"Persistence of Memory" by Bodhi Smith

Sep 02, 2022

"persistence of memory" is my brand new impression and blog...
 
"a smile purses my lips as the waves wash ashore and slowly wipe away my footprints in the sand, my presence here disappears...but me and the beach do not forget, always there'll be a persistence of memory...those steps float in my mind as i walk forward down my path of life still smiling" ― bodhi, persistence of memory
 
"this particular trip to the hawaiian island of kauai was full of memories that i'll never soon forget. memories that will persist for a long time to come...i'm thankful for these memories, as they help me recollect things that happened to me which needed to happen, and needed to happen when they happened..." ― bodhi, persistence of memory
 
"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" ― ziggy marley, beach in hawaii 
 
"there are moments when i wish i could roll back the clock and take all the sadness away, but i have a feeling that if i did, the joy would be gone as well. so i take the memories as they come, accepting them all, letting them guide me whenever i can" ― nicholas sparks, dear john
 
"we began as a mineral. we emerged into plant life and into animal state, and then into being human, and always we have forgotten our former states, except in early spring when we slightly recall being green again.that's how a young person turns toward a teacher. that's how a baby leans toward the breast, without knowing the secret of its desire, yet turning instinctively...humankind is being led along an evolving course, through this migration of intelligences. and though we seem to be sleeping, there is an inner wakefulness that directs the dream. and that persistence of memory will eventually startle us back to the truth of who we are" ― jalaluddin rumi, in the arms of the beloved
 
"photographs, like ghosts, are the persistence of memory. over time, people fade from our recollection, or change. their faces become kinder or more cruel, their hair less gray or more so. but photographs carry the truth, if only one small piece of it" ― barbara nickless, dead stop
 
"the biggest problem was she was not her. i thought for a while maybe she was the one, but as time passed, it was becoming more clear. the one i long for still has yet to find me in this life. the one i know and love across the sands of time has yet to reconnect with me again. oh, how i longed to kiss her, and hug her, and hold her hand, and dance and make love to her on this beach in hawaii. i desperately want her to be my persistence of memory...but she was not her, and that was a big problem" ― bodhi, persistence of memory
 
"what are we after all our dreams, after all our memories?" ― nicholas sparks, the notebook
 
"things pass, and the best we can do is to let them really go away. getting rid of certain memories also means making some room for other memories to take their place" ― paulo coelho, the alchemist
 
"nothing can help me but that beauty. there was a dawn i remember when my soul heard something from your soul. on the beach i walked in water from your wave and felt the current take me away" ― jalaluddin rumi, in the arms of the beloved
 
this song is all about not living in the persistence of memories, not living in the past..,making the most of this life now, not reflecting on what could have been, or what might become...no regrets, no expectations, there's really only the here and now..."past life" by the arkells and cold war kids is ... (just click on any of the words in the powder blue links to listen to the tune and watch the video) ...

"feelin' like i'm fallin', i've been gettin' uptight starin' at the ceilin' tryin' to get it just right. you know what's on my mind. i can't look you in the eye. i'm gettin' on the freeway underneath the night sky. i'm a little wallflower singin' 'one headlight' lookin' for a sign. superstitions make me blind. i'm sick of runnin' from a past life. i don't care about the next one. am i runnin' from the moment? or the city where i come from? right now i'm feelin' like a stranger. don't recognize the voice inside my head 'cause i've been runnin' from a past life. i wanna live, i wanna live, i wanna live, i wanna live this life instead...today i saw my reflection in a broken window. gave me a flashback cryin' in my pillow. it's not my first time on this rodeo ride because i never got to be young, i was born an old soul. i feel like bob dylan's son, always in the shadows. i've gotta find my own way to write a song. i'm sick of runnin' from a past life. i don't care about the next one. am i runnin' from the moment? or the city where i come from? right now i'm feelin' like a stranger (stranger). don't recognize the voice inside my head 'cause i've been runnin' from a past life. i wanna live, i wanna live, i wanna live, i wanna live this life instead. can we take back all these lies that added up to wasted years and wasted time? let's make it right here in this life. after all we've been through, there's nothin' left to lose...i'm sick of runnin' from a past life (runnin' from a past life). i don't care about the next one (i don't care about the next one). am i runnin' from the moment? (am i runnin' from the moment?) or the city where i come from? (or the city where i come from?). right now i'm feelin' like a stranger (feelin' like a stranger). don't recognize the voice inside my head 'cause i've been runnin' from a past life (runnin' from a past life). i wanna live, i wanna live, i wanna live, i wanna live this life instead. i wanna live, i wanna live this life instead. i wanna live, i wanna live this life instead. i wanna live, i wanna live this life, live this life, sick of runnin' from a past life. i'm sick of runnin', sick of runnin' from a past life" ― the arkells & cold war kids, past life
 
