Thank you Dad.

Who have you CHOSEN to be in your life? Who do you LOVE? 

My FAMILY, My FRIENDS and the lovely strangers who are stopping by my strange gymnasium of health and wellness...

I'd hate to think that LOVE was something we are FORCED to do. YOU are not FORCED to love anyone. You may not be able to choose the circumstances of your birth or your family but you can choose to live your life with love. Love is a CHOICE. We may be thrown into this world of millions of individuals and we get to choose which of those individuals we want to love.

Thank you Dad.

Thank you for CHOOSING to LOVE ME.

No Disclaimer today, my lovely FAMILY and FRIENDS... and everyone who has joined us on the beautiful Wednesday after FATHERS DAY.

I am PROCLAIMING!!!

MY DAD IS AWESOME!!!

My Dad chose to love me. He didn't have to. He faced a choice. Back in 1987 he met a beautiful young woman in a small church near his families property. She worked for the priest there that also happened to be his cousin. His cousin, the priest, noticing the two single young birds eyeing each other and decided to introduce them. She was twenty-seven and had just moved to Maui from the Big Island.

And... she had a kid.

Me.

I don't think I was the hardest kid to love. I don't know... you gotta ask my Dad. And I know my Dad and I have had our share of arguments... that is until I realized how lucky I really was.

I'm getting ahead of myself... The first time I remember meeting my Dad was at a Family Party at a big white house in Waihe'e Maui. I don't remember what he said to me or what we did but I do remember his SMILE.

My DAD has the best Smile. He is always smiling.

I wasn't the sportiest of kids. I didn't have one particular thing I was interested in. And no matter what I wanted to do, my father supported me. I am talking abut EVERYTHING!!! When I was interested in looking at the stars... he bought me a telescope. When I wanted to study the soil and be a gardener... he bought me an herb start-up kit. When I played Volleyball and Softball... he made sure I had the right equipment to be the best.

I wasn't always the the best daughter. I didn't always listen and I wasn't all that polite. After many hours of pushing, my Dad finally got me to say, "Yes, sir." and "Yes. ma'am." Instead of "WHAT." I was a HORRIBLE pre-teen. I made a few really bad choices as all teenagers do. My Dad helped me through it with the huge UNIVERSE patience a Father may have with his pre-teenaged daughter.

Into high school I settled down a bit and got really involved with school. So between school and watching my little sister and brother, I had NO SOCIAL LIFE. Which in my case, was probably for the best for me AND my parents mental stability. I waited until college to be social.

It wasn't until after college as I went into my twenty-seventh year... 2007... exactly twenty years since my Dad met my Mom... that it REALLY hit me.

I am BLESSED.

I am BLESSED with an AWESOME DAD.

I thought to myself... What if... What if I met a man who already had a child. What if I fell in love with the man... I would make the choice to love the child too. I am not saying I ever DOUBTED my Father's love. I have ALWAYS known he loved me and cared for me.

The DIFFERENCE is... I began to UNDERSTAND his LOVE and what it meant to have a FATHER that CHOSE to LOVE ME.

I LOVE YOU DAD.

Thank you for your love, Dad.

Happy Father's Day to all the fathers, grandfathers and uncles.

Love, light and aloha,

Pili

My Grandpa

My Papa

"Procrastination is like masturbation...."

"Tomorrow is often the busiest day of the week." 

~Spanish Proverb

"Procrastination is my sin. It brings me naught but sorrow. I know that I should stop it. In fact, I will - tomorrow!" 
~Gloria Pitzer

"Procrastination is like masturbation. At first it feels good, but in the end you're only screwing yourself." 

~Author Unknown

MY FAMILY, FRIENDS and those awesome people who have decided to stop on by...

CRASTINATION: is from the LATIN word  "crastinus" or "of to-morrow", from cras to-morrow.]

PROCRASTINATION: a putting off till to-morrow. [Obs.]

So basically what answers.com is telling me is that "PRO"crastination is a POSITIVE thing. I am PRO- TOMORROW!!! I am PRO-FUTURE! By being a PROCRASTINATOR I am actually a positive person who may not get things done BUT HEY at least I am POSITIVE that the FUTURE WILL BE A BETTER PLACE!!!

...and here is my disclaimer...

