The thorn on my side

 

 

My ride forgot to pick me up.  I was supposed to have gone to  Lava Shack in Pahoa. It is jam night with drummer extraordinaire Bruce as host.  Bruce was supposed to have stopped by for me on his way to Lava Shack. 

 

I love jam nights. There is no repertoire. Everything is impromptu. Musicians come and go. Strangely, maybe because  they know each other or have even played with each other, they manage to play well together; as if an  amount of practice was made.

 

Crazed dancer that I am I didn't think twice about going to the gig after I had been assured of a ride. Besides I believe, like I had claimed on the promo poster I made for the gig, that it will be an exceptionally good night for dancing.

 

But with eyes no longer as sharp as they once were I  dare not brave driving at night, especially in the rain and after a party. So now I'm appropriately garbed, perfumed and coiffured and  stuck in the house; that is, if I look at it that way.

 

I'm actually loving the way the evening is turning out. With the strains from a lone guitar in the background, here I am typing away. And In a way I'm dancing. Here's that dip in my Tango.

 

From another view, the sudden change in  my evening  could have been ordained, a blessing. Synchronicity? 

 

Maybe I was meant to deliver a message, a reminder of  our dual nature and how  each of them is in constant struggle  for supremacy over the other.

 

 

 

 

 Posted with Aloha!

- ARIEL MURPHY

Very Irish!

 

Yesterday was an early commemoration of St. Patrick’s Day,  perhaps the most famous  Irish of all time.

Celebration was not just merely the usual fresh corned beef, boiled cabbage and  a shot of two of Jameson’s Irish Whiskey  chased by several bottles of Guinness-- all so unmistakably Irish

There was also very good music by very good musicians.  My good friend and versatile musician and drummer extraordinaire Bruce David  threw a small party  at his recording studio and showed off his most recent recording of original music.  Holly Molly! A two-man band (one of whom was a left-handed keyboard player/bass guitarist) sounded like a four-man band. I danced. Very Irish!

Taking a break from dancing,  I watched the  highly powerful, multi-metaphorical movie – the Hunger Games. for the first time on Bruce’s big-screen TV. And there it was – a message loud and clear: the only way to win the hunger game is through love.

Love -- very Druid-like. Truly Irish!

 I should know. After all, I'm a Murphy

I’m Irish

(By infusion).

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!  Here's an Irish blessing for you. 

Image source: google.com

 

Below is a music video of a song, entitled "Deep in the Meadow," from  "Hunger Games."

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5t02YwUVwLk

 

 

 Posted with Aloha!

ARIEL MURPHY

While I still can

It may be a kind of last "hurrah," but I've noticed that the older I get the younger I become.  I dare say that I've taken to dressing in a way unlike most women my age.  I've even started talking like I'd never talked before using risque' words like you-know-what (only with close friends and after a glass or two of wine). When one reaches a certain age, occasional acts of defiance are like candy treats to a child!
 

I've realized that time I have to indulge myself  may be limited.  Eventually, I may no longer be able, for example, to dance with the same abandon I apply myself to currently. I may not be able to dance at all. Period (as I knock on wood).
 

The skepticism and cynicism that often accompany aging just might worm themselves into my psyche and rein in my sense of adventure and wonder.
 

So I've decided that I would as much as possible....
 

- Sleep naked.

- Savor the wonderful and comforting feeling of skin touching skin.

- Cast aside my timidity and enjoy the excitement and surprises of letting my hand explore under the table.

- Drive on roads I avoid most of the time. Heck, I will not let fear rule.

- Promote kindness and love where people fight and are hurt, angry and cynical.

- Use my hands to catch all the good energies from dancing and the music and spread them to all the people in the room.

- Shift my consciousness when I'm upset or disappointed from dwelling on perceived transgressions to focusing only on love, because Love is all there is. Everything else is illusion.

- Strive to keep whatever marbles I have left.

While I still can.

 

 

 Here's a  short music clip I'd like to share with you. 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFzJ94eJS7o 

 

 

 

 

 Posted with Aloha!

- ARIEL MURPHY

The road

The road to love can be long and rough, even scary. All sorts of monsters show up along the way.  The most formidable is an adroit shape-shifter called the Ego.

Like a dragon spitting fire, the Ego spews globs that target your eyes and turn them blind.   A small bit of goo on your skin can quickly numb your whole body.  Its sting is a potent drug that causes illusions of grandeur and, like plaque, hardens the aorta and transforms your heart from a blood-filled life-sustaining organ to a potentially fatal coronary.

Only a Medusa-like stare can trump the ego.  You see it never really dies. It lays low after losing a battle and when you’re not watching, its treachery rises again. The ego is everyone's phantom sniper.

Once you are able to best the Ego you’re on your way to love. You’ll know that you’re in the right direction when you reach the Forgiveness train station.   Be sure to take the train going to Acceptance.

But it’s a tricky track that loops a lot. Most times you end up right where you started and are again confronted with the Ego, whether or not you are aware of  its many camouflages. The trip is a never-ending constant struggle. 

You walk the walk  until you know, with your whole being, that you're either in love or in perdition.

 

Ariel's note: This blog is dedicated to a close friend, with whom I've lately been having  some pilikia.

Posted with  Aloha 

- ARIEL MURPHY

Her very own demon

Always, it's a toss up

Between the stars of the heavens and the dirt of the earth

Between illusion and spirit

Altruism wins

And  fruits serenity sweet and fragrant

Expediency gains upper hand

Building glass houses

While maimed bodies twitch by the wayside

Spurting dark red blood

Pleasure feigned and temporal

Success wafts acrid smoke

Peace flees

Only agony reigns

As a faithful mirror reflects

Her very own demon.

 

The devil as portrayed in the movie, The Ninth Gate. Photo credit: Deviantart.com

 

- ARIEL MURPHY

A menage-a-trois

 

Yesterday, a friend and I decided to treat a lady birthday celebrant- mutual friend to dinner at a local Thai restaurant. We had a crispy fish dish, a seafood salad, and two Thai curry dishes.  I had asked for fish sauce on the side and my date asked for Thai hot chilli sauce.

 

The restaurant does not charge a corkage fee for alcohol brought in by guests. My date brought a white and a red.

 

We started with the white wine and then went on to the red.

 

Maybe it was an effect  of both the wine and the hot chilli sauce but for some reason after opening the Merlot, my date deliberately placed the bottle  in front of the birthday celebrant with the label purposefully positioned right where the other lady wouldn't miss seeing it. 

 



Photo from honestwinereviews.com

 

No dishes flew. No chairs were broken.

 

Men (as I roll my eyes) Sigh!

 

They sure make hilarious blog material! :)

 

 

Posted with aloha!

- ARIEL MURPHY