyes
And see that life is beautiful
Will you swear on your life
That no one will cry at my funeral?
Alive, just open your eyes, just open your eyes
And you see that life is beautiful
Will you swear on your life
That no one will cry at my funeral?
Just open your eyes, just open your eyes
And see that life is beautiful
Will you swear on your life
That no one will cry at my funeral?
 
 
Here is another absolutely perfect song to go along with my photo and blog today...Released 22 years ago in 2001 by a local band here from San Diego, CA (and one of my favourites), this next song is about discovering the importance of faith and finding deep love in something bigger than ourselves. It speaks about reaching the brink of giving up on living, but then discovering this world and life really is so beautiful. Sending the deeper message that a newly discovered faith can save so many of us, letting us see what is the most beautiful in life, even at our darkest moment ... "Beautiful" by Sprung Monkey. ... (just click on the blue links to listen to any of the songs)...
 
We're falling down from a grey cloud
Open wound still bleeding
Yesterday will forget my name
Tomorrow will never forgive me
I never felt that I want too much
I never said that I need too much
But with the lack of the strength I need
There I was almost giving up
Then I saw beautiful
And it opened up my eyes
When I found beautiful
It opened up my life
Now I know beautiful
And how things should be
You are my beautiful...
...Beautiful to me
Laying down on a quiet night
Hoping that no one will find me
I never thought I could feel so low
Definition of empty
I always knew that I felt too much
I always knew that I cared too much
But at the edge down upon my knees
There I was almost giving up
Then I saw beautiful
And it opened up my eyes
When I found beautiful
It opened up my life
Now I know beautiful
And how things should be
You are my beautiful...
...Beautiful to me
We're falling down from a grey cloud
Open wounds still bleeding
Yesterday will forget my name
Tomorrow will never forgive me
I never felt that I want too much
I never said that I need too much
But with the lack of the strength I need
There I was almost giving up
Then I saw beautiful
And it opened up my eyes
When I found beautiful
It opened up my life
Now I know beautiful
And how things should be
You are my beautiful...
...Beautiful to me!
And I saw beautiful
And I found beautiful
Now I know beautiful
You are my beautiful...
Yeah you're so beautiful!
 
 
 
MORE MUSIC ABOUT BEAUTIFUL
This song "Beach in Hawaii". is by my all-time favorite reggae artist, Ziggy Marley. Written in 2006, it's 17 years old now but it's still as beautiful as the first time I heard it. It's the absolute perfect song to go along with my blog today since my impression is portraying a beautiful beach in Hawaii. I was here all alone with this beautiful tree (I had the entire beach literally all to myself), watching the beautiful sunrise as the waves intimately repeat the infinite idea of aloha, kissing the shore and then retreating. Repeating it endlessly over and over again. All so mesmerizingly peaceful, calming my restless soul. making me feel so lucky to be a part of this beautiful world, this wonderful planet and magical universe. What more could I want, need or ask for? Well...one thing was definitely missing: her. And I was missing her something awful. And this song is about being on a beach in Hawaii, dearly missing the one you love, wishing they could be here seeing all of this beauty, making everything perfectly complete with nothing missing ... "Beach in Hawaii" by Ziggy Marley. ... (just click on any of the words in the powder blue links to listen to the tune and watch the video) ...

On the beach in Hawaii
Eh, I wish you were here with me
Walking on the beach in Hawaii
Playing on the golden sand
Looking at the ocean now I understand
Love is like the open sea
And I wish you were here with me
On the beach in Hawaii
Since you've been gone away
I think about you everyday
Don't you know I miss you much?
And you know I need your touch
I'm on a rocky cliff
Oh, I wish you were here with me
(I wish you were here with me)
On the beach in Hawaii
(I wish you were here with me)
Eh, a little pakalolo
And I say, "Mahalo"
Ujjayi breathing
To get the real feeling
Yogi, gonna let you know
That I wish you were here with me
On the beach in Hawaii
(I wish you were here with me)
In Hawaii
On the beach in Hawaii
(Oh, I wish you were here with me)
On the beach in Hawaii
(Oh, I wish you were here with me)
On the beach in Hawaii
 
