Happy Easter. Jesus is alive.

HAPPY EASTER TO MY AWESOMEFACEBEAUTIFULHEARTS Family, Friends and all others...

Jesus is alive.

SERIOUSLY. The Bible says so. This is the worlds most published book so it must have gotten at least something as HUGE as this correct. Right?

And...

Let's not argue about the Bible. It says a bunch of things that I may or may not agree with. Since today is Easter I thought I'd use some hippity-hoppity themes like the RESURRECTION of JESUS CHRIST.

BUT FIRST... MY DISCLAIMER!!! I am not a Priest. The farthest up the Catholic chain of command I have gotten up to was Communion. I had my first sip of wine in Church and it tasted like piss. I don't believe in Confession. Why should I confess my sins to a priest when I can just open my mind and heart and communicate with God myself. When I go to Church I go for the communion of COMMUNITY... not to have some old guy who's never had sex to tell me how to live MY life... BUT I DIGRESS. I am not a NUN, not a Pastor, not a Reverend. I have never been ordained by any Church... nor do I think any would ever have me. I HARDLY EVER GO TO CHURCH. I do not hold any degrees in Religion or Philosophy.  I am not a scholar of religion. 

I am JESUS. 

And so are you. HE is a metaphor for LIFE. HE is a symbol. If you boil down most of HIS teachings you will find the SIMPLE themes of LIVING, GIVING and LOVING. For the next three weeks I am going to visit these three themes and hopefully I won't be TOO blasphemous about it.

TODAY I write about LIVING.

"On the first day of the week, at the first sign of dawn, they went to the tomb with the spices they had prepared. They found that the stone had been rolled away from the tomb, but on entering discovered that the body of the Lord Jesus was not there. As they stood there not knowing what to think, two men in brilliant clothes suddenly appeared at their side. Terrified, the women lowered their eyes. But the two men said to them, "Why look among the dead for someone who is alive? He is not here; he has risen. Remember what he told you when he was still in Galilee: that the Son of Man had to be handed over into the power of sinful men and be crucified, and rise again on the third day?" And they remembered his words.

When the women returned from the tomb they told all this to the Eleven and to all the others. The women were Mary of Magdala, Joanna, and Mary the mother of James. The other women with them also told the apostles, but this story of theirs seemed pure nonsense, and they did not believe them.
Peter, however, went running to the tomb. He bent down and saw the binding cloths but nothing else; he then went back home, amazed at what had happened." 

-Luke 24:1-12

To paraphrase... Three days ago Jesus was crucified by a bunch of asshats and put into a tomb without much fanfare. Three of the women DISCIPLES decide to anoint the body of Jesus with the proper care as was fitting for HIM. They go to the tomb of Jesus and see that this HUGE BOULDER has been lifted away from the opening. They look in and freak out when the find that the body of Jesus is missing. ANGELS APPEAR and laugh at them heartily as only Angels can. The women practically faint at their beauty. These Angels ask these women, "Why are you looking for LIFE in a place for the DEAD. Jesus is NOT HERE. He is ALIVE. HE TOLD YOU HE WOULD COME BACK! Don't you remember that one time in Galilee when He told you that He was the Son of God and that He would be betrayed and given to really bad guys who would have Him crucified? REMEMBER THAT? Yeah... that crucifixion stuff was bloody and uncalled for. Do you remember THE MOST IMPORTANT PART? No? Well... He said that HE WOULD RISE AGAIN on the THIRD DAY. It's the THIRD DAY ladies. He's not here..."

The part of this gospel that I really want to focus on is what the "two men in brilliant clothes" say:

"Why look among the dead for someone who is alive? He is not here; he has risen."

Do not DWELL in DEATH. RISE and MEET YOUR FULL POTENTIAL!!! Too often do I see good friends and family members DWELL IN DEATH. DEATH equals BOREDOM, DEPRESSION, STUPID STRESSES, UNHAPPINESS, THE PAST and THE FUTURE. Live in the PRESENT! LET GO OF THE SHIT!!! Getting yourself out of the rut, hole and/or sewer you are in doesn't have to be as DRAMATIC as Jesus. It may be painful as CHANGE can sometimes be. You don't have to do it alone. Look to your Friends. Look to your Family. If all else fails... JESUS CHRIST! ... look to your Faith.

Do not search for or hold onto PEOPLE WHO ARE DEAD. Read between the lines here, folks. Go with the theme of METAPHORS. Cut out the people, ideas, THINGS that are KILLING YOUR SPIRIT. 

You could also read this statement for what it is. Death is the one thing that we ALL have in common. I went to a Presbyterian Church this morning and learnt about Three ways to Handle Death. 

RAGE.

RESIGNATION.

RELIANCE.

I will revisit this topic on Thursday. 

YOU are a LIVING, BREATHING, VIBRANT individual. Live your life with VIBRANCE and clothe yourself in BRILLIANCE like those ANGELS. JESUS CHOSE to RISE and so should you.

Love and Happy Hippity Hop,

Cousin Pili

I GOT CANDY! Happy Easter!

 

Inspire Happiness.

"He 'ohu ke aloha; a'ohe kauhiwi kau'ole."

Love is like the mist; there is no mountaintop that it does not settle upon.

Love comes to all

-Hawaiian Proverb

So today I have been wracking my brain as to WHAT SHOULD I WRITE??? Seriously scratching my head. So I have decided to do one of those TV episodes where the characters look back at the last season and make funny comments about it. As the season has officially changed... back on the 21st of March... and Sunday is Easter I have decided to do a HAPPYNATHANIEL SEASONAL REVIEW!

Before I go into this review, I'd like to ask you for some help. I need your ideas. I need your questions. What would you like to know about Health? Wellness? Love? Family? Santa? Easter Bunny?

Blog 1 or INSURE MY ASS. Back on January 14th my little Cousin CHELSEA asked me to be her HEALTH AND WELLNESS COACH. I was sick with the flu and laughed until my sore throat couldn't take it. Then I realized she was very serious. So I decided to tackle the big political topic... HEALTH INSURANCE. I am not sure if I have done my cousin any good since then or even if this blog is helping... I like to think it is.