"i walk down the water line where the ocean is kissing the shore, for what seems an eternity, each step of mine making deep imprints in the soft pristine sands. calming and thoughtful steps, one after another as the waves sing their rhythm to me relentlessly rolling and foaming across these sands of time. i know already i will be photographing the scene with my footprints at sunset, a minimalist long exposure of the blue water, glowing clouds, green cliffs, and golden sands...and i knew already the name of this future impression: "persistence of memory"..." ― bodhi, persistence of memory
 
"oh where oh where are you baby? won't you please find me? i wish you were here with me on this beach in kauai, playing in the golden sand, walking hand-in-hand. looking at the ocean i would understand love is like the open sea. i've always known you, my lady. you're my persistent memory, a wave across the sands of time, an eternal vision of the sublime. oh, how i wish you were here with me on this beach in hawaii." ― bodhi, persistence of memory
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MEANING
"what do you do when your footprints do not align with where you desired to be headed? you accept where you've been, remove your expectations, and move forward with a smile" ― bodhi, persistence of memory
 
the masterpiece, "persistence of memory" has always been my all-time favorite painting by salvador dali (or any artist for that matter)...dali's surrealist style permeates through me as an influence when i visualize how i'm going to capture a specific scene in a photograph of mine...and when i took this impression on a remote beach in hawaii, i knew instantly what it was going to be named, to me calling it "persistence of memory" was a no-brainer...
 
if you look closely at my photo here, the color tones, the mood, the layout of the composition with the placement of the beach, water, and cliffs exists similarly in dali's masterpiece...i have footprints that take you on a journey into my picture, dali has clocks that do the same in his...it is so easy to see the reason why i have named my impression here "persistence of memory"...
 
"persistence of memory" by salvador dali
 
but of course, as with just about all of my artwork, my title has a much deeper meaning than would appear on the surface...
 
i recently revisited the hawaiian island of kauai with my girlfriend (at the time, she is no longer). it should've been like a honeymoon, a romantic dream vacation shared by two lovers who want to stay in paradise together and never come back home to the realities of life...
 
she was with me, but she was not romantic. we held hands, but never kissed or even made love a single time. she was there, but would go off and do things on her own. she was never considerate and giving, she was self-centered and selfish. she was not patient, but instead impetuous and impulsive. we seldom ate together, as she would not wait for me and would start eating her meals without me. and she did not compromise, instead she was rigid and unwavering... 
 
this is not my dream girl. this is not the person i should be on a beach in hawaii with...
 
the biggest problem was she was not her. i thought for a while maybe she was the one, but as time passed, it was becoming more clear. the one i long for still has yet to find me in this life. the one i know and love across the sands of time has yet to reconnect with me again. oh, how i longed to kiss her, and hug her, and hold her hand, and dance and make love to her on this beach in hawaii. i desperately want her to be my persistence of memory...but she was not her, and that was a big problem
 
"oh where oh where are you baby?
won't you please find me?
i wish you were here with me
on this beach in kauai,
playing in the golden sand,
walking hand-in-hand.
looking at the ocean i would understand,
love is like the open sea.
i've always known you, my lady.
you're my persistent memory,
a wave across the sands of time,
an eternal vision of the sublime.
oh, how i wish you were here with me
on this beach in hawaii."
 
this particular trip to the hawaiian island of kauai was full of memories that i'll never soon forget. memories that will persist for a long time to come...i'm thankful for these memories, as they help me recollect things that happened to me which needed to happen, and needed to happen when they happened...
 
however, many of these aren't the most pleasant recollections, with some bordering on vacation nightmares...
 
when you travel far away for the first time with someone new, there's always the risk that you might not get along for the entire stay of the trip. it's a pretty big gamble, but you take it anyway hoping that it'll become a dream vacation. you're wagering on the positive hoping for the absolute best, but prepared for the coin flip of the possibility that things could go awful wrong and become a bad dream come true...
 
unfortunately for me, the latter of these became my reality on kauai...
 
i made this trip with my now ex-girlfriend knowing that things might not go smoothly and romantically as planned. we'd been having many hiccups of late in our relationship, with a couple of the issues being close to deal-breakers in the relationship for me...but i was still positively hopeful that it would all work out for the better...
 
