Looking for Mt.Analogue

Mt. Analogue is a metaphorical novel by French spiritual Surrealist, Rene Damaul. The characters set out to find and explore a mountain which connects our world with a higher realm of existence. They believe that such a place must exist geographically. “The door to the invisible must be visible.” They set out in the ship Impossible and believe they will find the land they are looking for when the sun's rays hit the earth at a certain angle, uncurving the magical field around the island where the mountain lies. After aimlessly floating around they finally reach the comically named city of Port o’ Monkeys. Lately I feel like I have been tooling around in fucking Port o’ Monkeys just like the characters. For me the book offered some valuable insights with passages like this:

“You cannot always stay on the summits. You have to come down again... So what’s the point? Only this: what is above knows what is below, what is below does not know what is above. While climbing, take note of all the difficulties along your path. During the descent, you will no longer see them, but you will know that they are there if you have observed carefully. There is an art to finding your way in the lower regions by the memory of what you have seen when you were higher up. When you can no longer see, you can at least still know. . .”

The winter funk is lifting, whisky bottles out the door, frozen highways melting. No matter the latitude winter is felt, the shadowy forms in the road ahead always appear larger in the winter, even in Hawaii. Here the draught is over, the sky has broken open once again and the brown withered plants are turning green. Inspiration is everywhere, hanging from the trees and floating through the air. Spring rejuvenation is falling from the sky making the Volcano air pure and my heart sing. Misty foggy weather is my favorite to run in. I feel like a prehistoric madman running through lands of some forgotten time, full speed without a care in the world. Dissolving into the trail into the ferns, into the mist, floating into oblivion full speed ahead!

(Photos from around the Island in honor of Spring!)


After getting off of work on Thursday, I signed up for the Kona Brew Fest Run for Hops 10k which was on Saturday. Friday night I drove over to Kona and slept in my van under the silhouette of Mt. Hualalai rising on the horizon. I sat up strumming my banjo and reading Parabola articles on Ecstasy and Divine Bliss. “I have tried caution and forethought; for now on I will make myself mad!” –Rumi. I laughed myself to sleep and woke up early to the sound of the ocean. I went down to the ocean and jumped in the chilly dawn water to wake up. It was a short run to the starting area at the Kona Brewery. It was a crowded event with lots of characters walking around, a nice sight to see. I was super excited, there are not many races around and when there is one it usually conflicts with my work schedule. At the start I felt like a lunatic, readings from the night before fresh on my mind. Especially the article titled “The Wide-Spun Moment”- Dancing on the edge of madness. That was me alright, I went out fast running the first 5k hard then took it easy for the second half. I forgot how painful a 10k could be. At the end it was a sub 35 minute 10k, fun fun fun. Whenever I am on that side of the island I go into Kona Bay Books and by the time I leave my head is spinning. Running, books, and beaches, not a bad way to spend the day.


In the end Mt. Analogue ends in mid sentence leaving us to discover our own way of being, question marks swimming around like fish in my mind. We are all sailing around on “Impossibles” looking for our own Mt. Analogue