Blog 2 or Eat Happily and Stop Lying to Yourself. In this blog I decided to tackle eating habits and LYING. I believe to largest reason many people FAIL at being HEALTHY is because they ARE NOT TRUTHFUL. I have had people tell me that they are going to eat HEALTHY and then I see less than a month later that they have greasy food, alcoholic drinks and sugary fat-packed deserts PLASTERED all over their INSTAGRAM and FACEBOOK. I will only care AS MUCH as YOU CARE about YOUR HEALTH. There is NOTHING I can do if you INSIST on LYING to yourself and to me. I think I will delve deeper into this topic in the coming weeks.

Blog 3 or Make the Decision. Execute it. Earn it. Make the play. I was SOOOO HAPPY!!! The 49ers had just beat the Falcons 28-24 to go to THE SUPERBOWL. The PATRIOTS... lost to the RAVENS. That also made me pretty happy too. I spoke about the REASON these teams made it to the most COVETED GAME... EVER. Their leaders MADE DECISIONS. The players worked TOGETHER to EXECUTE the PLAY. THEY EARNED IT. I used FOOTBALL to explain how to SUCCEED in what you choose to do in life.

Blog 4 or Sex. Be Safe. Be Honest. Be Positive. On January 24th I decided to do a blog on SEX. I would revisit this later but in this quickie I decided to at least get the ideas out: 1)Be safe and don't Die, 2) Do you want kids?, 3) Be sex positive. Go to the link above for more info.

Blog 5 or I love you. I really start getting a feel for what my blog is really about. Love. Love in general. Love for the people you want in your life... Friends and Family. Love for yourself. The ability to look beyond the bullshit and simply love and be loved. LOVE is meant to be SHARED. I discovered this while writing about my Aunty Bernie. My you and I miss you Aunty.

Blog 6 or I am Thankful.  My Aunty Bernie is loving me and the rest of her family and friends from her garden in heaven.  I love you and I miss you Aunty. When my Aunty passed away I looked past the sadness and found GRATITUDE and APPRECIATION. BE THANKFUL for the people in your life and the time you have with them. You do not know when you will see them again. BE THANKFUL for your life, your body and your soul. It may be the only one your will ever have...

Blog 7 or FOOTBALL. TEAMWORK. This was SUPERBOWL SUNDAY. I talked about what an AMAZING TEAM my cousins Kainoa and Liana are. They are working out as a couple... AS A TEAM! As soon as they hit their SIX MONTH workout anniversary I will do a follow up special on them. I also spoke about why the 49er WERE NOT working as a team... but PLEASE DON'T MAKE ME RELIVE THAT HORRIBLE DAY. Please.

Blog 8 and Blog 9... Eat Me. and I'm starving. These blogs were a few interviews I did with my beautiful COUSINS CHELSEA AND KRISTIAN. They are making the COMMITMENT to EATING HEALTHY! The second blog was an interview with myself. I figured that I could't lay out my Families health problems without facing and talking about my own.

Blog 10 or Happiness. Doggie Style. A blog dedicated to the critters in our lives that bring us happiness and THEIR HEALTH and HAPPINESS.

Blog 11 or Malasada day!!! I got to spend FAT TUESDAY with my FAMILY in Hilo, Hawaii!!! It was an AMAZING TIME filled with crazy Cousins, Grandpas Lumpia and Grandma's AWESOME Malasada Recipe. Fried balls of dough dusted with sugar... ah heaven...

Blog 12 or Sex. That basically explains it. Hit the link for my thoughts on Sex.

Blog 13 or The Family Stubborn. OR Cousin Pili's Three Simple Steps for Getting one's head out of one's Ass.

So... I am going to pick this back up either tomorrow or maybe Sunday and leave you with this recipe I found on Facebook...

FOR THOSE DAYS WHEN YOU JUST WANT TO MAKE ONE COOKIE! 1 tbsp. butter, melted 1 tbsp. white sugar 1 tbsp. brown sugar 3 drops of vanilla pinch of salt 1 egg yolk 1/4 c. flour 2 tbsp. chocolate chips MICROWAVE 40-60 SEC IN A CUP OR BOWL. Single serving deep dish chocolate chip cookie!

So Proud. My little Brother and the Class of 2013.

Aloha ALL!

Today I am going to talk about how PROUD I am of my FAMILY. I am proud to be apart of such a loving, smart and HEALTHY family. I was just given this quote by one of my newest family members:

"Friends come and friends go. FAMILY will ALWAYS be THERE. You can choose your friends but you CANNOT choose your family."

So very true. We'd been talking about how often you lose contact with friends. I keep in contact with just a small handful of friends from High School. Most of them live in California and two live in New York. I don't really keep in contact with my High School friends in Hawaii. I am the only one to blame for that. And now... it's too late. A good friend from High School just passed away this month. She was in a motorcycle accident. She was one of those fully BAD ASS girls with a heart of PLATINUM. I didn't know her in recent years except through the random "Whats up?" on Facebook. I only found out about her passing from my friend in Rochester NY.

For my friend, Helen... Kick ass in heaven.

For all of you who are still on this Earth... cherish the people YOU WANT in your life. CHERISH and LOVE YOUR FRIENDS. They have made the CHOICE to be there with you and FOR YOU. Make the CHOICE to LOVE YOUR FAMILY. Through the pain, hurt, careless words... Though the warmth, forgiveness and loving words... there is always FAMILY.

Today I am going to give my BLOG to my LITTLE BROTHER and the YOUNGEST of ALL THE COUSINS in the VIOLET/CONRAD NATHANIEL FAMILY.

Why?

1) I am just so ridiculously PROUD of the ridiculously SMART and incredibly HANDSOME man MY BROTHER has become. But most of all I am proud of his SHINING and BEAUTIFUL HEART. HE IS A HAPPYNATHANIEL!!!