things did not. in fact, things progressively got worse on the trip until it was a total disaster. i felt like i was in the movie "the heartbreak kid" only i was ben stiller and my ex-girlfriend was malin akerman. and however for me, it was far from a comedy, and there was no escape or romantic interlude on the side...just hours of me wondering: why am i with her? what happened to doing some of the things i wanted? why don't i just stop the rental car at a stop sign and get out and run?
 
 
and looking back on a bad relationship, it's always very easy to focus on all our differences, and the negatives, which i tried exactly not to do when we were together...but still i need to recognize all the many troubling issues that exist, as well as all the positively good things i gained and learned from her...all collectively so i can make a rational decision, comfortably move on, and remain at peace with my decision to do so...
 
we were too much the same...both of us were too stubborn and butted heads all the time. but both of us always wanted to avoid conflict so we would often let things slide to keep things going smoother...both of us were too smart for our own good and all-too-often we were know-it-alls to our own detriment...
 
and worse, we were just way too different...she wanted marriage--i didn't, not at all. she like going to church often, i'm a buddhist and do not belong in a christian place of worship. and weirdly enough, she always wore an engagement ring on her left ring finger, stating she was engaged to jesus, which of course always made me highly uncomfortable though i tried to respect her wishes...she brought her work home and was working all the time non-stop, whereas i always left my work at school, never taking it home with me. she liked watching documentaries, they always put me to sleep. and she loved to sleep, i'd rather stay up all night and watch the stars. she loved practicing yoga, but i knew very little and felt lost and stupid when i stretched with her. i'm a giver, and gave and gave to her...she was a taker, and took and took, never giving much of anything. in fact, i never got a single gift from her in the six months we dated, not even a card or something romantic resembling a card, nothing even on my 55th birthday...what kind of message would you receive by that?
 
although we had fun times full of laughs and happiness, and shared in many things we had in common, especially our love of nature and photography, in the end we were just too different and incompatible in too many areas: romance/sex, pets (cats vs. dogs), religion (buddhist vs. jesus), alcohol (i liked beer, she did not), food (i still ate beef and loved bread, she was 100% vegan and gluten free), dancing (beginner vs. advanced), movie interests (documentaries vs. feature films), and music (pop latin salsa vs. reggae).  it was just not going to work. as soon as we would land at lax and were back to life in southern california, i was going to have to say goodbye to my girlfriend and let her go her own path without me...i knew this in my heart.
 
two nights into the vacation, after a long difficult discussion under the palm trees on the patio of our hawaiian rental home, i knew this relationship was over. things were just unrecoverable. it's hard to fathom, but simultaneously we are incompatibly different and incompatibly the same...
 
only there's one monstrous problem left: we were vacationing together on the gorgeous island of kauai and there were still four days left in the trip...everything was paid for, paradise was here before me literally on my doorstep, so beautiful, lush, and photogenic...but i'm clearly not with the right girl for me, which is a huge bummer...
 
 
i did my best, and pretty much did everything she wanted to do, when she wanted to do it. i kept her happy...only thing i really definitively wanted was to visit polihale beach at sunset (pictured here in my "persistence of memory")...
 
on our last night, everything came to a head. her impetuous stubborn side collided with me deciding to do what i'd wanted to do on this trip for the first time. as usual, she wanted to do things at exactly when she wanted to do them. there is little patience inside her, and even less compromise...she was gonna do what she wanted, when she wanted, no matter what the cost. kinda like a little spoiled brat, and maybe she truly was that deep inside with always getting what she wanted from people...
 
so, to make a long and ugly story short, i did not let her have her way, and i called her out on her lack of patience, and doing something that was not very smart as a reaction to me taking a stand and doing something i felt i need ed to do...she demanded an apology for me saying her actions were rash and stupid. but, her actions were rash and stupid, i was not going to apologize. it was instead her who needed to give the apology to me. but conversely, all i got was the silent treatment for pretty much the rest of the trip until i said goodbye forever to her as she sat on yoga mat on the floor of her home and petted her cat, sadly saying nothing still to me...
 
so, that last night, i'd love to say my memories of my experience were better. but they are what they are. and i accept that with gratitude. things happen for a reason, and happened as i needed them to happen. i'm thankful for the experience i got on the beach on this night in hawaii...
 
so on that last night, in silence i drive her and i out the long and rough dirt road to polihale beach, pushing the limits of the rental car i had hired. only words she says to me aloud the whole time: she asks me to slow down on the rough road (which i heed and did of course). but for the drive, it was a coldly uncomfortable silence to say the least.
 
