Page 2 - Hawaii Island MidWeek - Feb 10, 2021

2 HAWAI‘I ISLAND MIDWEEK FEBRUARY 10, 2021
Led Through Loss By Going Within
“Make America Grate Again.” This is what happens when people cannot (or should not) visit friends, relatives, neigh- bors, co-workers, and when nerves are frayed and the pan- demic rules shift over time. Everyone is angst-filled and frus- trated. Yes, the pandemic continues to be grating for everyone.
Last September, I began to have a series of dreams about Dad with the message that even though he seemed OK and happy, he was slowing down. In hindsight, the earlier losses prepared me to embrace what little time that I sensed was left with my father. I maximized
“Damn-demic.” This is about the nicest thing you can call the resilient novel coronavirus.
I felt crushed and prayed for guidance.
Yet, listening to my dreams, and honoring my intuition has given me strength that has helped with the challenges of this past year, and I’m grateful.
“As Tiers Go By” or “The Tracks of My Tiers.” We’ve seen it all. Rules change, things seem to be getting better, we’re inching closer to allowing for more freedom — and then WHAM! Alas, restrictive tiers and redundant tears return.
Unexpectedly, I dreamed I needed to leave O‘ahu, where I was born, attended college, and had lived since graduating. I then asked for a sign—and saw a Yankees hat. Somehow,
“Community Spread.” No, this is not Tutu’s liliko‘i jam sold at the swap meet. It’s what happens when people either live or gather too close together in one area, thus helping to spread the virus. Gathering like this with friends and family used to be called “living.”
I’ll always miss Dad, but the process of going within helped
“To be fully alive, fully human and completely awake is to be continually thrown out of the nest. To live fully is to be always in no-man’s land, to experience each
Amoment as completely new and fresh. To live is to be willing to die over and over again.” — Pema Chödrön
SThe Language Of COVID
o what happens when people are quarantined, con-
ll kids have a fear, and that felt right. I knew it was the our time together and made from a young age, my arrow I was looking for. I head- sure he knew I loved him. Our greatest fear was to ed for New York and went on final visits included some qui-
fined, restricted and conflicted for almost a year? Well,
was to find we each have gifts and intuition, also, to help us deal with life’s difficulties.
States mainland for the next six months, charting my way back to my childhood home in Hilo, using dreams as my guide. It was, in fact, exactly what I needed. This experience showed me that by being root- ed in spirit, I could weather any storm.
seeing Grandma (Dad’s mom) in Hilo before she passed last November, and spending the holidays with more family.
me appreciate the beauty of our relationship and find the love in the void left behind.
Jason Walter is the market- ing director at Hawai‘i Opera Theatre and is a local artist and author. He’s the founder of soul what, an indie arts brand that explores the soul through poetry, painting, photography and graphic design. Visit soul- what.xyz/blog to learn more.
Chasing The Light is pro- duced by Lynne Johnson and Robin Stephens Rohr. Edited by Sharon Linnéa.
strange terms develop as weirdness rules. Try a few of these on for size:
Several years ago, I expe- rienced a profound season of loss. Within two weeks, I was laid off from my job, a long- term relationship came to an abrupt end, and my grandfa- ther died.
Dad did indeed pass away, in some ways very unexpectedly, on Feb. 25, 2020, at 72. There is no way around the sense of loss. One must experience the shock, numbness and sadness. Grief must be traveled through.
lose either of my parents. But I a walkabout across the United et time with just the two of us,
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Fill in the blank cells using numbers 1 to 9. Each number can appear only once in each row, column, and 3x3 block. Use logic and process of elimination to solve the puzzle. The difficulty level ranges from Bronze (easiest) to Silver to Gold (hardest). Answers are on page 11
RATING: SILVER
“Flattening the Curve.” A kind term describing people’s efforts to lose the real COVID-19 — those 19 pounds we’ve all gained sitting around over the past 11 months.
“Social Distancing” and “Virtual Meetings.” Two terms poorly explained. We’re not supposed to social distance, we’re actually supposed to physical distance from one anoth- er. And that seventh Zoom meeting I had today? That wasn’t a virtual meeting, I was there; it was all too real, with real people attending (and staring into space), and no virtual an- ime, manga, VR headsets, or videogame characters allowed.
“Self-monitoring.” Originally meant for us to check our- selves for COVID-19 symptoms, it has now taken on more nuanced implications, as we should constantly take stock of our (and others) mental and physical health as this nagging nightmare continues.
“Zoom-ology.” The scientific study of human behavior observable only by watching humans staring at their 10th Zoom call of the day. Otherwise known as “zombie-ism.”
“Facts-ine.” What non-believers need to spend more time studying to feel comfortable that, yes, a COVID-19 vaccine is a scientifically proven ally in this microscopic war.
“Venti-later.” This is what we call a person who lets us know (via “venting”) that they’re fed up with COVID-19. Kind of like I’ve just done with this column, as the ongoing pandemic wavers and yet persists.
Think about it ...
CHASING THE
LIGHT
with Jason Walter
john@thinkaboutithawaii.com