It's A Metaphor!

A friend of mine took her first trip to Hawaii this past week. She did not have the same luck that we did with the weather. She got there during the second of the Kona storms. The first one was so bad that even with a little less (little less) rain in the second the flooding was still terrible because the land was still saturated.

The part of the island she was on was okay, damp, but not totally flooded out. And she took it in stride that things were cancelled and everything was wet. Just took it as a sign to slow down and enjoy the rest. Sort of like we did when we went to Kauai and it rained the whole time. The whole, yeah it's raining but at least it's raining in Hawaii so it's still beautiful.

Then she sent me a picture from her sunset cruise. And it was beautiful. The clouds had thinned and parted and the sunset was one of those Maui sunsets that make you think the world must be a good place if something so beautiful exists in it. She is one of those people who looks for the signs from the universe and this one was pretty clear. Even when it's been stormy there is still beauty. Riding out the bad times often gives us great moments. It told her it was as fitting of a metaphor for her as she could find.

I'll hear later how the rest of the trip went, and I hope it was beautiful and the weather co-operated when they moved on to Oahu. I hope she had just the best time.

I was telling another friend today that I felt like a parent with a misbehaving child while she was there and the weather was so bad. I SWEAR normally it's lovely, I don't know why it's being such a brat right now! I wanted her to have that Maui moment that I did the first time I visited. That just calm centering in my chest that let me know that this place, this was THE place.

Of course I am looking to find another place because I don't think Maui can be that for me anymore. I will try one more time with my new plan, but I think that the weather has just gotten that much too warm for me. And my body is letting me know it's time to let go and try something new. To find other places that resonate with my heart. To see other things that open my eyes and my mind to new experiences.

The friend I saw today is moving to Mexico. Talk about opening your mind and heart to new experiences! As we talked about the changes coming for her I was so grateful that she is able to go. To get out. And to go someplace that she wants to be, to experience things that she wants to do. To have a grand adventure. And to know that if she doesn't like it she has other options as well. Nothing is carved in stone. It might not be what she had imagined before Trump was elected, but it is what she is doing now and her reasoning is sound.

Our entire country is like that misbehaving toddler. I swear it used to be lovely but it's just a real brat right now.

We're all doing what we can. Moving. Staying. Protesting. Huddling under a blanket fort. Whatever it takes to weather this storm and to keep seeing the lovely moments when they come. Because they will come. I believe that.

I hope this weekend you get a chance to experience something fun, or something beautiful, or something that centers you in your soul and lets you know that it's okay. You're okay. It's rough right now, but you're okay. I hope that's true for all of us.