2) KAMEHAMEHA SCHOOLS CLASS OF 2013 has SWEPT the 2013 SONG CONTEST!!!  For more information about the contest and the school please go HERE!!!

AND NOW...

ALOHA!!! (HUGE TOOTHY SMILE)

HERE I AM PILI!!! Your favorite (and only) brother, Walter Iokepaokalani Barrett. EVERYONE here in bloggerland can call me Kepa. I just Stole Your Blog Pili! WHY??? Because you said I could AND... CLASS OF 2013 is AWESOME!!! My Big Sister PILI ... (Not Leimaile for all you Kamehameha amazing people, PILI is the OLDEST SISTER) ... is the owner and author of this BLOG. She gave me a bunch of questions to answer!  I decided to just take over her blog instead! SORRY IT'S A DAY LATE. It'll still TASTE GOOD!!! I PROMISE!

WHO ARE YOU IN SCHOOL?

In school I guess you can call me a “jack of all trades.” Not in a conceited way or anything, I just like to keep myself busy. I’ve ran cross country for four years, and did canoe paddling and track for three. I was also a part of the Kamehameha schools Speech and Debate team for two years, and I’m currently the representative for the Hawaiian Language homeroom. I’ve been in my school’s choir group for two years, and I am a co-president of the Hui Aloha ʻĀina ‘Olau Niu club, also known as the Kuʻi Kalo Club, where students pound taro to make paʻi ʻai and poi.

WHAT IS KAMEHAMEHA SCHOOLS?

Kamehameha Schools is like the real-life Hogwarts. Only instead of wizards and witches with wands, you have Native Hawaiian youth with beautiful voices. Over 125 years ago a Hawaiian chiefess by the name of Bernice Pauahi Bishop founded the Kamehameha Schools as the largest private landowner in Hawaiʻi. She saw the challenges her Native Hawaiian people were facing and she decided the best way for Hawaiians to thrive under the influence of western society was through education.

Kamehameha Schools Class of 2013... SWEEP!!!

WHAT IS SONG CONTEST?

Song Contest has been an annual tradition at Kamehameha Schools for 93 years. Every year, Kamehameha high school students participate in this time-honored tradition. The students elect song directors for each of the three competitions. Students in grades 10-12 participate in a men’s and women’s competition, while all grades, 9-12, participate in a co-ed competition. Each class selects a class color their freshman year. The following are this year’s class colors: Freshman: purple, Sophomores: green, Juniors: yellow, and SENIORS: RED!

Every year, Song Contest embodies a different theme. Whether it involves celebrating choral classics or honoring different song writers, Song Contest brings out the best in a cappella music. It’s kind of like the "Pitch Perfect" of Hawaiian choral a cappella singing. Only better :P

WHAT IS SONG CONTEST... TO YOU?

Wow. What is Song Contest to me? Geez…it means so much. Song Contest means learning the significance of music. It means following the strong, bass voice of my father. It means speaking in front of thousands of people, emotionally giving honor to my two older sisters and the rest of my family. It means sitting through TWO senior sweeps in my high school career (including Leimaile’s), and finally sweeping MY senior year. It means following the legacy of previous classes, it means REDemtion, and it means ‘13eliving in my class. It represents the granddaughter of Albert Nahaleʻa, our Aunty ‘Analani, who was honored in my men’s song this year, “He Punahele No ʻOe.” It represents Aunty Bina’s smile after my women sang “Mapuana Kuʻu Aloha.” It represents the immortal love of an unknown woman who wrote “My Sweet Sweeting” for her son that she would never raise.

HAPPYNATHANIEL!!!

EXPLAIN YOUR CLASS, THE CLASS OF 2013!

Pfft! There are billions, if not, TRILLIONS of words in all the languages on earth, and if you choose every awesome/good/amazing word from each language, you could probably explain only a FRACTION of what the class of 2013 is to me. Of course that’s not to say we’re perfect. We’re flawed like everyone else. But I won’t talk about that in this blog post. I am BEYOND proud to be a member of the Kamehameha Class of 2013. We’ve been through so much together. Not only did we sweep song contest (which is the most sought-after endeavor by any Kamehameha graduating class), but we’ve also experienced SO much more. We ran a 10k or a 3k swim and a biathlon together for PE. We won pep-rally twice. We’re the first class to fall under the new headmaster, Dr. Earl T. Kim. We saw our campus transform LITERALLY before our eyes after several construction projects. We’ve been through deadly, tragic failures and euphoric, remarkable accomplishments. We’re bigger than the high school stereotypes. Sure we have jocks, nerds, homosexuals, scrappah’s, scrubs, goths, punks, clowns, and “natives.” But when it all comes down to it, we’re just one big, loving family.

We’ve been through the best of times, and the through worst of times. We’ve grown up together.
I am blessed to be a part of this class.

Kepa with fellow classmate and HANAI SISTER, Liana Best.

WHAT DOES THE WORD... INSPIRE... MEAN TO YOU?

The word inspire holds a lot of meaning behind it. I may not be the most thoughtful or creative person out there, but I can honestly say I’m inspired everyday from the things around me. Whether it’s the environment, a friend, or a simple conversation, the WORLD inspires me to search for something bigger than myself. I’m like a sponge. I try to soak up as much information as I can.

... HAPPINESS?

Happiness, as mentioned in your previous blogs, is most definitely a CHOICE! People often get so wrapped up in negative vibes that it’s easy for them to lose sight of happiness. Sure, I know many people go through rough times in life. In the short, almost 18 years that I’ve lived on this planet I’ve experienced more sadness than I would ever want anyone else to experience. But I always chose happiness over unnecessary grief. I remember the memories of those who have past, and I cherish the ones that are still with me. THAT is how I stay sane.

... HEALTH?

Balance. In my opinion, that’s what it means to be healthy. Much like happiness, health is a choice one makes on his own behalf. 

I think society has created this inaccurate façade of what “healthy” people should look like. Women should be tall, skinny and have a big smile. (Kinda like my sisters, but, hey, it’s not their fault they just so happen to fall under society’s approval). Men should be huge, strong, and athletic, qualities that I lack in physicality but make up in intellect ;). 