finally we arrive at that one place i really want to see and experience. the only destination that i truly want to visit for this entire trip. and it happens on the final night finally....however, if she had her way, i wouldn't have been standing here where i wanted to be...
 
we kept a distance from each other as we each silently walk out onto the beach, which is so breathtakingly beautiful. something from a dream, very surreal. the entire beach was deserted except for a couple campers down by the cliffs, and a couple other small groups of people scattered about...
 
i walk down the water line where the ocean is kissing the shore, for what seems an eternity, each step of mine making deep imprints in the soft pristine sands. calming and thoughtful steps, one after another as the waves sing their rhythm to me relentlessly rolling and foaming across these sands of time. i know already i will be photographing the scene with my footprints at sunset, a minimalist long exposure of the blue water, glowing clouds, green cliffs, and golden sands...and i knew already the name of this future impression: "persistence of memory"...
 
it's all so beautiful, and i am alone again i know. it is all meant to happen this way for me, and i sit and dig my feet into the sand. i wiggle my toes down further and the sand gets cooler...so cool...i just sit there looking at my line of footprints slowly get smaller and smaller the farther away they drift down the beach from me. an occasional wave washes up the sands further than before and partially erases some of my prints in spots...soon, my footprints will be gone, and so soon will i be...
 
but i'll remember what i need to remember, though my memory will not be as i'd originally envisioned it would be. but it's now somehow more beautiful than i could've first imaged. because it's real, it's my truth...
 
"standing alone on a remote and secluded beach in hawaii, being true to myself, i'm so blessed, so lucky being surrounded by such overwhelming beauty! a truly glorious experience filling up all my senses with exactly what i need, teaching me exactly what i need to learn at this moment, exactly at the time when i need it...a memory that'll be persistently cherished forever" ― bodhi, persistence of memory

a smile purses my lips as the waves wash ashore and slowly wipe away my footprints in the sand, my presence here disappears...but me and the beach do not forget, always there'll be a persistence of memory...those steps float in my mind as i walk forward down my path of life still smiling...
 
btw...believe it or not, things still got worse for the rest of the vacation. i will not go into any details, but her actions guaranteed there would never be any going back. not to hawaii, not anywhere, not with her, no more time together, this trip would be our final moments together and then we would go our separate ways...and i'm totally at peace with that finality.
 
this song "beach in hawaii" is by my all-time favorite reggae artist, ziggy marley. written in 2006, it's sixteen years old now but it's still as beautiful as the first time i heard it. it's the absolute perfect song to open up my blog with today since my impression is portraying a beautiful beach in hawaii. i was sitting with my toes buried in the sand, all alone, watching the sunset as the waves infinitely repeat the idea of aloha, kissing the shore and then retreating endlessly over and over again. the clouds were so puffy and full of pastels, their soft colors reflecting mystically in the water and mirroring wet sands. all so mesmerizingly peaceful, calming my restless soul. making me feel so lucky to be a part of this gorgeous world, this wonderful planet and magical universe. what more could i want? 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) ...

"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 i'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)...a little pakalolo and i say mahalo. ujjayi breathing to get a real feeling. yogi gonna let you know that 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) in hawaii on the beach in hawaii. i wish you were here with me on the beach in hawaii...i wish you were here with me on the beach in hawaii" ― ziggy marley, beach in hawaii 
 
"i know you. i've always known you...and i know you are out there. i just wish you were here with me walking on this beach in kauai" ― bodhi, persistence of memory
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MORE BODHIKU QUOTES
and now here are a few more quotes from bodhi from past blogs to help add to the deeper meaning of this blog today...
 
"i love to love love" ― bodhi, love
 
"love is the higher power in this universe" ― bodhi, faith
 
"as kindred souls, 
we've said aloha 
in love 
to each other infinitely, 
over and over 
through centuries 
of time and space...
rediscovering each other 
endlessly in aloha, 
living in love together 
until we must let go 
of one another 
in aloha, always 
knowing we'll manage 
to find each other 
again and be 
together as one, 
because aloha lives 
in both of us 
and always will"
 
"i give my mahalo to aloha. because to share aloha is to share life, it's honoring and respecting all of creation in this connected love" ― bodhi, mahalo aloha 
 
"every wave says aloha as it kisses the beach...and the beach says aloha to every wave as it returns to the sea" ― bodhi, hello-goodbye
 
"she said aloha to me, i said aloha to her, it was the beginning of this world. we loved and lived and loved some more, until we had to say aloha to each other and part for a while" ― bodhi, aloha
 
