Ni'ihau: The Forbidden Isle

We decided to do some exploring of the island, and though we had been to the West Coast of Kauai and seen the Napali Coast on a catamaran on a prior visit, we had not yet made the drive to the west side. The object of the day was to visit Waimea Canyon and familiarize ourselves a bit with the other side of our small island home.

We drove west to the town of Waimea and then up a narrow windy mountain road to a viewing point for the canyon. It is the largest canyon in the Pacific and measures 10 miles long, 1 mile wide, and over 3500 feet deep. Though smaller than the Grand Canyon, Waimea Canyon certainly rivals its beauty and majesty. It was formed by rivers and floods that flowed from the summit of Mount Waialeale, as well as different volcanic eruptions and lava flows over the centuries. A miraculous sight to behold.

On our way up the mountain to the canyon lookout, we were able to get a nice view of the only land that is visible from the island of Kauai. The island of Ni'ihau is the seventh inhabited island in the chain of Hawaiian Islands. It is located 17.5 miles to the southwest of Kauai and is privately owned currently by descendants of Elizabeth Sinclair, the original owner, who purchased the island from King Kamehameha in 1864 for $10,000.

The 200 residents of the island are all employees and family of the island cattle ranch and live in small homes, devoid of plumbing and electricity, provided by the ranch. Until recently, the entire island was off-limits to anyone but native-Hawaiian family members and invited guests of the owners. Though you can now visit the island via helicopter for a few hours, tourism is still very restricted. There are no hotels, no paved roads, cars, electricity, telephones, and the primary language spoken here is still Hawaiian. Fascinating. It is truly a 'land forgotten by time.' I hope to someday have the privilege of making a visit to this mysterious island, the only visible piece of land that I can see from my small island home.

The Comfort Zone

“Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.” 
― Neale Donald Walsch

I came to Kauai with certain hopes and expectations, one of which centered around developing a life and lifestyle that is centered, authentic, passionate and connected to my environment. But though I am certain this is what I want, I was uncertain how I would go about achieving such a life. Does that just happen, where you one day realize that you are living the authentic life that you were searching for? Or are there steps involved, where you have to move in that direction consciously and knowingly? I tend to think it is the latter...

Not being sure, I am just trying to 'live.' Exercising, searching for a job, shopping, cooking, waiting for that 'something' that triggers me into forward motion, the type of forward motion that I need to enter into my new life. I am trying new things, determined to try as many different island activities that I can, waiting to find something to embrace.

So last week I tried two new things. Early in the week I paddled a kayak up the Wailua River and I absolutely loved it. It was the first time I had ever been in a kayak, paddled a kayak or done any sport in that small of a water craft. It was an activity that I had pictured myself doing even before I got here, and I have aspirations to join a paddling team at some point, not only for the amazing workout, but for the teamwork, camaraderie and the opportunity to spend time on the water. I have always been athletic and prefer competitive sports to a solitary workout, but due to several knee injuries I have had to give up my tennis. This could be the perfect island replacement:) More to follow...

And today I did my second Bikram Yoga class. For those of you unfamiliar with this practice, it is a series of 26 poses done in a 105 degree heated studio for 90 minutes. The series of poses are always the same, in the same sequence, so it allows you to truly master the poses for the full effect and benefit. The initial pose is a stretch where the instructor tells you to stretch your hips to the left, as far as you can, beyond the point of comfort, and that this is where the stretch begins...and though I heard the same instructions on Friday, today it struck me that this point of stretching beyond where you are comfortable is where this practice of yoga is asking you to start. Beyond your comfort zone.

Starting beyond where you feel comfortable is where you are to start this class...with the idea that when you are finished, that you will have moved far beyond that point of comfort, discomfort, into an area which you are capable of going, but so often are afraid to go. So often it is our mind which holds us back. And in practicing this form of yoga, the power, strength, energy and confidence that I have felt just after two classes has been joyous. So perhaps this is the 'something' I will embrace, at least for now, for it seems that it may assist and ground me enough to cross the threshold into a centered and authentic life lived with joy, passion and gratitude.

And for my friends and family who know me well, you all know that this very well may be an obsession that I have for a while, in the same vain as tennis, softball, racquetball and even my 'crafty' phase of life...but all of those activities where I have thrown myself in head first, have all served me well, and had a purpose in the moments that they served me. So for now, as I am beginning my new life, this may be the 'something' that I need to embrace to propel me, to make me reach beyond my comfort zone and begin to live.

Validation

val·i·date  (vl-dt) tr.v. val·i·dat·ed, val·i·dat·ing, val·i·dates 1. To declare or make legally valid. 2. To mark with an indication of official sanction. 3. To establish the soundness of; corroborate.

So we have moved into our new home, have started settling into our new environment, but have not entirely grasped that this is our new reality and life...everything still seems seems unreal and as if it is not our 'real' life, but rather a vacation, an extended vacation, or simply a dream...until this week. My daughter, Arya, is visiting us for the week from the Mainland...and though last week my cousin and family were here for a vacation, the presence of my daughter here establishes a grounding and reflection that we have not had until this point.

Although she is away at college and we are empty-nesters, nonetheless, she was not long ago a part of our day-to-day life in suburbia, or 'suburgatory' as I am liking to call it these days:) So she is the voice of my former life and the life which I left behind...it is a life that she did not leave behind, for she is here for only a week and is on a short vacation and her quest is to gain a tan before she goes back to college at UNR. Her observations are different than mine...her observations are that of an outsider, from my former life, observing the life that I have stepped into. And this is my new life, and it is such a different one than the one that I had such a short time ago...but I forget that, being submerged and wanting so desperately to have this become my reality and my truth. I forget that Danville is where she is from, where she considers 'home' and where she, as a 19 year old, has every right to embrace and continue to be drawn to as her 'home base.'

After the first night here, she requested earplugs, for she was not used to the 'island noises' at night, as the sound of nature kept her awake, awoke her, and was generally bothersome. My home is basically open to the outside at all times, and nature permeates inside the home. I am constantly aware of the various birds, roosters, chickens, crickets, mosquitos, geckos, butterflies and other creatures that exist just outside my door...in fact, I now can distinguish the crowing of the different roosters and know them by sight.

But certainly this is not how life in 'suburgatory' is, was, or ever will be...this is a more open life, open to nature, open to the world and more open to possibilities. I can feel it, I can smell it, I can taste it, touch it and hear it. It is a reality that seems to be closer to nature and to the senses, and because of that, perhaps a reality that is closer to the truth, or at least the truth that I am seeking.

So there is validation in my reality now...validation that acknowledges the place from which I came...to the place that I now live and am embracing as my reality and life. Noone here knows that I stood in the rain at the Bart station...that I ran in high heels to catch a train, that I got home some nights from work at midnight on the last day of the month only to have to return hours later, that there were months where I had to work 12 days straight, because that is how the month 'fell.'

I am through chasing and running through life. I am over running for anything in my high heels...for there is simply nothing I need so badly that I am in such a hurry. Arya has reminded me of the life that I left behind...and though I miss the people I have left behind, I do not miss the life. I am not in a hurry, I am not running to or from anything, I am content in keeping the pace that I keep, and I feel like I am in a place that will be content in my doing so.