 
From 2018, here is another beautiful tune with a much more profound meaning if you dig below its surface and get past some of the superficial lyrics...With poetic metaphors, the lyrics express admiration by comparing a lover to a masterpiece, highlighting their captivating presence and unique attributes. The words emphasize beauty is not solely defined by physical appearance but by the way one carries themselves and confidently embraces their true self. This lovely song serves as a reminder that it's important to value oneself and recognize the beauty that lies within each of us, no matter what flaws or perceived imperfections we feel we might have... "Beautiful" by Bazzi with Camila Cabello. ... (just click on any of words in the powder blue links to listen to the musical selection) ...

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful angel
Love your imperfections, every angle
Tomorrow comes and goes before you know
So I just had to let you know
The way that Gucci look on you amazing
But nothing can compare to when you're naked
Now a backwood and some Henny got you faded
Saying you the one for me, I need to face it
Started when we were younger
Swear to God that I loved her
Sorry that your mom found out
Guess that we just really had the thunder
Ain't nobody else that I'd be under
Beautiful, beautiful life right now
Beautiful, beautiful night right now
Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful angel
Love your imperfections, every angle
Tomorrow comes and goes before you know
So I just had to let you know
The way that dress fall off you is amazing
Love a miracle, a beautiful creation
Baby come a little closer let me taste it
You came a little closer now you're shaking
Never ever gon' mislead you
Don't believe the lies they feed you
Stop and stare like a sculpture
Painted in your colors
Beautiful, beautiful life right now
Beautiful, beautiful night right now
Beautiful, beautiful by my side right now, yeah
Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful beautiful angel (angel)
Love your imperfections every angle (no no yeah)
Tomorrow comes and goes before you know
So I just had to let you know
The way that Gucci look on you amazing
But nothing can compare to when you're naked
Tomorrow comes and go before you know
So I just had to let you know
I just had to let you know
Swear to God you're beautiful
 
 
Here's some deeply beautiful music you can listen to as you read on with my blog. this is another favourite song of mine, once again from my favourite reggae artist Ziggy Marley. Released in 1999, it's a reggae tune that most people might have never heard before, "A Beautiful Day" by Ziggy Marley. ...this song is very poignant with it's choice of lyrics and deeper meaning that "every day is a beautiful day if you don't dwell on negativity and instead focus on positivity"...and musically it's just a very soothing melody that at the same time is easy on the ears and lightens your heart and spirit... (just click on any of the words in the blue links to listen to the musical selection)...

I take a look into the sky, because the world is not so pretty. 
Free myself from worries so I can see: 
It's just a beautiful day, it's just a beautiful day! 
You could be sad, but I rather you not be. 
Don't dwell on the negative, just the positivity. 
And it's a beautiful day, it's just a beautiful day...
We're always trying to satisfy these wants and needs. 
Take you some time for that inner peace. 
When your eyes are open, you'll see things differently. 
There is so much gloom hiding the reality: 
It's just a beautiful day, yeah, it's just a beautiful day!! 
Take a look into the sky, wake up, take a look into the sky, 
Keep your head up high, take a look into the sky. 
I take a look into the sky, because the world is not so pretty, 
Free myself from worries so i can see: 
It's just a beautiful day!! 
I could be sad, but you rather me not be. 
Don't dwell on the negative, just the positivity. 
And it's a beautiful day, and it's a beautiful day!!! 
We're always trying to satisfy these wants and needs. 
Take you some time for that inner peace. 
When our eyes are open, we'll see things differently. 
There's so much gloom hiding the reality: 
It's just a beautiful day, a beautiful day!!! 
Take a look into the sky. wake up. 
Take a look into the sky. look in the sky, keep your head up high. 
It's just a beautiful day, I know it's a beautiful day. 
It's just a beautiful day, I know it's a beautiful day...
No one can take that away, it's just a beautiful day. 
I know it's a beautiful day. don't you feel no way, 
It's just a beautiful day!
 