My name is Pilialoha K. Nathaniel: 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 Pilialoha K. Nathaniel is not authorized by any school, institution or government to give health and medical advise. I am a WRITER. I take words and put them into sentences that you may (or may not) UNDERSTAND or AGREE WITH. 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.

We are going to talk about PROCRASTINATION. It haunts us all in our MANY, EVERYDAY facets of our life. Well... maybe not ALL of us... there are the select few that are just powerhouses of WORK ETHIC. IF you are ONE of these few people... please continue reading so that you may see what the rest of us are dealing with.

LAZINESS!

You are being lazy!!! 

"BUT PILI," you POUT, "I cleaned my apartment, I went to work, I checked and cleaned out my e-mail, I went grocery shopping, I did THIS, THAT and THE OTHER THING..." 

Or you bristle with ANNOYANCE, "I'M SOOOOOOOO BUSY! My boss at work has me doing this thing that takes up all my time... The kids are taking up sooo much of my time... My husband/wife/boyfriend/girlfriend/partner/dog/cat/fish/bird/orangoutang... has me doing all these things BUT I really want to do that other thing but I just can't... and then I'm sooooo tired..."

Ok. Fine. Sure. Life gets in the way. I get it. Then love your life as it is. If you believe you have reached the pinnacle of where your life is supposed to be then be content and love the life you are living.

AND...

DO NOT COMPLAIN WHEN ANY DREAMS/GOALS/WANTS/NEEDS YOU MAY HAVE FAIL TO BECOME REALITY. 

You are PROCRASTINATING.

How do I know? Because... SO AM I.

I have two examples to share. HEALTH and FITNESS and CAREER. I guess thats really three, but whatever. Let me give you MY EXAMPLE first because it leads nicely into the other.

Career. I AM a WRITER. I have a BLOG that I love writing!!! I have short stories!!! I have IDEAS for books!!! I have a NOVEL that I want EVERYONE to READ!!! 

Have I finished said Novel? 
No. Practically...

Am I working on it everyday? 
No... Well... Does it count if I am THINKING about it everyday? 

Am I WRITING EVERYDAY???
No. I should be. I have made excuses that I am too busy or too tired or I need to clean my apartment.

Why haven't I finished it?
I procrastinate. 

THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS WRITERS BLOCK. Writing is a CAREER! A CREATIVE CAREER!!! When a mason is building a foundation for a house, he doesn't NOT put in ALL the concrete blocks because he had to clean his house. If the mason built a foundation that had holes in it... the house would fall down. A surgeon doesn't stop in the middle of a surgery to play a video game. A Stock Broker can't be watching "Game of Thrones" in the morning. He'd be out of work!

I know some of those examples may be out of place but think of it this way... books change lives.  Look at the Bible. It is a book filled with short stories. It has CHANGED LIVES. Look and SHAKESPEARE. He wrote plays that changed the landscape of theatre. I am not saying I'm a Shakespearean Playwright who is going to rewrite GENSIS or the PSALMS... but I can hope to at least make a small difference in the way people view the world.

And I can't do that by MAKING excuses.

Does any of this mirror what YOU are going though. Is there something that you desperately want that you haven't quite obtained. Is the a DREAM or GOAL that is just out of your reach?

Are you doing EVERYTHING in your power to obtain IT?

Is IT HEALTH and FITNESS? If it is... THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS WRITERS BLOCK!!!

"That doesn't make ANY sense, Pili!!!" You scoff at me. 

Doesn't it?

YOU are YOUR own BLOCK. YOU can tear away the BLOCKAGES in your life BY being...

PRO-TODAY! PRO-RIGHT NOW! PRO-JUST DO IT! Be PRODUCTIVE! If you want to be healthier and fit and happier then BE THAT WAY STARTING RIGHT NOW.

NOT TOMORROW. You WILL NOT procrastinate. You will not put-off yourself or your goals until tomorrow. You are responsible for creating TODAY as the DAY you believe in YOURSELF, YOUR HEALTH and YOUR DREAMS.

I will not be a procrastinator. I am a WRITER. I will write EVERYDAY. 

Will YOU pursue YOUR GOAL EVERYDAY?

-Cousin Pili

For some of my short stories go to http://monkeymonsterthoughts.blogspot.com. Have a great time loving life and making your dreams become reality.