But back to what I think health REALLY is. BALANCE! Society can approve the way a person looks all it wants, but that specific individual determines his/her own health. The key to health is balancing time, energy, love, and work. You talked about dealing with stress in your last post. Time and energy are key factors one must balance in order to stay healthy. This includes going to sleep when one shouldn’t be awake and eating a healthy diet everyday. Work needs to be enjoyable. Although that’s probably better said than done. And love needs to be at the center. It has to be the spindle that holds everything in unison.

... FAMILY?

**Spoken in my best Stitch impersonation**

ʻOhana means family. Family means no one gets left behind…or forgotten.” – Lilo and Stitch.

As cliché as Disney usually is when it comes to culture, they sort of got the general idea of ʻOHANA right. Not only does family include blood relatives, it also includes alien animals from extra-terrestrial planets that make friends with you and save the world…and I guess it could include human friends too.
But in all seriousness, family means the world to me. Friends and classmates are included when I talk about ʻOhana. I believe the ʻOhana spirit is a universal concept embodied by the entire human race. Hawaiians just found a name for it!

What are some WORDS that you live by?

"MĀLAMA me ka lokomaikaʻi. ALOHA me ka pauʻole. HOLOMUA i ke ala pono." 

CARE generously. LOVE endlessly. CONTINUE in the right path. These are just a few words by which I live. 

Ma ka HANA ka ‘IKE, meaning, “in working one learns,” is my favorite proverb. I’d like to think ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi, my family, and my friends, equally contribute to my prosperous, healthy life-style.

'Ohana THEN... 1995ish...

'OHANA NOW!!! 

ANTI-STRESS

Aloha my Fantastic Family, Fabulous Friends and all other FANTABULOUS people who have joined today's BLOG. I have a great person joining us!!! Her name is AUNTIE STRESS and she will take over tonight's blog.  

AUNTIE STRESS SAYS: STRESS KILLS. Really! Think about it. It's simple physics, really. 

From Wikipedia:

"Stress in material science means that material is influenced in a way that may cause it to break or change its form.

Stress is the way in which the force per unit area is spread out in a cross-section of an item that balances and reacts to external loads applied to a body. It is a second-order tensor with nine dimensions, but can be fully described with six dimensions due to symmetry in the absence of body moments. Stress is often broken down into its shear and normal components as these have unique physical significance. It often results from built up pressure due to the lack of an outlet."

Blah... blah... blah...

In other words... If you apply enough STRESS to an object it'll either CHANGE to FIT the STRESS or IT WILL BREAK. 

YOU WILL BREAK.

Before I, AUNTIE STRESS, go on, a disclaimer: I am not a doctor. I am not a nurse. I am not a psychologist. I am not affiliated with any sort of health industry. You are reading this blog with the full knowledge that AUNTIE STRESS is not authorized by any school, institution or government to give health and medical advise. If you follow any advise in this blog it is at your own discretion and at your own risk. Okay? Nod if you agree. If you read anything past this paragraph that means you have nodded and you agree.

Did you nod? Great. that means you haven't collapsed from all that STRESS you've been carrying on your shoulders. Let AUNTIE massage them for you. Relax. Chill. Let it go.

Really. Just let it go. If you do not, The American Institute of Stress says:

"There are numerous emotional and physical disorders that have been linked to stress including depression, anxiety, heart attacks, stroke, hypertension, immune system disturbances that increase susceptibility to infections, a host of viral linked disorders ranging from the common cold and herpes to AIDS and certain cancers, as well as autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis. In addition stress can have direct effects on the skin (rashes, hives, atopic dermatitis, the gastrointestinal system (GERD, peptic ulcer, irritable bowel syndrome, ulcerative colitis) and can contribute to insomnia and degenerative neurological disorders like Parkinson’s disease. In fact, it’s hard to think of any disease in which stress cannot play an aggravating role or any part of the body that is not affected (see stress effects on the body stress diagram HERE). This list will undoubtedly grow as the extensive ramifications of stress are increasingly being appreciated." 

Stress KILLS. Don't get me wrong... YOU are not going to be stressed and get AIDS. That is not what the article above is explaining. STRESS is LINKED to the AGGRAVATION of DISEASE. 

So... let go.

I AM talking about the big things... The REALLY BIG things that throw your life into a tailspin. Chronic Stress comes from Finances, Relationships, Death, Health... there are too many to mention. I realize that letting go of the stress is easier said than done but hopefully you and I can take a few steps forward to learn to LET IT GO.

I am NOT say that you have to let of the thing that is causing the stress. IF you CAN... PLEASE DO!!!! If you CAN'T walk away from the "stressor" DON'T STRESS! Most of the time the "STRESSOR" is out of our control. I am saying to LET GO OF YOUR REACTION. 

"People are disturbed NOT by a thing but by their PERCEPTION of a thing." -Epictetus

FIRST--} Schedule TIME for YOURSELF. You will not LET GO and CHANGE without giving yourself the TIME to do so. Look at your Daily, Weekly and Monthly schedule. Make sure you have PRODUCTIVE "YOU" TIME. In the hustle of life many times stress will occur just because we are not flexible enough to COPE WITH CHANGE. Be Flexible. 

SECOND--} Talk to someone. Anyone. Friends. Family. Just start TALKING. Reach out and you'll find that many people will be there to stand with you. The people that matter were probably there the entire time to begin with... you only needed to ASK FOR HELP. Hold out your hand to your family and let them know that you need them.

THIRD--} Make a COMMITMENT TO CHANGE. Chronic and Acute stress can DAMAGE YOUR HEALTH if you let it. This will be a long process but you CAN LET GO and CHANGE. Only YOU can CHANGE YOU.

Ways to let go...

PHYSICALIZE IT.