"she is aloha. she is hello. she is here. she is goodbye. she is eternal. she is boundless. she is faithful. she is dreamy. she is beautiful. she is hope. she is love. she is the divine breath inside of me. she is my aloha" ― bodhi, aloha
 
"aloha my love, my love is aloha, you are my love, you are my aloha!" ― bodhi, aloha
 
"aloha makes perfect sense...saying hello and goodbye have an important intersection, one acknowledges the past, another the future, but both point to the moment of now, here, aloha" ― bodhi, aloha
 
"i always want to say hello to her, but i never want to say goodbye. i always want to come, but i never want to leave. i want to stay in her arms in love as long as possible...i believe that's the true essence of aloha" ― bodhi, aloha
 
"i was born into this body, and i said aloha to this world...but where was she? the memory of her mystery cried aloha in my veins, awakening inside me the memories of my soul through the millennia. her soul deep love cried aloha to me in dreams for 50 years. i called out to her with every fiber of my existence. only there she was, and yet wasn't. she existed, but i could only feel her in my heart and know with certainty that somewhere she was longing for me too..." ― bodhi, aloha  
 
"i say mahalo nui loa to kauai, and the island responds aloha nui loa a hui hou kakou to me" ― bodhi, mahalo 
 
"mahalo to the universe for roses rare,
for skies of blue and sunshine fair;
for every gift, i raise a prayer,
mahalo ke akua to the universe for lovely night,
for mystic fields with stars bedight,
for hours of dream and deep delight,

mahalo ke akua for love divine,
the hopes that ‘round my heart entwine;
for all the joy that now is mine,
 
"and i'm grateful to breathe, to be alive! i'm so grateful for this moment i'm in right now, and for the next i get to experience! i'm grateful for this planet i live upon, for the water, for the wind, for the ocean, for the stars, for the divine spirit! and most of all, i'm grateful for love and being surrounded by love, and being filled up with love...i'm so thankful for love in my life..." ― bodhi, mahalo 
 
"for this breath, i give my mahalo. 
for mother earth, i give my mahalo. 
for the ocean, i give my mahalo. 
for the rain, i give my mahalo 
for the clouds, i give my mahalo 
for the light shining through darkness, i give my mahalo 
for the stars and the milky way, i give my mahalo 
for the universe, i give my mahalo 
for the divine spirit, i give my mahalo 
for this moment, i give my mahalo
for love, i give my mahalo"
 
"and i deeply encourage you to write your thoughts daily...i truly believe that the more we express and record all things we're grateful for, the more magic, blessings, and miracles we see each day...mahalo ke akua!" ― bodhi, mahalo 
 
"today we celebrate earth day, and it's a reminder of how i'm so deeply grateful for this planet. i'm truly thankful to be blessed to be alive and get to see, experience, and photograph all of the beauty that this world has to offer. thankful, grateful, mahalo" ― bodhi, mahalo to the earth
 
"sometimes when i make choices, i feel alone. so i reminded myself of the tender mercies this universe has given unto me on a daily basis: life, love, breath, sunrise, water, food, earth, sunset, sky, stars, sleep, dreams and i know i'm not alone...and i am thankful" ― bodhi, mahalo
 
"mahalo ke akua for life...these words help me find my path through difficulties. they help me to silence the needless noise in my mind. as i express gratitude for all that i have, even my challenges. my mind is enlightened, i'm content. i have more peace....it's about being grateful for all i have, not wishful for all that i don't..." ― bodhi, mahalo ke akua  
 
"remember these simple words, "mahalo ke akua"...be thankful for your life, for the people in your life, for your home, for your health, for love inside and out, for the creations on this earth." ― bodhi, mahalo
 
 "all someone needs is some one, and sometimes all you need is one time" ― bodhi, one
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MORE QUOTES FOR EXTRA MEANING
this song is about realizing that you are just the background in some else's memories and not a main character in their life..."sonder" is the realization that there aren't any main characters in the world and everyone has a complex life, thoughts, crushes, relatives, dreams and mind just as your own...essentially whilst you're the main character in your life, you're also a background character in someone else's...such a deep and provocative thought created by u.s. author john koenig in his book the dictionary of obscure sorrows ... "sonder" by the wrecks ... (just click on any of the words in the powder blue links to listen to the tune and watch the video) ...

