Mo'olelo...

Tonight, as it was approaching Midnight, I was closing down my computer and getting ready to sleep. I thought about Beautiful Mahina, the Moon, on this Night of Māhealani, and regretted not making an attempt to capture her earlier in the night. I saw some Beautiful posts from friends and was satiated for the moment.

It was then that I heard the Mauna calling. A quiet barely perceptible voice deep inside my na'au. My guttural instincts. The Hawaiian Heart. A vision of the ahu at Bachman Lawn flashed before my eyes.  I didn't question it. I grabbed my camera and headed out into the night. 

When I arrived at the ahu, I was able to see the bamboo lele erected with the names of those Aloha 'Āina Patriots arrested on the Mauna recently. Lele. A sacrificial altar or stand. I contemplated the sacrifices of those Beloved hoa Aloha as I read their names quietly under the Moon and thanked and Honored them.

I aimed my camera up towards the ahu and the Moon. A Hae Hawai'i, Hawaiian flag, tied to the lele next to me, blew into my camera frame, blown by the winds that descended and embraced me from Mānoa, leaving a ghostly photo-bomb.

After capturing the scene, I heard the loud clicking of a mo'o, a gecko, from somewhere on or in the ahu. It is always a powerful sign that my maternal Grandmother is with me and an affirmation that I did good in following my na'au which led me to this place. I chuckled with excitement and glee and thanked her letting her know how much I Love and Miss her.

Under the Moon and Stars, and a Towering Sentinel Tree, I contemplated the word Mo'o and some of the meanings...

Mo'o: Lizard, water spirit as in Mo'oinanea, the great ancestress of Mauna Kea; Succession, genealogical line; Story, tradition; Narrow path; Ridge, as of a Mountain; and Young,  as a grandchild;

Each meaning and image resonated deeply within my na'au, the same internal guide that led me to this Beautiful place tonight. 

And I shared time and space and a quiet reflective moment under a Beautiful tree, growing so tall with roots firmly planted in the 'āina, the ground. Kūlia. Stand. Strive. Kūlia i ka Nu'u. Strive to Reach the Summit...

The tree grows, hoping to reach the Moon one day. Never giving up Hope. Despite all the odds. Mahina in her Loving Kindness, descends for a moment to kiss the tree top. Never stop Believing. Never give up Hope...

Suddenly, everything is starting to make sense. Profoundly Beautiful sense...

Mahalo Ke Akua...