Buy some gym/running shoes. I think these foot protectors are called SNEAKERS. Get yourself a good pair. DO SOMETHING PHYSICAL EVERYDAY. Go for a RUN. Join a Gym. TAKE CLASSES! Yoga is a great way to FOCUS ON YOU and RELEASE STRESS through intensive stretching and breathing. Martial Arts is a great way to PHYSICALIZE YOUR STRESSORS with focused exercise build to improve self-defence and stamina. Go hiking or go to the beach for a SWIM... every weekend. 

EXTERNALIZE IT.

--} I know I mentioned this before but... TALK TO SOMEONE. Some stressors are bigger than we think. Seek Professional help. A teacher. A doctor. A nurse. Your general practitioner is a good place to start. Tell them what you are going though and they can get you to see the right people. A doctor can NAME your difficulties. I know that by NAMING my personal struggles, I have been able to over come them. I suggest this because sometimes we can say things to strangers that we may not say to our well meaning Friends and Family. 

I hope this helps. 

With love and hugs,

AUNTIE STRESS

Please go HERE for the more information on the ramifications of stress from the American Institute of Stress. The chart below is also courtesy of The American Institute of Stress:

HAPPY SAINT PATRICK'S DAY!!!

Aloha my beautiful AMAZING family, my lovely BEAUTIFUL friends and all you CRAZY KIDS who have taken a breather to read my healthy and happy blog...

I know I said in my last blog that I was going to talk more about stress but... It's SAINT PATTIES DAY!!! I just had the best corned beef and cabbage complete with boiled potatoes and Irish soda bread!!! AWESOMENESS!!! Made me SERIOUSLY miss my Grandma's cooking. I MISS MY GRANDMA!

MORE IMPORTANTLY... Yesterday was my BEAUTIFUL LITTLE SISTER'S 20TH BIRTHDAY!!! Seriously folks... how did time fly by soooo quickly. I was twelve when my parents brought my new little sister home. My mom told me to lay down on her bed and she placed little Leimaile on my chest. She was so small and cute. She fell asleep on me in ten minutes.

Leimaile!!!

I remember swinging her onto my shoulders and running around with her at Kipapa Park. I remember brushing her hair and singing her to sleep. "Don't lose your way, with each passing day. You've come so far, don't throw it away. Valley, mountain, there is a fountain... washes your tears all away..." Remember that song? Yeah. I'd sing that to Leimaile every night. That and Silent Night in Hawaiian.

Now my little baby sister is 20. AMAZING.

Our Daddy with Leimaile and Kepa.

She is no longer a baby. She is no longer a child. She stopped being a teenager just a few hours ago.

So where am I going with this GUSH about my little sister? I want to talk about TIME. In my TWENTIES I concentrated on everything. I was a double major at University of Hawaii in Hilo. I got my degree and left as soon as I could. I moved to the BIG CITY. I was an ACTRESS. I lived in NYC and LA exploring every avenue I could to make my dreams a reality. In LA, I went back to my roots in writing. I began a novel. In my TWENTIES I worked in about twenty different bars and restaurants from Hawaii to NYC. In my TWENTIES I became that big sister that would visit my family at least once a year. In the greater part of my sisters young life, I was nonexistent.

Do I regret anything in my TWENTIES... Nah. Regret is a waste of time. I am Thirty-Two now. Am I any wiser? Geez... I sure hope so. I grew up and I realized that no matter where in the world I am and what I am doing, my FAMILY is MOST IMPORTANT. Keeping in SOLID CONTACT with the ones you love is GOLDEN. If you don't love them and if they are not important to you then by all means... let them go. IF YOU LOVE THEM... TELL THEM! Time is ever moving and ever changing. It is one of the things that all beings have in common. TIME. One day we will not have any left.

Leimaile Ku'upolialoha, my SISTER... I love you. You are an AMAZING and BEAUTIFUL woman...

So... This episode of HAPPYNATHANIEL is dedicated to MY LITTLE SISTER. I had a discussion with her about the STRESSORS in her life as a YOUNG ADULT. 

SISTER PILI (SP): Welcome back to my blog BABY SISTER!!! HAPPY 

BIRTHDAY!!! SQUEEZE!!! (We hug.) 

SISTER LEIMAILE (SL): THANK YOU MY TITA!!!

SP: So Leimaile, how are you minimizing your stress? 

SL: Before I talk about minimizing my stress, let me talk about WHY I'm so stressed. During the second semester of my freshman year of college I decided that I would triple major in Journalism, Communications, and Hawaiian language. I WILL BE be a HAWAIIAN BROADCAST JOURNALIST one day. I also want to study abroad for one semester and still graduate in four years! In order to do everything I have to do credit overload a few semesters. So last semester I took 21 credits while working four days a week, and it was completely manageable. 

SP: I remember that... YOU ROCKED IT!

SL: YEAH I DID!!! This semester is a WHOLE other story. I registered for 21 credits again but forgot to take into account that two of my classes are Writing Intensive. And one of my classes is like two in one. Didn't expect that one. I won't go into detail about how much I have due each week, but just know that it's a lot and I am STRESSED OUT!

SP: WOAH MONKEY... slow down!!! Take a breath! 

SL: I know, I know. I'm not stressed anymore. So how am I minimizing my stress? After a really hard week where everything that could possibly go wrong, went wrong, mom noticed something was up when you guys came over to visit. She and YOU, my tita, helped me realize just how stressed out I was and what I should do about it. You also helped me realize how stubborn I was being, that I took on too much, and that something had to give.

SP: Yeah... You were pretty bad off, my Tita. Mom and I were pretty worried. What are you doing about it?

SL:  I'm cutting down my work schedule to two days a week, maybe even down to one. AND I'm dropping my third major in communications and going down to a double major in Journalism and Hawaiian. I think  I'm gaining the right amount of skills I need from my Journalism courses in order to be a successful Journalist one day. We'll see. But I'm happy with my decision. Look! Your favorite word! I'm a HAPPYLEIMAILE!!! I'm a HAPPYNATHANIEL! Thank you my tita! Thank you mom.

SP: BE HAPPY! DO WHAT MAKES YOU HAPPY!!! How do you USUALLY minimize your stress?

