hoʻo.kupu: ceremonial gift-giving to a chief as a sign of honor and respect; to cause growth, to sprout
You sustain our air our earth our lives
We owe our very existence
To your presence
And yet
We abuse you
Take you for granted
Ignore your calls for help
We throw our trash in your bed
Spill our precious oil in your body
Steal from your very heart and soul
We cut you into pieces
You, who takes such pride
In continuous flow and conversation
But the tide is turning
And we are fighting for you
Even if it means fighting ourselves
We will clean and plant and revitalize
We will change how we live and we will learn
To see you feel you hear you
and begin to truly
Listen
Channel your inner stream
To better understand the effects of channelization, imagine yourself as a body of water and move through each of these environments:
concrete/pavement under direct sun (lined & illuminated channel)
grass/soil under direct sun (unlined & illuminated channel)
concrete/pavement under partial or complete shade (lined & vegetated channel)
grass/soil under partial or complete shade (unlined & vegetated channel)
Pay attention to how each ground surface feels to walk on – is it comfortable? Would you go barefoot here? Do you feel connected to the earth and surroundings?
Observe how the sun exposure impacts your emotions – how does it feel to walk under direct sun for long periods of time? How does the shade feel? Does the excess illumination change how you interact with those around you?
Listen to your surroundings at each site - what do you hear? How does the wind sound here? What energy (positive, negative, etc) is held in the sounds of this place?
Hawaiian Dictionary Oliveros, P. (2005). Extreme Slow Walk. In Deep Listening - A Composer's Sound Practice (p. 20). essay, Deep Listening Publications.