Note from the editor: This article originally appeared in May 2023, before a series wildfires broke out in Hawaii a few months afterward in August. These fires primarily caused devastation on Maui. The story has been edited so that, among other things Lahaina Grill on Front Street, Lahaina was one of the most popular restaurants on the island. The local economy is heavily reliant on tourism, and there are still many reasons to visit Hawaii.
I had signed up for an early morning canoe trip. It was so much more.
As the sun arose over Mauna Kea, I was sweating as we paddled through crystalline waters. The 12 of us, some of whom I had never met before meeting at the Auberge Resorts Mauna Lani surf shack, did not know the spiritual embrace that was about to be experienced. Uncle George was our leader on this trip. He stood in the front of the canoe and spoke to us like few others have.
He said this even before we had made our first stroke. Never think you’ll really be able to connect with yourself. We will help you get in touch within yourself by listening with your inner ear, which touches the heart and makes you feel as if you are in the stomach.
We’re going to the ocean, and we’re completely at the mercy of it. We ask the ocean for an invitation, and we now can remove the cuffs, work on the word vulnerability, and open ourselves up to all that we are exposed to, including the moon, sun, sky, and water. It’s a great way to start your day. Yet we haven’t even entered the ocean. Everyone put their hand on the canoe. “Let’s see what she does.”