 
Released in 2002, here's some deeply beautiful music, "Beautiful " by Christina Aguilera. ... (just click on any of the words in the blue links to listen to the musical selection)...  

Every day is so wonderful
Then suddenly it's hard to breathe
Now and then I get insecure
From all the pain, I'm so ashamed
I am beautiful no matter what they say
Words can't bring me down
I am beautiful in every single way
Yes, words can't bring me down... Oh no
So don't you bring me down today
To all your friends you're delirious
So consumed in all your doom
Trying hard to fill the emptiness
The pieces gone, left the puzzle undone
Is that the way it is?
You are beautiful no matter what they say
Words can't bring you down...oh no
You are beautiful in every single way
Yes, words can't bring you down, oh, no
So don't you bring me down today
No matter what we do
(No matter what we do)
No matter what we say
(No matter what we say)
We're the song inside the tune
Full of beautiful mistakes
And everywhere we go
(And everywhere we go)
The sun will always shine
(The sun will always, always shine)
And tomorrow we might wake on the other side
We are beautiful no matter what they say
Yes, words won't bring us down, no, no
We are beautiful in every single way
Yes, words can't bring us down, oh, no
So don't you bring me down today
Oh, yeah, don't you bring me down today, yeah, ooh
Don't you bring me down ooh... today
 
 
 
SOME MORE APROPOS QUOTES
Every day is a beautiful day ― Gautama Siddhartha Buddha
 
Everybody needs the beautiful...places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and cheer and give strength to the body and soul alike ― John Muir, The Yosemite
 
It's beautiful that everything alters me, but nothing changes me ― Salvador Dali
Everyday I discover more and more beautiful things. It’s enough to drive one mad. I have such a desire to paint everything beautiful, my head is bursting with it ― Claude Monet
 
If you truly love nature, you will find beautiful everywhere ― Vincent Van Gogh, Vincent's Letters
 
There's nothing more beautiful than nature early in the morning ― Vincent Van Gogh, Vincent's Letters
 
Beautiful. crushingly so. you look like the rest of my life ― Beau Taplin, Buried Light
 
It's beautiful to be alone. It's also beautiful to be in love, to be with people. And they are complementary, not contradictory ― Osho, Book of Wisdom
 
Magical places are always beautiful and deserve to be contemplated ― Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
 
It's the beautiful moments like this that make up for the ugly love (you've gone through). And I realized...just now...that God gives us the ugliness so we don't take the beautiful things in life for granted ― Colleen Hoover, Ugly Love
 
Your heart is so beautiful and someday someone is going to love that heart like it deserves to be loved ― Colleen Hoover, Hopeless
 
Every girl is beautiful. Sometimes it just takes the right guy to see it ― Nicholas Sparks, The Notebook
 
Each day should be spent finding the beautiful in flowers and poetry and talking to animals. A day spent with dreaming and sunsets and refreshing breezes cannot be bettered ― Nicholas Sparks, The Notebook
 
I could be sad, but you rather me not be. Don't dwell on the negative, just the positivity. When our eyes are open, we'll see things differently. No one can take that away. It's just a beautiful day. I know it's a beautiful day ― Ziggy Marley, A Beautiful Day. 
 
It’s a new dawn, it’s a new day, it’s a new life for me...and I’m feeling good ― Nina Simone, Feeling Good.
 