SL: Sing. Surf. Skate. Sleep. That's what I usually do to minimize my stress. These are a few of my favorite things I love to do. They make me happy. I sing, hum, whistle all the time. I surf whenever I have time to and MAKE time to go night surfing every full moon. I skateboard EVERYWHERE because walking takes too long and it's like surfing on land. And I sleep whenever I'm tired. Anywhere, anytime, however long I want to. I don't know why some people are so against sleeping, sleep is good :)

SP: SLEEP IS GOOD. Sleep is the way your body resets and heals itself. I don't think some people are necessarily AGAINST sleep... It's just that some can't relax and de-stress enough to shut down. What're you doing to keep healthy?

SL: Well, I'm not gonna lie, keeping healthy is something I definitely need work on. I wish I could say that I exercise and eat healthy like you and the rest of the cousins you've interviewed, but I don't. I personally think I'm unhealthy. The only exercise I get on a daily basis is from skateboarding from class to class. I haven't "worked out" since high school and have never watched what I ate... Yeaah, I'm the other "skinny bitch of a cousin who eats whatever she wants" you mentioned in your first post about willpower. Oh the joys of having a high metabolism! That goes away though, I know that, so I definitely needa start making time to exercise.

SP:  I almost didn't print what you just wrote!!! BAD MONKEY! All you have to do is make YOUR HEALTH a priority. Don't go crazy about it... but you need to begin to develop HEALTHY HABITS that will last. It is also a frame of mind. Skateboarding and surfing is EXERCISE... just make more time for it. You don't have to join a gym or lift weights to exercise.  Drink more water and less Lilikoi Juice. Eat more salads. Eat good protein. So... MY SISTER, What are you going to do to keep healthy? 

SL: Physically? Just that. Make time to exercise. I am going to start exercising every Tuesday and Thursday after class for at least an hour before I go home. I'm paying for the gym in my tuition, so I may as well start using it. And drink more water. After your blog about cleansing, I realized that I haven't been drinking enough water and I need to get on that. Mentally? Cutback hours at work so I have more time to study and GO SURFING during the DAY. Lately I've been surfing more at night than during the day. And full moon is only once a month. I need to surf more.

SP: I love you my little sister. Be well. Don't stress. FOR ALL OF MY FAMILY AND FRIENDS... BREATHE. Be HAPPY. On Wednesday I'll talk about what happens when you let Stress rule your life.

Until next time my family and friends. I leave you with one more treat from the kitchen of AUNTY LORIE (Thank you AUNTY!):

Tofu Surprise Salad

2 blocks tofu - drain and cube
1 pkg bean sprouts
1 bunch watercress
1 sm sweet onion
1 medium cucumber
1/2 pkg alfalfa or clover sprouts
1 can salmon or tuna (drain liquid)
1 medium tomato diced
3 boiled eggs diced

In pan, layer each ingredient as follows: tofu, sprouts, watercress, onion, cucumber, alfalfa sprouts, calmon and end with diced tomato. Sprinkle diced eggs on salad. Chill.

Dressing

2 Tbsp sesame oil
2 Tbsp veg oil
1/4 cup shoyu
1/4 cup vinegar
1/2 cup sugar

Heat the sesame oil and salad oil in saucepan. Remove pan to counter top and add shoyu, vinegar and sugar. return pan to burner and cook for a few minutes. Cool before pouring into jar and chill in refrigerator.

This is a pic of my Dad's version! SO ONO!!!

Don't stress about bananas.

If you are just joining me on my "STRESSFUL" topic please go HERE for my first blog on Stress.

ALOHA and WELCOME my friends and family to today's episode of Cousin Pili's Instructional Stress Symposium or C-PISS. It's kind of like C-SPAN only my blog makes more sense. 

Todays disclaimer: I am not a doctor... blah blah blah... If you all have been reading you KNOW I'M NOT A DOCTOR. If this is your first time here... WELCOME! Much aloha and hugs. Please go HERE for my first blog and read on through to get to know me and my brain-snot.

And... Today's disclaimer comes from my yoga instructor, who got it from his yoga instructor who was on a treadmill that was instructing her to read the instructions before using. She had a mini epiphany and fell off the treadmill and on to her beautiful yoga-riffic butt. "YOUR BODY, YOUR MIND and YOUR SPIRIT DOES NOT COME WITH INSTRUCTIONS." There is no little handbook that pops out of your mommies belly with the placenta. SO STOP LOOKING and SEARCHING FOR INSTRUCTIONS. Nothing and no one... including me... can TELL YOU WHAT TO DO because none of us... including you... came with a HOW TO OPERATE book. 

Just Listen. 

Do what is right and good for your BODY. Explore and enlighten your MIND. Do what is beautiful and strong for your SPIRIT. CLAIM responsibility for the INSTRUCTION of YOURSELF.

And now back to our regularly schedule program:

Here is Cousin Pili of C-PISS with todays BLOG.

DON'T SWEAT THE SMALL STUFF! I know you've heard this one before! Follow it! There is enough crap that you have to deal with on an hourly, daily, weekly... basis that getting worked up, pissed and/or STRESSED about the small stuff in your life is NONSENSICAL!

DON'T PROCRASTINATE or what I like to call GET YOUR SHIT DONE and DONE ON TIME. Many small stressful situations come out of PROCRASTINATION. If you party with your friends when you should be doing homework DON'T WANK and STRESS about it the next day BECAUSE IT WAS YOUR CHOICE. If you stay up late watching saved episodes of GLEE or a PAWN STARS marathon when you know you have to work in the morning... YOU WILL BE STRESSED and your day will be a pile of POOP.

Time is a huge factor in our everyday lives. If you treat time like its GOLDEN and a thing to be USED WISELY you'll find that YOU WILL HAVE MORE OF IT. If you WASTE TIME you'll end up BROKE and stressed.

