Page 3 - Hawaii Island MIdWeek - Feb 24, 2021

FEBRUARY 24, 2021
HAWAI‘I ISLAND MIDWEEK 3
A MINDFUL MOMENT
Alice Inoue
L Just Let It Go
etting go can be so hard. Whether it’s a per- son who has moved on, a wrong done to you or a mistake you have made, it’s helpful to
identify what you’ve gained from the experience to get a sense of closure. And remember: If it was supposed to turn out differently, it would have.
Therefore, whatever it is, whether it’s worry, re- gret, insecurity, self-depreciation, irritation, blame, awkwardness or anger, start with the intent and get comfortable with the possibility. What would it actually feel like to not live with that undesirable emotion?
alice@yourhappinessu.com
Green Parakeets And A Forever Home
“Interdependence is a fundamental law of nature.” — Dalai Lama
CHASING THE LIGHT
with Rüdiger “Rudy” Herzing Rückmann
For the last 10 years, green parakeets have been harbingers of hope on two continents as my family and I looked to find our permanent home.
There, along its banks, I ran for miles. Boats, restaurants, and the former residence of West Germany’s chancellors reminded me there was a world outside where I—and soon, our daughter—would belong. I was especially inspired by the flocks of green parakeets that welcomed me on my run. Orig- inally brought to Bonn in the ’70s, their deafening noise was music to my ears, a reminder that you could fly and find a home almost anywhere.
After a few years, we left Iowa to live in Hawai‘i. Now I could run year-round. I’ ll always remember one of my first runs in Nu‘uanu Valley — and who greeted me but familiar companions: green parakeets! It brought joy that both they and we had found our way to the islands.
As I work from home, the parakeets remind me that even during a pandemic, na- ture reaches us in unexpected ways, that we are all intercon- nected no matter where we live or where we come from, that we are never alone wheth- er near the Rhine River or in the valleys of Nu‘uanu and Mānoa.
We lived in Germany when our daughter was a baby. My husband worked at University of Bonn as a professor of Celt- ic languages. For the first time since I was 13 years old, I did not have a paying job. Instead, I had the most important work
During the pandemic, my family and I realized we had, indeed, found our forever home in Hawai‘i. Our daugh- ter is thriving, and we found
Rüdiger “Rudy” Herzing Rückmann is a Quaker, poet and director of advancement at Hawai‘i Youth Symphony.
Chasing The Light is pro- duced by Lynne Johnson and Robin Stephens Rohr. Edited by Sharon Linnéa.
of my life: watching over our baby. I loved it. And yet, of- ten, the hours seemed endless, no matter how many songs I sang or books I read to her. I was filled with relief when my husband returned home and I could head down to the Rhine River.
Our family left Bonn to move to a Quaker learning community in rural Iowa. Winters were frostbitingly bit- ter, too cold for tropical birds, and often necessitating being housebound for months. It was an important time — but it wasn’t home.
a house in Mānoa where I’m serenaded daily by lime-green parakeets with red bills that love to play on our roof.
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