Page 2 - MidWeek - July 6, 2022

2 MIDWEEK JULY 6, 2022
Disrupting Groundhog Days
Progress consists only in the greater clarification of answers to the basic questions of life. — Leo Tolstoy
HJuly Jewels
When, before an ar- ray of Christmas gifts, a child asks, “Is that all?” the question is not so different from that of many U. S. adults: “Is that all there is?”
appy Independence Day! With so many emo- tional American issues under fire (pun intend- ed), perhaps we can all use a brief respite from
Many of us face lengthen- ing lifespans; an unlimited and affordable food supply; freedom of expression and freedom from conscription; access to quick contact with anyone in the world; and re- sources to look up anything we want to know. Does all this get us further ahead? Or are we enmeshed in a repeti- tive pattern, perpetuating our own Groundhog Days?
ing change in their lives. I hope my questions can be a guide to those who wish to discover the life that wants to live in them, to reclaim lost pieces of themselves and to move from Ground- hog Days to a new and ful- filling groundedness.
A licensed marriage and family therapist, John Jol- liffe describes his mission as “helping people through education to understand and better care for themselves and ultimately those they love.” His website (johnjol- liffe.com) gives links to some of the calls from his radio counseling broadcasts.
Chasing The Light is pro- duced by Robin Stephens Rohr and Lynne Johnson.
21st century realities that (to many) seem like either a fairy tale or a horror story.
A scared skunk was captured at Honolulu Harbor two weeks ago — what can you say about this incident beyond the fact that it stinks? And how did the variegated varmint get here in the first place? It simply doesn’t make much “scents.” That’s six skunks captured on O‘ahu and Maui over the past four years. All have tested negative for ra- bies, and babies, thank goodness.
The author, a licensed marriage and family therapist, has found that many individuals need a road map to help them ease into making changes
in their lives.
This just in: With all of the head fakes, obfuscation, seeming solutions, rebuttals, estimated costs that evapo- rate weekly, demands from the aggrieved and bureaucratic folderol, Red Hill will now sadly be known as Red Hell. And no, this is not simply (clean) water under the bridge.
Despite the abundance, an undercurrent of suspi- cion whispers, “Something is not right.” At the heart of the malaise for any one of us may be that pieces of the self
wandering, digressing, loop- ing, backtracking, even chal- lenging what has been held as sacred truth. Questions such as the following that disrupt our usual way of thinking can launch us into a search for re- integration:
What would I attempt if I knew I could not fail?
Firefighters recently rescued a paraglider 200 feet up the face of an O‘ahu mountain, thus making the unin- jured (stirred, but not shaken), un-airborne individual a para-sider, I guess. On the same weekend, firefighters stabilized and transported an injured hiker near Hawai‘i Kai’s Lāna‘i Lookout, which henceforth will be known as “Lāna‘i — look out!”
When did I last do some- thing for the first time?
Monkeypox is no joke to those who get it, nor is it funny in the simian world, which is rightfully upset at the reference to monkeys in its moniker. The disease first emanated from rodents, and was merely isolated and iden- tified from a monkey, which led to the misnaming of this ailment. Let’s not go ape over this indignity, but we should acknowledge that any tainting of monkeys is a slam on all of us, since humans originated from ... oh, never mind, we’re avoiding controversy this week. My bad.
Is there a dream or interest I haven’t had courage to pursue?
have been taken away, given away, hidden away, perhaps simply forgotten. The search for those pieces may involve
Is the life I’m living the life that wants to live in me?
Where do I want to put my life, how much of it do I want to put there, and how long do I want to put it there?
New Century Schoolbook bold (scaled H 73.6)
After 45 years of coun- seling, I have found that human beings often need a road map to ease into mak-
KELLEY
with John Jolliffe
New funding ideas are being proposed for a nascent East Kapolei High School, which has been proposed, dis- cussed, committee-d, back burner-ed, and revisited since 2014 as a possible solution for overcrowding at Campbell and Kapolei high schools. Eight years just to figure out a possibly reasonable funding methodology? As we say here, that’s HART-less. Eh, what-‘Ewa.
As we’ve recently learned that the incessant work on O‘ahu’s Highway Route 61 will continue for yet one more year, wary Windward-ers will continue to plod along past street-ripping machines. Pali want a cracker? Actually, we’d simply prefer smooth pavement by now.
Think about it ...
john@thinkaboutithawaii.com