"all i wanted was some proof that you cared about others. all i wanted was proof that you understand sonder. how come your truth revolves around you? i had a lot to say, never came out in the right way. what a petty mistake! you were looking at me sideways. here comes the truth: it's not about you...i thought by now we would learn to work together. i thought somehow we were changing for the better. you ran back, back to arizona. i guess it was nice to know ya. i thought by now you would understand sonder. i could've called, but i didn't. i could've called on the ride home. it's my fault, i admit it. six words that you don't know. i'm nothing like you. i hope i'm nothing like you. long nights, hard fights. hold tight, we'll make it through. starlight, street signs. alright, it's all for you. long nights, our nights, soft like the month of june. i thought by now we would learn to work together. i thought somehow we were changing for the better. you ran back, back to arizona. i guess it was nice to know ya. i thought by now you would understand sonder (you would understand sonder). all i wanted was proof that you cared about others. all i wanted was proof that you understand sonder. all i wanted was proof that you cared about others. all i wanted was proof that you understand sonder...i could've called, but i didn't. i could've called on the ride home. it's my fault, i admit it. six words that you don't know. i'm nothing like you. i hope i'm nothing like you. long nights, hard fights. hold tight, we'll make it through. starlight, street signs. alright, it's all for you. long nights, hard fights soft like the month of june. i thought by now we would learn to work together. i thought somehow we were changing for the better. you ran back, back to arizona. i guess it was nice to know ya. i thought by now you would understand sonder. i thought by now that you cared about others. i thought by now that you'd understand sonder" ― the wrecks, sonder
 
this next song is so profoundly deep with its message..."aloha ke akua" by nahko bear (medicine for the people) ... while abstract, the singer speaks to the coexistence of humans, nature, the environment and a reverence of love that should guide our life therein. the interconnection of love and the natural world that surrounds us is quickly lost when our lives become overrun with electronics, a throw-away culture and a society that often values materialism more than it does the environment. it seems that technological and scientific progress can unintentionally push us to disconnect from this earth and our spiritual purpose. and if we are not tuned in and conscientious to keep love and nature in our forward thinking, we will miss all those valuable moments in life, those ordinary moments...and all moments are important and not to be overlooked...if we let all the noise of the new information society overtake us, the space in between or the "breath of life" will be unappreciated or lost as the song repetitively recants with "aloha ke akua"... 
 
"there are no ordinary moments" ― dan millman, way of the peaceful warrior
 
this breath, "aloha ke akua" is our pause button in this worldly existence; it's by taking this breath, that we identify if we're making a difference with the works with which we occupy our time. i'm someone who truly believes that once basic needs are met, people can find satisfaction in their life, no matter what their occupation, if they look for joy and bring sincere respect in their interactions with other people and our natural world. some work in nature or do outdoor work. others work inside so they can play in the natural world. either way, finding a method to better connect with humanity and mother nature is, in my opinion, critical in finding a sense of meaning in this life...

"lend your ears, lend your hands. lend your movement, anything you can. come to teach, come to be taught. come in the likeness in the image of god. because, you can be like that. with all that humbleness, and all that respect. all of the power invested in me, be it hard to love my enemies. all of the black bags over the heads of the dead and dying. the more i understand about the human race, the less i comprehend about our purpose and place. and maybe if there was a clearer line the curiosity would satisfy. time based prophecies that kept me from living in the moment i am struggling to trust the divinity of all the guides. and what the hell they have planned for us. i cry for the creatures who get left behind. but everything will change in a blink of an eye. and if you wish to survive, you will find the guide inside. i go back and forth every single day. the clarity that comes to me in a choppy way. as the feelings and the places and the seasons change, the galaxies remain. energy fields cone the body in space. the angels that are coming from a spiritual waste. the hate that gets me distant from my spiritual pace. ten fold the manna when the planets are in place, in polar alignment. we're on assignment. bodies on consignment. return them to the circus, and what is the purpose? what is the purpose and would you believe it? would you believe it if you knew what you were for and how you became so informed? bodies of info performing such miracles. i am a miracle made up of particles. and in this existence, i'll stay persistent. and i'll make a difference, and i will have lived it...aloha, aloha ke akua, ke akua...aloha, aloha kuleana, kuleana...i am not a leader, just a creature. stick the peaches of my teacher when you follow where they lead. all mysterious ways of nature and i am in to it, changing management. and there are various ways to conquer this monotonous, metropolis. my stubbornness is bottomless, my fear is this is talking shit. and i am wide awake and i am taking names. do you speak to me like you speak to god? all the love and understanding between the father and the son? do you believe in the perfectness of where you are? he's my people, he's my children, it's the land that i would fight for. i saw an ebonese telling me to patiently move the music medicine around the planet in a hurry. cuz there's no time to waste. got to wake up the people. time to stand up and say: we know what we are for and how we became so informed. bodies of info performing such miracles. i am a miracle made up of particles. and in this existence, i'll stay persistent and i'll make a difference. and i will have lived it... aloha, aloha ke akua, ke akua...aloha, aloha kuleana, kuleana...each day that i wake, i will praise, i will praise.. each day that i wake, i give thanks, i give thanks. each day that i wake, i will praise, i will praise. each day that i wake, i give thanks, i give thanks....and the day that i do wake up and transcend the holy makeup, i am capable, i am powerful. and the day that i do wake up and transcend the holy makeup, i am on my way to a different place, i am powerful. and the day that i do wake up and transcend the holy makeup, i am on my way to a different place" ― nahko and medicine for the people, aloha ke akua
 
