IN.SPI.RA.TION
noun
1. The process of being mentally stimulated to do or feel something, ESPECIALLY to do something creative.
2. The drawing in of breath
Since Arms of Audio is starting again I began thinking of what the top questions are that we ask our special guests, artists, musicians, photographers, chefs. The first question I ask is “What INSPIRES you?” But until today I didn’t know the true definition of the word. I thought about my answers in the past and how across the board they were. The answer for me is now SIMPLE. Its one word. Aloha
The literal meaning of Aloha is “breath” or “breath of life.” How interesting that my inspiration coincides with the very meaning of the word. But Aloha still is even deeper than that. To know Aloha is to hold the key to live righteously in this natural world. Here is what the ancestors taught us…
“Aloha is being part of all and all being a part of me. Where there is pain it is my mine. Where there is joy it is also mine. I respect all that is a part of the Creator and part of me. I will not willfully harm anyone or anything. When food is needed I will take only my need and explain why its being taken. The earth, the sky, the sea are mine to care for, to cherish and to protect. This is Hawaiian. This is Aloha.
Its not my hands that paint canvas with colors and shadows, if it were my work would lack the inspiration of a great painting. It is the breath of my heart. It is the breath of Aloha that moves my hands. Because when I paint now that I am away from my home, I think about the divine inspiration that continues as the Islands grow bigger. I think of the rain. The hikes, the beach, the sand, all the flowers my husband surprised me with to wear in my hair. I think about the meaning of leis and how the fragrance and the beauty makes you forget for a time any pain. I create my own Hawaii where I live now. I think of what it important. Family “ohana” simple pleasures, staying in beautiful moments for as long as they last.
I look forward to a new season with Arms of Audio. A show about Art, Music and Life. I look forward to interviewing you and asking YOU….What inspires you friend?
Until then. Aloha