Sunrises & Sets

The art of doing nothing is one that I’m not quite so acquainted with, but have definitely been trying to embrace.  A natural-born planner and busy-body, I generally always have a lot going on, in my life and in my mind, so slowing down isn’t always something that comes easily to me.  Having spent the last year in the clairvoyant program, working out regularly and often, and in a job that always kept me busy, this transition to a slower pace has been a bit of a change; and moving out and preparing for this summer has given me plenty to keep myself busy with over the last few weeks.  So, although I’ve never before experienced one of those do-nothing vacations I’ve heard of people talking about, I decided that 10 days in Hawaii would be the perfect time and place to change gears.  I aimed to not make any plans, and limited my goals to my website, meditating regularly, and a personal favorite, watching the sunrise and set the same day.

The sunrise on the east side of the island ~6am, 5/20/13

Kauai is a very small island, so it provided the perfect landscape for this goal, and around day 7, I decided it was time.  After some vivid dreams that kept waking me up throughout the night, and another in which some siren of my dream world tried to convince me (we literally debated then fought) that I shouldn’t wake up, I managed to gain enough lucidity to snap myself out of it and wake up around 5:30.  Dressed and determined, I walked down the beach until I found what felt like the perfect spot, and settled in, just minutes before the first rays of the sun peaked over the vast ocean waters.  It was by all counts, a perfect sunrise – just enough clouds to give the sun a canvas to color, and enough haze to allow me to stare directly into it.  Just after the lower edge of the sun rose above the horizon, I could see the sun in it’s entirety, as a glowing orb rising into the sky.  Soaking up all the energy I could, I decided it was time for a morning meditation.

Sparing the details of that specific meditation, with no concept of time, and no need to be anywhere specifically until sunset, I just let myself address any and all energy that had been pushing itself forth into my awareness (including those crazy-ass dreams). It seemed like a quick meditation as I breezed through everything, but upon opening my eyes and noticing the sun significantly higher than when I had started, I realized it had in fact been two hours!  But it was a worthy two hours, for as I made my way back to the condo, I felt happy, clear, and at ease. 

We got our day going and started meandering our way to the west side, where we had intended on spending the late afternoon and watching the sunset.  Finding our way to a great, low-key beach, we just relaxed with nothing to do other than enjoy our present moment.  As we walked towards the beach, I literally crossed paths with a backpacker (who, naturally, I found intriguing), and an older man whose energy and hammock I thought to be very pleasant.  We smiled and found our own spots. 

We set up our stuff in a spot that seemed just right and we’re just about to get settled in, when a huge wave came far past the ridge we thought would protect us.  By this point in the trip, I had witnessed this happen several times, much to my amusement (though not always to the victims of the rogue waves), and though we managed to grab some of our things, others had definitely been soaked.  I found this hilarious and was overcome with even more laughter than when I had witnessed it before. :)

So we scoped a new spot that seemed a little safer and settled in.  Too fatigued from the early morning I had to read or write, but not quite tired enough to fall asleep; I decided to just lay on the beach, watching the clouds roll over the tops of the palm trees to provide an ever-changing sky-scape, as I felt my body melt into the soft, warm sand.  Eventually, my mom asked me what I was thinking about, and much to both of our surprise, the answer was nothing.  There was literally not a single thought in my mind – I wasn’t wondering about anything, or pondering ideas or books I’ve been reading, there was no thought of planning in my mind, or preparations to anticipate, I wasn’t even consciously contemplating the beauty of the scene around me, the scene was just rolling through my vision as simply as the clouds rolled through the sky.  For me, this is insanely rare, and I can’t even remember a time I’ve experienced this nothing-ness in years.  I felt no pain in my body, and had found peace in my mind and respite for my soul.  If my day had ended then, I would’ve considered it perfect. 

I could watch this sky-scape unfold for hours! Though I may not always be free of thought...

But alas, that did not last, and as I stirred to alertness, I found myself curious about the two gentlemen who I had previously crossed paths with.  They had set up about 10 and 30 feet from where we were, and as I tried to discreetly observe them, I contemplated talking to both of them, but didn’t want to disturb their peace and solitude (and had admittedly, felt a little nervous about striking up a random conversation).  So I stalled, checking my phone, responding to texts, looking through emails, when I saw an email about my daily horoscope, which read:
     “The universe has arranged for you to cross paths with individuals who’ll excite and inspire you.  Is this foolish? Should you be cautious? Is it simply time to take one giant step outside the box?  It’s all up to you – but don’t doubt your instincts for a single second.”

If that doesn’t feel like a sign of encouragement from the universe (or at least astrology), I don’t know what is; so with my summer adventure on my mind, I walked over to the backpacker and inquired about his story.  Hiking & camping through Kalalau Valley, he had interesting stories to share, and we eventually found some similarities in setting up a website, gear for such adventures (I needed some, he’s been reviewing some), and travel plans in the future.  We wondered the beach talking and connecting, both with each other and some local hippies who were setting up near where he planned to camp.  Eventually I returned to where my mom was, and she told me she had spoken with the other man; this other gentleman, with two sons about my age, practices and teaches Shamanism and will be moving back to Bellingham, WA, and based on astrology and his practices, he was able to tell her things about what’s going on in my life (energetically).  I’ve always been fascinated by Shamanism, and that curiosity has been peaking as of late, and I have committed to a couple weeks in Bellingham for one of my work exchanges, so I found this wildly interesting.  He had given my mom his information, so I'm hoping to possibly connect with him when I pass through Bellingham.  My paths may or may not cross with one or both of these individuals again, but either way, the connections of the day were interesting, reassuring, and inspiring. 

As sunset was approaching, I decided to do a little beach-time yoga, followed my a short meditation, and as I came out of it, just in time for the sunset, I felt like I was exactly where I needed to be, moving in the right direction for me.  

The sunset wasn’t quite as “perfect” as the sunrise had been, for it fell just a little north of the ocean/island edge, and there were far more clouds/rain obstructing the view, but the energy of the sunset, and day in general, were clear to me.  As we drove home, I couldn’t help but to contemplate the complementary dichotomy of balance, in all it’s forms.  From sunrise to sunset, light and dark (right now, daytime and night time are just tilting past 12/12 towards 13/11), yin and yang, masculine and feminine, activity and rest, feeling grounded and in flight, and as I embraced the balance of opposites, I could only smile at the ups and downs and balance of life. 

Sunset from the south/west side of the island, around 6:45pm, at Salt Pond Beach

I happened to find this meme about the yin/yang symbol that captures what I was feeling and thinking about perfectly!  You can see it on my Quotes page or just clicking here to be linked directly to it!