If can

It has been some time since my last post. Since then, I left one job in the hopes of gaining another. It is one thing to work hard for the money, but another thing entirely when you work so hard you have no time to sleep.

That being said, the search for a new job took me places and showed me new angles on the story of the people of Hawaii.

Remember when I spoke about the sting that is still felt by Hawaiians, the shame of having their sovereign nation taken from them?

Yeah, well the sting is still felt, but apparently there is another feeling that bit of history illicits.

Get over it.

This, from native Hawaiians.

They more than understand what was lost. They see it all the time, that palace is still used as a tourist stop 35 minuets from Waikiki.

But they've decided to move on.

There are Hawaiians here who do the best they can with what they have. They plan for the future, not stuck in the now, or the past. They go to school, so their kids can go to school, so on and so forth.

And the thought there are some who don't do the same makes them hang their head. They feel no need to blame the white man, the white man doesn't take them AWAY from school work and other scholastic pursuits, that's all up to the individual Hawaiian.

It is a good thing to see, thinking all the people here were so downtrodden, well, that sucked. To see people here who TRY, and don't flaunt the effort. That is a nice thing to see.

Thinking back to my homeland, Brownsville BK. I wonder how much of that my people could use. Since my departure, there has been a rise in the "swagger" quotient. The number of people who feel the need to do everything on a big time level, and then making sure you know they do it. It's the peacocks and the chickens. All clucks and feathers, and pomp and circumstance.

It has it's place, don't get me wrong. Having a good time is a part of life, the good Lord deemed it necessary to have a book dedicated to the idea of "enjoy the days of they youth." However, it has gone too far. So far that there is more show than work. More swagger than grind. My time here has taught me what a grind is. It's catching the early bus to get on the early truck to go who knows where to carry who knows what. And the fellas I worked with did most of it with a smile on their face.

It's something I hope to carry with me when I leave this place. Looking back, my life might have been easier if I was more willing to grind as hard as I HAVE to now. There will be far fewer times when I think waking up early is a job deterrent. I still have my limits, but they come from experience, not a college induced sense of the world.

Long story short. I learned a little phrase, it encapsulates the lesson learned.

"If can"

Not very long, or wordy, or strong in any grammatical sense. But it's the best way to look at the future.

If can...I will make that money and get that place and all the other things I want.
If not, well then, I'll make due.

But I'll do my best to smile along the way.

Have a nice day.