Musings: Askew

Rising in the night to grab another blanket, I take the opportunity to go out and adore the stars, splendidly strewn across their eternal black canvass, a sight that always fills me with wonder, awe, joy.

Later, at the first glimmer of pink light, I pull on a flannel shirt and venture out with the dogs to check the garden, which is happily, or so I imagine, soaked with the night’s passing rain. Green onions and kai choi sprouts have joined the line up.

Walking in the cool, golden light of a September morning, gazing at the pale green cragginess of Waialeale, its midsection draped with clouds that have sidled up to the summit of Makaleha, causing it to appear snow capped, I think of an article I read that reminds me every cloud has a silver lining: it seems many young people nationwide are too fat to join the military.

Something’s got to get us out of these endless wars...

The sun rises like a fireball behind us, turning Waialeale purple, shimmering the raindrops atop the grass, and I think of the animals and plants that are fleeing north to escape global warming, even as some humans deny its existence.

I think, too, of all the people I know who are ready to jump out of jobs, marriages, living arrangements. Situations that once could be slogged through have become untenable; among people unafraid to feel I sense an edginess, a willingness to leap, an inkling that something big is about to happen. Or as my sister described it, it’s as if life has gone askew and now we're just waiting to see which way it tilts.