Looking Down on Heaven

Oahu-goodbye
Looking down on heaven
fading beneath me
underneath soft white clouds
my spirit remains.
Heaven
Many years ago, when I first stepped out into the Honolulu airport and the warm trade winds touched my face, I felt like I had come home (even though I had never been to the Hawaiian islands before). There is something spiritual in the air that I cannot explain, and it wrapped itself around me in a warm embrace. Nowhere else in the world has ever made me feel this way.
Hanauma-Bay

I was lucky enough to live in Hawaii, on the island of Oahu, for a total of 11 years. It was my hope that one day I could come back to stay, but the best I have been able to do is return for a visit from time to time. Due to the prices of the houses, it looks like it will be impossible to retire there.
Oahu
So, I gaze through a window
as I fly away once more
riding on trade winds,
looking down on heaven
fading beneath me
underneath soft white clouds.
Hawaii-love
My spirit remains
still with a hopeful prayer
that I will return
one day to stay forever.     ~ms
Wishing

Hawaii_Mary

About Mary Strong-Spaid

You can find me any time wandering around in my own mind gathering thoughts.
This entry was posted in Oahu, Photo Essay, photography, Poetry and tagged , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

53 Responses to Looking Down on Heaven

  1. artscottnet says:

    Truly beautiful images and writing, Mary!

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  2. Fotostream says:

    Hello, Mary! I thank you for your coming back, from the bottom of my heart.

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  3. dflorack says:

    Such beautiful photos, Mary. I wanted to nominate you for a couple of awards – http://wp.me/p3uIV0-EQ. Donna

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  4. Hoping you are able to get “home” again. Where there’s a will…
    It sounds like it’s beckoning you to find a Way.

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  5. Baldeep Kaur says:

    I hope all your wishes come true..:)

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  6. tric says:

    I go to a place here in Ireland about two hours from where I live. For me it is my spiritual home. There is a peace there. Your post so reminded me of it, although that is where the comparison ends as mine is a very small village called Allihies, surrounded by mountain and sea and prone to mists and rain!

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    • Actually, there is not much difference. The islands have mountains and they are surrounded by sea. It is prone to mists and rain there also. In fact, the passing light rain showers (almost every day) are lovingly referred to as “liquid sunshine.”

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  7. Mags Corner says:

    Beautiful pictures! Your words both happy and sad I do hope that one day you will be able to live there again. Hugs

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  8. Truly beautiful pictures and writing! I understand what you mean with the spiritual familiarity of the place, I had a similar experience in Africa.

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    • Thank you! I wonder why that is….why some places feels so special to different people.
      Maybe, if there is such a thing as reincarnation, we lived in those places before?
      Or maybe (in the case of Hawaii) it is the way the earth, the sky, the air, and water converge in one spot? I took a class in the Hawaiian language when I lived on Oahu. The language itself is so spiritual! I was told that the meaning of the name “Hawaii” is this:. “Ha” means breath, “wai” means water, and the last “i’ refers to God/Universal energy/Spirit/Supreme Being…(many different words were used to attempt to explain the last letter).
      “ha” (breath) and “wai” (water) are found in many Hawaiian words. Aloha.

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  9. jahnosecret says:

    Beautiful words of yearning – may it happen one day soon!

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  10. Beautiful – loving your captures:) Hawaii just does something to me and my whole being when there!

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  11. “looking down on heaven
    fading beneath me
    underneath soft white clouds”………….. beautiful goodbye with sweet memories wonderful Lyrics
    with regards

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  12. beautiful photos; enchanting landscape. may all your dreams come true
    with love, Eddie

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  13. Lynda says:

    Mary, it is an enchanted place. My mother took my sister and me to Kauai many years ago. I loved it, my sister did not. It remains one of my favorite places on earth. It was hard to leave and even harder to find a way back. Glad you made it back!

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  14. domtakis says:

    You were perhaps always here and part of you always will be. For some the Hawaiian spirit is very strong and its pull irresistible. I thought I would stay for at most 6 months and it has been 10 years!

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  15. Hawaii is a really beautiful place, is not it? LUcky you!!!!

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  16. Your blog is great…. Welcome to my blog to get some Downloads on travel & tour with audio video effects

    Hajj 2021

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  17. Dina says:

    Beautiful post, Mary – may your dreams come true.

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  18. Goodness, for a brief moment I thought it was Cape Town, South Africa!

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  19. arlene says:

    I just love your cloud pics. Just followed you by the way.

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  20. bur911 says:

    The pictures are just epic!

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    • Thanks! I almost didn’t get those photos.
      I had placed my camera in my “carry on” bag and then put the bag underneath the seat in front of me, to keep it safe during takeoff. When it came into my mind that I could be taking photos through the window, I couldn’t reach my bag. Not supposed to take the seat belt off! So I tried to move the bag closer to me with my feet…and that didn’t work.
      I could see the the island sliding farther and farther away from me. Frustration! So I took off the seat belt for a few seconds, grabbed my bag, put my seat belt back on, took my camera out—and was able to get some quick shots of Diamond Head and Hanauma Bay before the island vanished from view.
      I am so glad that I was able to get a few photos before it was too late!

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      • bur911 says:

        wow! Your efforts to get your bag really paid off. Next time you should keep your camera closer, pictures like those shouldn’t be missed. Have a good day Mary. 🙂

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  21. Pingback: (048) – I Miss a Lot | Till Graduation

  22. Beautifully captured pictures…you get lost in the beauty of floating clouds in the clear sky, yes, it is heaven there…fabulous!!!

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