For my Little Brother, Kepa, on Graduation Day...

For my beautiful Little Brother, on his Graduation Day.

Graduation Day. May 26, 2013

It is not really your graduation day today as it happened a little over a week and a half ago but as a tried to write this I was continuously over come and I really did not know what to say except... I love you Little Brother. I will try here to put my thoughts down for you...

Kepa, my SuperMAN.

Yummy toes.

You have such an open and loving heart. You work with spirit and precision and you do not quit until the job is done. See the world with that amazing light that shines from within you.

On your Graduation Day I give you three thoughts. EXECUTION. CREATION. And above all, LOVE.

DISCLAIMER: My name is Pilialoha K. Nathaniel and I was asked to be a health and wellness coach by one of my crazy younger cousins. They have faith in me. But if you, whoever you are, are reading this I must let you know that 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 Pilialoha K. Nathaniel is not authorized by any school, institution or government to give health and medical advise. Most of the advise in the particular posting is directed to and written for my little brother, Walter I'okepaokalani (SUPERKEPA) Barrett. 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.

6th Grade Graduation from Waiau Elementary.

EXECUTE. 

The world is an IDEA. It is YOUR IDEAS, THOUGHTS and ACTIONS that CREATE the would you live in. Have faith in your IDEAS and follow though with them. IDEAS are NOTHING with out perseverance and EXECUTION. EXECUTE your IDEAS. Bring the to fruition with ACTION.

Imagine for a moment with me if you, Kepa, had this grand IDEA to go to COLLEGE. Imagine if you sat in bed wishing that it might someday happen for you. Think about that time. Think about daydreaming about what you might do after High School. When the time came, you KEPT DREAMING. DREAMS and IDEAS are beautiful things. They are like the many twinkling lights of grand New York City. They are the infinite bursts of brilliance in the skies above Mauna Kea. Dreams and Ideas are nothing without EXECUTION. 

I am SO PROUD OF YOU. REMEMBER that you had SUPPORT (and you always will) and know that YOU MADE THIS HAPPEN. 

YOU.

You turned your dream of Pitzer College into a REALITY. The far off brilliant star of a Dream is REAL FOR YOU because you made the CHOICE to believe in YOURSELF and your ABILITY to SHINE.

"Don't mess with my little bro!"

CREATE. 

Ask questions. If someone can't give you the answer. Ask again or better yet... MAKE ANSWERS HAPPEN. MAKE LIFE HAPPEN!!!  Do not COMPLAIN. DO NOT sit on your ass. MAKE SHIT HAPPEN!

C-R-E-A-T-E!!!

Always CREATE! Create the answers and solutions to the situations, difficulties, adversity... SHIT that WILL HAPPEN. SHIT HAPPENS. You can let yourself DROWN in SHIT or you can RISE ABOVE IT. Always know that you have THE WILL, THE STRENGTH and THE MINDPOWER to drive though and CREATE.

Creation can only happen though HONESTY. Kepa, one day you will have another DREAM. This dream will change the world. YOU will change the world. If you are honest with yourself, this CREATION will BRING a light to you, your family and to the WORLD.

YOU WILL CREATE.

I was 16. Leimaile was 3 and Kepa... You were just 1.

LOVE.

I don't need to tell you how to LOVE little brother. You are so LOVING and CARING. You are GRATEFUL and CONSCIENTIOUS. You love with all your being.

What I do need to tell you is to HOLD ON TO the LOVE within YOURSELF. No matter how you or the world changes around you. 

I almost said, "Never Change", but that would be wrong. ALWAYS CHANGE AND NEVER FORGET about the younger versions of yourself. You will ALWAYS CHANGE and ALWAYS GROW. Life will never be stagnate for you. Life will be ALIVE with LOVE. Look for the love and light in others and in the WORLD you CREATE. In your adventures, surround yourself with LOVE. 

When you find someone worth your love who loves you back... When you find someone who wants to be part of YOUR LIFE and YOUR DREAMS as a partner and friend, lover and confidant... Someone who makes you be an even better person... hold on tight and never, for one moment, take that LOVE for GRANTED. Love is patient and kind and all those things the Bible says it is... but it is also something that needs to be nurtured, adored and cared for.