Be prepared for EVERYDAY STUFF YOU KNOW WILL HAPPEN. Like traffic. You know you'll have to drive in traffic. So don't stress. If driving is a fact of your life then it is what I shall call an ANNOYANCE. BRUSH IT OFF. These everyday annoyances are nothing to STRESS OUT about because YOU KNOW they are going to happen. SO PREPARE! Listen to relaxing music during the drive. STAY OFF YOUR PHONE! No texting or calling. It's against the law AND bad for your health. Chances are it'll not only affect your driving skills but it'll also affect your frame of mind. Make sure you GET YOUR SHIT DONE ON TIME... So that you are NOT RUSHING.

I understand if you are gearing up for an interview, a date or if you're some actor/super model but... COME ON... Why do some people spend a LIFETIME stressing about their APPEARANCE. Why are you stressing out about what you are wearing or how your hair is styled? (Note here: there are some diagnosed disorders associated with body image... I am not speaking of those.) STOP STRESSING THE SMALL STUFF! Know that you are BEAUTIFUL. And... If you know that you'll need a little extra time to get ready... PREPARE! Get more SLEEP. Eat HEALTHY. Exercise. DRINK WATER! Use sunscreen. Prepare your wardrobe for the next day so you're not fretting about it while trying to put on mascara and lipstick at the same time.

Here's one of my favorites... Your wife forgets to buy you your bananas. Bananas are your favorite. Why would she forget YOUR FUCKING BANANAS!?! Instead of talking to her, you make her feel small, unappreciated and stressed. (She bought everything else) You FLIP OUT on her because of the STRESS of not having your bananas. And now a huge stressful situation has been created because of lack of COMMUNICATION. WE must COMMUNICATE with the ONES WE LOVE. You cannot read each others minds. You have to tell your wife that you wanted bananas. Maybe she had a hard and stressful day and simple forgot. Maybe the store didn't have bananas. Whatever the reason... BANANAS ARE NOT WORTH STRESSING ABOUT!

Okay?

So... the lesson here... DON'T STRESS ABOUT BANANAS.

For Sunday I will speak about the hard stuff of life. I will talk about the triggers in life that lead to acute, chronic and life-threatening stress AND how to breathe through them and hopefully find the peace within yourself.

Until then my Family, take a deep breath and relax. I love you.

ALOHA,

Cousin Pili

Stress.

Sit back and relax with me for a moment. I'd like you to imagine yourself in a happy neutral. That space where you'd imagine everything to be "all good." Look at that point in your life that you are working toward and relax into it with me. This is your equilibrium. This is the ideal you are constantly working towards. Doesn't it feel good?

Now imagine that you get a huge pay raise and promotion. Feels great doesn't it!!! Awesome!!! Now you have 200 workers under you. You are in charge of all these people. Their lives and the lives of their families depend on you. Hmm... 

Stress.

Now imagine that you lose your job. The main offices are shutting your branch and they do not need your services. You are without a job and you have a family to support...

STRESS.

First my disclaimer: I am not a doctor. I am not a nurse. I am not a psychologist. ALL SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION THAT I AM USING COMES FROM the Wikipedia article on STRESS and various articles from the MAYO CLINIC on STRESS. I will be using these articles as a reference for the next few blogs.

I am not affiliated with any sort of health industry. You are reading this blog with the full knowledge that Pilialoha K. Nathaniel is not authorized by any school, institution or government to give health and medical advise. If you follow any advise in this blog it is at your own discretion and at your own risk. Okay? Nod if you agree. If you read anything past this paragraph that means you have nodded and you agree.

Hey... don't STRESS OUT about it... just nod and all will be good!!!

STRESS. According to something I read on wikipedia, a scientist by the name of Walter Cannon developed the idea of "homeostasis.^[2] as a concept central to the idea of stress. In biology, most biochemical processes strive to maintain equilibrium, a steady state that exists more as an ideal and less as an achievable condition. Environmental factors, internal or external stimuli, continually disrupt homeostasis; an organism’s present condition is a state in constant flux moving about a homeostatic point that is that organism’s optimal condition for living."

IN OTHER WORDS... go back to that happy neutral you were at before we began speaking with all the scientific nonsense words. Breathe deep and relax into it. This is close to what your equilibrium feels like. This is the "homeostatic point" where you would like to be. Stress occurs when this equilibrium is wacked out of balance. This stress could be good (promotion, new baby, wedding) or the stress could be bad (job loss, death, divorce). Either way, STRESS is the general term used for the chemical reactions our bodies and minds have to stimulus that knocks us off our neutral place.

I would go on... but you all can read the articles. There are a HUGE amount of brain functions, hormones and biological mechanisms that go into the definition of stress. I'll be coming back to some definitions and information in upcoming blogs.

What I want to get at in this episode of Cousin Pili's Cognitive Crap is the fact that STRESS IS GOOD. Stress is a medical fact of life that dates back to when us humans were playing with saber-tooth tigers and stone axes. It is connected with our "fight or flight" response. Stress is that extra push we get when we're in an earthquake and you need to get your family out of the house. Stress gives you that surge of confidence when you want to ask that cute boy to dance. Stress gives you the necessary drive to pull though the loss of someone close.

STRESS IS BAD when you let it take over your life. I am CONSTANTLY telling anybody who will listen to CHOOSE HAPPINESS. CHOOSE HEALTH. BUT... sometimes the stress is so DEEP and overwhelming that you find yourself drowning unable to take a fresh, stabilizing breath of HAPPINESS. 

Please grab my hand NOW so that I can do my best to pull you out. 

In my next few blogs I'm going to talk about STRESS and how it can turn into or be a side affect of a serious medical condition. I'm going to speak with a few family members about STRESS. Lastly I'll talk about how to cope with stress. Because let's face it folks... WE ARE ALL STRESSED for one reason or another so why don't we help each other out. 

So until then... please close your eyes and take a deep breath. Go to that neutral place. Hang out there for a little bit. Now open your eyes. That may not have solved your problems but you just gave yourself a little break and now maybe your stress can be a little less... um... stressful.

If you have any personal stories about stress, direct questions about stress and/or something related to stress that you'd like me to talk about PLEASE leave me a comment below. 

