Month: April 2010

The other night I took a trip down to the Keauhou Beach Resort, to the Verandah Lounge, which overlooks a lagoon on the Pacific to watch the sunset and have a beer. As I was sitting there enjoying a Red Ale from Kona Brewing Company, bathed in the gentle salty ocean breeze and the warm glow of the sunset, I could feel the spirits of the island calling. I took a deep breath and as I let it flow out, I let my focus soften and let myself slip into a light trance as I watched the waves break on the rocks at the edge of the lagoon. As the noise of the lounge became a whisper, I noticed a fiery red dancing on the crest of the waves and realize it was Pele. Pele, the goddess of the volcanoes here on the big island, and her sister, Namakaokaha’i, goddess of the water, are said to not be on the best of terms and so it was a real treat to watch Pele dancing on the crest of the waves. Although they are not on the best of terms, I could see them playfully dancing together in celebration of the beautiful sunset, there differences put aside for this evening.

Sorry I don’t have a picture to put of with this, but I didn’t have my camera with me, and it simply would not have captured the magic anyway. Sometimes you just have to be there.

Well, it has been quite a while since I posted here, but for about a year after moving to the island of Hawai’i, the island sets the agenda for you – if you let it. If you don’t let it, the first year can be rough. There have been some ups and downs, but for the most part, things have gone pretty well so far. A lot of it is a matter of trust. Trying to plan things to rigidly will not typically make for smooth sailing.

Pele is the Hawaiian goddess of the volcanoes here in Hawai’i, and the other day we made a trip down to pay our respects. Pele in ancient Hawaiian chants is described as “she who shapes the sacred land.” I had made a brief stop to see her right after I arrived, but she let me know that she expected me to return soon. Well, she has been patient with me, but she set a constant reminder that would pop up every week or so to make sure I didn’t forget. Luckily Pele didn’t think four months was too long.

The day was forecast to be rainy that day, but Pele held the weather until we had gotten down there and spent some time with her and then when our meeting was done, the weather moved in and we knew it was time to leave. Heidi wrote a letter and read it to Pele and then her son Ryan folded it into a paper airplane and we sailed it off and into the Kilauea caldera.

On the trip down, Ryan had made a drawing for Pele and again folded it into a paper airplane. When he stepped over to the rim of the caldera and gently let it go, it started to circle gently and climb. We watched it climb and float around for several minutes until it was completely out of sight. When it stared to circle around, I got a vision of Pele riding around on the airplane and she was well pleased to have flight.

While Heidi was reading her letter, I closed my eyes and greeted Pele and was immediately surrounded by her warmth on that chilly day. The day was overcast, and my field of vision through my closed eyelids turned to a bright lava red-orange. I actually expected that the sun had came out, but when I opened my eyes a little, there was just the grey cloudy skies.

It’s difficult after encounters like this to explain them in words, but as always it was magical.