"there are only two days in the year that nothing can be done. one is called yesterday and the other is called tomorrow. today is the right day to love, to believe, to do, and mostly to live" ― dalai lama xiv, the art of happiness 
 
"i will not live without the persistence of love" ― vincent van gogh
 
"journeys offer transformation and a different perspective. and they can shake up the dusty parts of our souls and aid us in seeing the bigger picture. they can inspire us and help us to move towards something that may be missing. we often spend a lifetime playing the rolls that we are taught we must, ignoring what we wish. and then the time comes to expand horizons and it is an offer that we can no longer ignore. a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, as lao tze says. or as the late anthony bourdain says: travel isn’t always pretty. it isn’t always comfortable. sometimes it hurts, it even breaks your heart. but that’s okay. the journey changes you; it should change you. it leaves marks on your memory, on your consciousness, on your heart, and on your body. you take something with you. hopefully, you leave something good behind" ― c. ara campbell, what anthony bourdain taught me
 
"you are all the places you have been, the sights you have seen, the marvels you have achieved, and every soul you have touched. each passing moment is another brushstroke on the canvas. so rise, live always with passion and heart, and someday you will look back on your life and see a work of art" ― beau taplin, remedy
 
"each arrow leaves a memory in your heart, and it is the sum of those memories that will make you shoot better and better" ― paulo coelho, by the river piedra sat down and wept  
 
"things pass, and the best we can do is to let them really go away. getting rid of certain memories also means making some room for other memories to take their place" ― paulo coelho, the alchemist
 
"it takes a huge effort to free yourself from memory...visit your soul; don’t visit your past" ― paulo coelho, the alchemist

"memories bring with them a devil called melancholy—oh, cruel demon that i cannot escape" ― paulo coelho, the alchemist
 
"it happens to everyone as they grow up. you find out who you are and what you want, and then you realize that most people don't see things the way you do. so you keep the wonderful memories, but find yourself moving on" ― nicholas sparks, message in a bottle 
 
"the memory of an absent person shines in the deepest recesses of the heart, shining the more brightly the more wholly its object has vanished: a light on the horizon of the despairing, darkened spirit; a star gleaming in our inward night" ― victor hugo, les miserables
 
"unhappy memories are persistent. they're specific, and it's the details that refuse to leave us alone. though a happy memory may stay with you just as long as one that makes you miserable, what you remember softens over time. what you recall is simply that you were happy, not necessarily the individual moments that brought about your joy...but the memory of something painful does just the opposite. it retains its original shape, all bony fingers and pointy elbows. every time it returns, you get a quick poke in the eye or jab in the stomach. the memory of being unhappy has the power to hurt us long after the fact. we feel the injury anew each and every time we think of it" ― cameron dokey, belle
 
"the more distressing the memory, the more persistent it's presence" ― sara gruen, water for elephants
 
"think of an experience from your childhood. something you remember clearly, something you can see, feel, maybe even smell, as if you were really there. after all you really were there at the time, weren't you? how else could you remember it? but here is the bombshell: you weren't there. not a single atom that is in your body today was there when that event took place. every bit of you has been replaced many times over (which is why you eat, of course). you are not even the same shape as you were then. the point is that you are like a cloud: something that persists over long periods, while simultaneously being in flux. matter flows from place to place and momentarily comes together to be you. whatever you are, therefore, you are not the stuff of which you are made. if that does not make the hair stand up on the back of your neck, read it again until it does, because it is important" ― steve grand, creation
 
"love one another...if we took those simple words to heart, we'd already be the buddhas that jesus wanted us to be" ― katheen dowling singh. the grace in aging
 
"sense memories of you persist and do not seem to abate as the day progresses. it’s disconcerting. i don’t like it when my mind plays tricks on me. i would much rather simply have you here in the flesh, to feel and taste and smell with my actual senses. instead, my mind keeps conjuring this false perception of your presence. i think it means i miss you" ― delphine dryden, the theory of attraction
 
