stop and smell the plumeria

there is this sense of hawai'i that comes over you when you step off the plane. you breath deeper, your body relaxes and you let that feeling of aloha come over you. (unless you are a crazy, OCD, anal retentive, high strung, control freak of a planner - which luckily neither me nor my traveling companions are.)

as you drive around the island of Maui the first thing that catches your eye (besides the fact that their highways are more like major roads than highways) is the colors of the land and the movement of it. we passed by flat sugar cane fields and in the distance can see Haleakala rising through the clouds. work is the furtherest thing from my mind (okay now that i mentioned that i had to go and check email really quick, but that's it no more, i promise.)

it is truly beautiful here, the colors are so vibrant, the greenery is so vast. you could spend hours looking at one area of scenery and see hundreds of different types of plant life in a million shades of green. i notice smells more when i'm here, i'm breathing them into my lungs and it feels fresh, clean and alive. the sunsets are, in a word, brilliant, their colors are vivid and not a result of smog but a symphony of colors, clouds, water, and reflections.

the streets are lined with flowers, mostly plumeria. these flowers are incredibly delicate but they emit a perfume so soft and strong it wraps you up and you know you are on the islands. there's no need to rush here, there's no hurry to get anywhere and if you miss something oh well - let it go with the waves bra!

So for those of you on the mainland right now that can't be here.. malama pono! keep your life in balance.. breath and let it go!