It's like a man standing for decades on the seashore, embracing certain ‘good’ waves and trying to prevent them from disintegrating, while simultaneously pushing back ‘bad’ waves to prevent them from getting near him. Day in, day out, the man stands on the beach, driving himself crazy with this fruitless exercise. Eventually, he sits down on the sand and just allows the waves to come and go as they please. how peaceful! ― Yuval Noah Harari, Sapiens
 
The beautiful you see in me is a reflection of you ― Jalaluddin Rumi, Words of Paradise
 
That which God said to the tree, caused it to laugh in full-blown beauty. That which he said to my heart, made it a hundred times more beautiful ― Jalaluddin Rumi, Fountain of Fire
 
Let the beauty of what you love be what you do ― Jalaluddin Rumi, In the Arms of the Beloved
 
In your light I learn how to love. In your beauty, how to make poems. You dance inside my chest where no-one sees you, but sometimes I do, and that sight becomes this art ― Jalaluddin Rumi, Hush Don't Say Anything To God 
 
 
 
SPECIFICS ABOUT THIS PHOTO
Beautiful things are beautiful on the outside because their beauty illuminates from the inside ― Bodhi, Beautiful
 
Pictured here is a beautiful Hawaiian tree enjoying a colorful sunrise on Lydgate Beach on the eastern shore of the island of Kauai...
 
In my photography, I always use filters to create longer exposure effects, saturate colors naturally, and balance the light in my composition in-camera...I often use as many as four filters at time, and I always use at least one filter in my completed impressions...
 
And to get the effects and balance I was looking for in this composition, I used two ProgreyUSA Filters. along with the ProgreyUSA G-120Z Antarctic Magnetic Holder. to secure these filters to my Nikon D850 with a Nikon Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 lens. ... 
 
Camera Settings for Trees & Sunrise Over Ocean: 
ISO-64, 33mm at f/11 for 222 seconds at 6:20am HST a few minutes after sunrise on 08-23-22 using a ProgreyUSA 0.9 REVERSE GND Aurora Filter. to bring down the sky 3 stops and help darken the bright sunrise glowing light at the horizon level, creating a better in-camera balance in the overall image with the shadows in tree leaves and the sand on the beach in the foreground, along with a ProgreyUSA 3.0ND Antarctic Magnetic Filter. to stop down the image 10 stops and permit for the longer 222 second exposure which helps to create the effect of the streaking clouds in the sky, plus smooth out the ocean waves and bring out the glowing reflection of light on the water top, and help naturally saturate all the red, green, blue (RGB) hues in the image ...
 
I wish to openly thank my sponsors who have always supported me through both the good and bad times...for truly this long exposure impression would not be possible without the use of my Induro PHQ3 Series 5-way Panhead with an Induro (now Benro) Stealth Carbon Fiber Tripod. in combination with the ProgreyUSA Filters. which I use with every photo I take...
 
if nothing else...if i open my eyes, if i hope, if i cry, if i think, if i sigh, if i giggle, if i dance, if i love, if i breathe, then i have lived a full days worth of life...nothing is wasted, nothing" ― bodhi, if nothing else
i do not want you to just be into my photography, instead, i'd much rather you take a journey into my pictures, and feel the impression i have created, feel it with all your senses" ― bodhi, into my photography
my photography is my way of keeping a diary ― bodhi, my diary  
contemplate without thinking. be certain only in your uncertainty, content to be completely incomplete. stop the rush. slow down time. breathe and notice. slow down everything. let it all be. shut off the noise. hush. relax. seize this higher moment. reconnect. feel and sense what surrounds you. listen to all the colours of light whisper as they envelope you. see the melody and harmony that float about unnoticed. taste the solitude of all this wonderment. smell the beautiful silence. now discover your peaceful serenity. then, reach out and touch your faith with all your senses. this is my world. awaken! ― bodhi, my world
you were blessed with 84,600 seconds today, have you used one of them to say thank you? ― bodhi, blessed
 
I leave you today wishing that bright joy 
and spiritual peace fill your life...
imploring you to make every moment count, 
no matter what, always and forever, 
for that is the only thing that truly matters... 
 
And above all else,
I hope this message and impression find you well.
 
Namaste,
Bodhi
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