Love and happiness,

Cousin Pili

Maui. On a beach looking at Lana'i. 

Are you a DIRTY GIRL? (Part Two)

This BLOG is JET LAGGED. I'm late. I know. I'm sorry. I so appreciate you coming back twice weekly to read my brain-craziness. I really do. Thank you. My blog and I will get some sleep and get our asses back in gear!

ALOHA my Family!!! ALOHA my FRIENDS!! Aloha to you stranger! Please introduce yourself in the COMMENT BOX below...

Are you dirty? Do you ever have sweaty, not-so-clean thoughts? Does your mouth need to be washed out? WELCOME TO PART TWO OF DIRTY GIRLS!!! Once again I do not have any disclaimers. This is a blog for CLAIMING!

CLAIM YOUR WOMANHOOD!

CLAIM YOUR MANHOOD!

It doesn't matter what you got between those sexy legs of yours! CLAIM IT!

CLAIM YOURSELF!

CLAIM HAPPINESS!

CLAIM HEALTH!

Today I am once again CLAIMING MY HEALTH. You should too! I AM CLAIMING THAT I AM A DIRTY SWEATY GIRL AND I LIKE IT! I have a GORGEOUS WOMAN joining me today who are also claiming their health. My LITTLE SISTER LEIMAILE!!!

COUSIN/BIG SISTER PILI: "I love you!"

LITTLE SISTER LEIMAILE: "Aloha wau ia 'oe!"

See... such a loving amazing woman. We are going to talk about health and a nothergreat way to get out of the gym and into nature for some sunshine, happiness and exercise! Here she is... LITTLE SISTER LEIMAILE!

BIG SISTER PILI (BSP): So is it true? You are about to say ALOHA to your TEENS! EVERYONE!!!! MY LITTLE SISTER IS TURNING TWENTY!

LITTLE SISTER LEIMAILE (LSL): No need to shout, Pili!!!

BIG SISTER PILI (BSP): I can shout as loud as I want! It's my blog! 

LSL: TEE HEE. Yep!!! Bye bye teen years!!! 

BSP: I feel old. ANYWAY!!! AGE IS RELATIVE!!! So... enough about me... How do you get to the hike at Koko Head!

LSL: Koko Head is in Hawaiʻi Kai. Look up directions to Koko Head District Park then drive up and park by the upper baseball field. To get to the starting point, walk toward home plate, you'll see a pathway next to a warning sign. It'll lead you toward the stairs.

BSP: Or just look for the really sweaty people and head in their direction!

LSL: TEEHEE. We got super sweaty! Don't forget to bring water!!! 

BSP: So... out of all the hikes you could have taken me on... Why Koko Head?

LSL: I've been wanting to hike Koko Head for years! But for one reason or another, it never happened. It's just one of those popular hikes you do if you live on Oʻahu. Almost everyone I know has done it, even some of my friends in college and co-workers who've only been here a few months. So it's about time. Plus the view is spectacular, I think that's what attracts so many people to it. You can see all of Hawaiʻi Kai and beyond on one side, and all of Waimanalo and beyond on the other side. Gorgeous, gorgeous view.

BSP: It was an AMAZING and HARD hike!!! The pay off was the best! The view was stunning! Can you explain the hike for all the lovely people out here in BLOGGER LAND.

LSL: STRAIGHT UP… STEEP. It's not your traditional kind of hike, I'd say it's more of a climb. Koko Head is a tuff cone and looks like this huge hill with a steep slope. There are "stairs" that shoot straight up the side of the hill to the top. The stairs use to be a railroad that transported supplies up to the lookouts on top of Koko Head back in WWII.

BSP: Wow... great history! I was wondering where all those old cement "pill boxes" were for...

LSL: Yeah. They're all spray painted now! It was pretty amazing up there. If you're not crazy athletic... take it easy. The beginning of the climb is a pretty steady incline. It's good to take breaks every now and then and drink some water. There are places along the way you can step off to the side, sit, or stretch a little. Halfway through the hike, there's a bridge. It's a bit sketchy. My sister and I climbed up the bridge, but coming back down we went around it. If you're going up, there's a path to the right of the stairway you can use. We used it on our way back down. After the bridge, the hill gets steeper. I say just go slow and take as many breaks as you want at this part. Once you get to the top, take your time up there and enjoy the view!


BSP: Going down was crazy! Faster but harder!!! I don't think I swore so much in my life!

LSL: I don't think I've ever heard you swear so much. Every other word out of your mouth was, fuck.

BSP: Hey! It was all good!!! It was a great hike! I just started getting a little tired...

LSL: Yeah, going back down is a bit trickier. I found myself going down sideways and everyone behind me followed me. It's just easier to do it that way. It felt safer than walking down the way you normally walk downstairs. Going down is MUCH faster than going up though, that's for sure. And that awesome feeling of accomplishment just hits you when
you reach the bottom! … at least, it did for me.

BSP: It felt good to reach the bottom. It was crazy! The amount of people and the different types of people that went up were astounding! All ages! All types!

LSL: SO CRAZY! All kinds of people do this hike. Locals, tourists, dogs, kids, teenagers, adults. Some sprint up and down the hill or carry weights(!) as a daily exercise. It's best to just get out of their way. In fact, get out of the way of people coming back down in general, it just makes sense to since they're more at risk of falling I thought that'd be obvious to all hikers, but I guess not.

BSP: YEP! It was pretty rude when people just stopped in the middle. WALK OFF TO THE SIDE FOLKS!!!

LSL: ANYWAY, while you're going up OR coming back down you may think to yourself "why am I doing this?" But it's worth it! So do it if you're capable of it, bring water, take lots of breaks, and have fun.

BSP: AWESOMEFACENESS! Thank you Leimaile! That was a crazy fun hike! 

Happy (UPCOMING) Birthday to you LITTLE SISTER! I love you!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY YOU HOT MESS!!!

Some crazy fucking amazing ladies we met on the way down!

PS: Up next time... STRESS.