Remembering Hawaii

I understand that the title up there may be a bit confusing. After all, Hawaii didn't die or go anywhere. It's still in the middle of the Pacific. And I live in Hawaii so why am I remembering something that's right there...or here, I should say.

It's because every now and then I need a reminder of where I am. It's easy to get caught up in routines and let the blinders fall over my eyes. Does that ever happen to you? 5 days a week I wake up at the same time, eat the same breakfast (oatmeal and a banana...yum!), go to the same place, sit in the same spot, leave at the same time, and report to the scheduled after-hour event (usually swimming or jiu-jitsu training). With such a routine steering the majority of my days I forget that I'm living in Hawaii and it feels like I could be anywhere, really.

Something has to come along and jolt me back to reality. Recently it was a visit from one of my best friends. We grew up together in a small mountain-town in California. To give an example of how small the town was, when I moved away there was only one stop-light. Today I think there's 5, so the town is really stepping it up!

My friend is a simple, hard-working, honest guy. If I even hinted a complaint he would merely say, “yeah, well and least you live in f@cking paradise.” Kept me grounded, but more importantly opened my eyes.

During the week he was here I eagerly showed him around Oahu and Kaua'i. He was amazed at just about everything he saw. Beautiful weather, beautiful scenery, beautiful women, and more beautiful women.

At one point we were walking around and it began to rain. What a bummer, I thought. My friend stopped held out his hands, palms skyward, and tilted his head back a bit. He said, “yep, even your rain is warm. You lucky bastard.”

Just goes to show that it's not all that bad. But more so, I think it's the routine that numbs and blinds me. Doing the same thing day in and day out, week in and week out, tends to distance me from what's right next to me. I get holed up in the routine. And I figure if it can happen to me here in Hawaii it could happen anywhere. Does it happen to you?

During my friend's visit we pretty much immersed ourselves in the beauty of the islands. We gazed upon Oahu from the top of a mountain, we swam with turtles, and explored canyons...simply gorgeous. And did I mention the women? Gorgeous!

My friend's visit reminded me that I do live in a paradise. A place where many people in the world dream of seeing but few actually do. And I get to live it. It's pretty good. I gotta get out there more often!