"paths are the habits of a landscape. they are acts of consensual making. it's hard to create a footpath on your own...paths connect. this is their first duty and their chief reason for being. they relate places in a literal sense, and by extension they relate people. paths are consensual, too, because without common care and common practice they disappear: overgrown by vegetation, ploughed up or built over, though they may persist in the memory. like sea channels that require regular dredging to stay open, paths need walking" ― robert macfarlane, a journey on foot
 
"so many memories,
and i'm still young.
so many dreams,
my song's just begun.

sometimes i hear
my private melody grow,
then the sound vanishes,
but returns, i now know.

i've heard my heart break;
wounded, i've felt alone,
but slowly i learned
to thrive on my own.

i want to keep learning,
to deepen my song;
in whatever i work
may my best self grow strong.

it's still the morning,
the green spring of my life.
i'm starting my journey,
family and friends at my side,
my song inside,
and love as my guide.

my family wonders
where i will go.
i wonder too.

i long to discover
how to protect the earth, our home,
hear world sisters and brothers,
who feel so alone.

hearts and hands open
to those close and those far,
a great family circle
with peace our lodestar.

no child should be hungry.
all children should read,
be healthy and safe,
fuel hope, learn to lead.

it's still the morning,
the spring of my life
i'm starting my journey,
family and friends at my side,
my song inside,
and love as my guide.

i'll take wrong turns
and again lose my way.
i'll search for wise answers,
listen, study and pray.

so many memories,
and i'm still young.
so many dreams;
my song only has begun.

i'll resist judging others
by their accents and skin,
confront my life challenges,
improve myself within.

heeding my song-
for life's not easy or fair-
i'll persist, be a light
resist the snare of despair.

mysteriously,
i've grown to feel strong.
i'm preparing to lead.
i'm composing my song.

it's still the morning,
the spring of my life.
i'm starting my journey,
family and friends at my side,
my song inside,
and love as my guide" 
 
"time consists only of past and future. it is life that consists of the present. so those who want to live, for them there is no other way than to live this moment. only the present is existential. the past is simply a collection of memories, and the future is nothing but your imaginations, your dreams" ― osho, tarot in the spirit of zen
 
"many people will walk in and out of your life, but only true friends will leave footprints in your heart" ― eleanor roosevelt
 
"art is, after all, only a trace–like a footprint which shows that one has walked bravely and in great happiness" ― robert henri
 
"remember the entrance door to paradise is inside you" ― jalaluddin rumi, hush don't say anything to god
----------------------
 
ABOUT THE IMPRESSION
"i was sitting with my toes buried in the sand, all alone, watching the sunset as the waves infinitely repeat the idea of aloha, kissing the shore and then retreating endlessly over and over again. all so mesmerizingly peaceful, calming my restless soul. making me feel so lucky to be a part of this gorgeous world, this wonderful planet and magical universe. what more could i want? well...one thing was definitely missing: her. and i was missing her something awful...being with me on this beach in hawaii, dearly missing the one i love, wishing she could be here seeing all of this beauty, making everything perfectly complete with nothing missing" ― bodhi, persistence of memory
 
this impression was captured in one single exposure taken just before the sunset on the isolated and secluded polihale beach at "road's end" beneath the na pali cliffs on the west shore of kauai, hawaii at 6:52pm hst on august 26th, 2022 (f/8@24mm for 33 seconds, iso-64)
 
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...
 
to get the effects and balance i was looking for in this composition (f/8@24mm for 33 seconds, iso-64), i used two progreyusa titan filters along with the progrey g-150z holder to secure these filters to my nikon d850 with a nikon nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 lens ... 
 
first, a 3.0nd progrey titan filter to bring the light in the image down 10 stops and permit for the 33 second exposure in a bright scene which naturally saturates all the red, green, and blue (rgb) colors in the image...combined with the second filter, a 0.9 gnd progrey titan filter to help balance in-camera overall the image the way i envisioned it...in this case, to stop down the much brighter light in the sky, the bright sunset light, an extra three stops and help permit fine details in the sand and shadows on the shore in the background (right side) to come out better in the exposure... 
 
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 the induro (now benro) stealth carbon fiber tripod in combination with the progreyusa filters which i use with every photo i take...
 
"you were blessed with 84,600 seconds today, have you used one of them to say thank you?" ― bodhi, blessed
 
"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
 
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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please visit me at:

http://www.bodhismith.com
http://www.instagram.com/bodhismith
http://www.facebook.com/Bodhi.Impressions

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