EXECUTE your DREAMS with LOVE and you will CREATE LOVE.

The WORLD that you live in will be the one YOU CREATED. Fill it with love and you will live a loving and awesome life.

I love you, Kepa. My wild boy. My monkey. My Super-Kepa. 

Your Sister, Your Friend, 

Pilialoha

No. I will not be your friend. An ode to Facebook.

Fuck you Social Media.

Well... I can't blame social media for the stupid shit that happened in my life before I could speak, write or walk. I can't blame social media for people who want to "friend" me when they haven't even at LEAST sent me a message saying... "Hi, Pili! How are you?"

MY DISCLAIMER: So sorry folks... I know I keep on saying that I'll get back on a schedule... and I will. I have just been a little busy with work and writing my book. BUT enough of me apologizing to you, dear friend, and back to my disclaimer: I am not a doctor. I am not a nurse. I am not a psychologist. Though, I SHOULD PROBABLY GO SEE ONE just to sort though all the shit that's happened in my life (mostly without my conscious knowledge) so that I can write an award winning DRAMA! But enough about that... 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.

Fuck You Facebook you heartless bitch.

WELCOME BACK MY Family, Friends and other assorted people... Today I will speak about FRIENDSHIP. 

Please. PLEASE! Please, in this crazy world of Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, Myspace (does that one even exist anymore?) and other such social media sites, PLEASE do not forget the REAL meaning of "FRIENDING" someone. Do not forget how to be a REAL FRIEND. Do not forget about FRIENDSHIP.

However you became a FRIEND or MADE a FRIEND... WORK, LAUGHTER, BLOOD, TEARS, FIGHTS, HUGS... a whole lot of STUFF went into the MAKING OF A FRIENDSHIP. It was MORE than just a Click of a Button.

We CREATE FRIENDSHIPS... and YES, FRIENDSHIPS can start online. Friendship is respect. Friendship is knowing that someone loves and cares for you. Friendship is that little text you get from someone you haven't heard from in years that just thought of you and wants to just check in. Friendship is healing someone elses wounds and letting yours be healed as well. Friendship is HISTORY. Friendship in PRESENT. Friendship is a gift of a FUTURE.

I have heard that there are three types of friends. The Friend of the Past. The Friend of the MOMENT. And the FOREVER FRIEND. That is what I have heard. I believe though that no matter how long or how momentary that LOVE was it IS a CREATION that will forever be a part of you. Whether or not it has lasted a lifetime or if it was in passing, whether or not it is constant or ended badly... this FRIENDSHIP is part of you.

The BEST FRIENDS are often FAMILY. I am so lucky to have the best FAMILY-FRIENDS or FRIENDS who happen to share the same ancestors. I am BLESSED.

I am actually going FAR past the point I was trying to make. Here is the crux of my story today my dear FAMILY and FRIENDS or FRIENDLY FAMILY. Someone has asked to be my "FRIEND" on Facebook. Someone from my past that I have had little to no contact with. Someone who might actually upset my REAL FRIENDS if they showed up on my FRIENDS LIST. Don't ask who it is... they have not been of much consequence in my life thus far so its not really important to know WHO they are. The IMPORTANT part is the grand LESSON to be learned. 

For a friend... I would move heaven and earth. For a friend... I would lay down my life. For a friend... I would hit the "accept" button on the "So and So wants to be your friend..." pop up screen. 

Unfortunately, this person is not my friend and asking to be my friend on Facebook is a very low blow to a self-esteem I have to work very hard to keep up. It is the realization that a RELATIONSHIP that should have meant more has been whittled down to the click of a button on my computer screen. 

So... I am sorry Facebook for my swear words earlier. It really isn't your fault that you make it so much easier to keep in contact with people. Most of the time I TRULY thank you for that. In this current scenario I believe I will hit the "ignore" button and get on with my life. 

In the words of one of my BEST FRIENDS: MY MOM, "The past is the past. What happened is in the past. It already happened and there is no need to re-live it again." She said something like that to me back when I was just barely past turning Eighteen. 

I am TRULY BLESSED with AWESOME FAMILY and AWESOME FIRENDS who have CONSTANTLY CHOSEN WITHOUT FAIL or EXCUSE to be in and a part of my life.

Thank you for your FRIENDSHIP,

Pili