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Hawaii- a state of mind

We who live in Hawaii should all take trips abroad more frequently (if we can afford them), and stay away for a while.  We don’t realize how fortunate we are to be living in Hawaii, or we simply forget. Taking trips abroad will serve as a reminder.  Whenever I come home from the Mainland, nearing the end of the trip I look out the airplane window with anticipation.  When the peaks of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa and Haleakala appear, I get very excited.  As the plane decelerates and descends, I can feel my heart beating faster. Even if my ears are plugged and people’s voices around me sound as if they’re coming from a tin can, it never fails.  I always feel a surge of emotions whenever I reached this part of the return-to-home trip. I know that when I get off the plane, I’ll be stepping into Paradise. I immediately feel the humidity and heat in the air. But with the cool trades, it feels so comfortable.  More often than not, there would be a rainbow in the sky facing the Koolaus towards the east, because it would be misty there and the sun would be shining and setting over the Waianaes in the west. The air would have traces of fragrance from different flowers- pikake, white ginger, plumeria, tuber rose, puakenikeni, pakalana, to name a few.  If I had been away for a year or more, as when I was in the military, it would be like seeing Hawaii for the first time. Hawaii is so very beautiful. Everybody who has heard of Hawaii knows this. Even those who have never been to Hawaii know this. Many dream of seeing Hawaii at least once in their lifetime and start saving for a trip. It’s Heaven on earth. 

But the beauty of Hawaii, which makes Hawaii so very special, is not only what you see with your eyes; it’s also the spiritual. You can see the results of the spiritual, but you can’t see the spirits, or their dynamics. Once, returning to Honolulu from a business trip to Maui, I sat next to a 16-year old girl who was vacationing with her parents. She was humming. I asked her why was she so happy. She said, “I just experienced Maui. It’s so beautiful."  I asked "Why is it so beautiful?"  She said "it's something I can't explain.  the mountains and the white sandy beaches are beautiful.  But it's even more.  I can't explain it; it’s... a state of mind.”  The young lady was referring to an intangible that applies to all of Hawaii.  There are many beautiful tropical places in this world; Hawaii doesn’t have a monopoly- Bali, Acapulco, Boracay, to name a few. I have never been to those places, but I understand that they are outright beautiful, too.  However, they are not blessed with the intangible that embraces all of Hawaii. 

Have you ever visited Cape Cod or Nantucket in New England, or San Mateo’s Half moon Bay or Port Angeles in the Washington Peninsula area and wondered why something about them leaves a deep, lasting impression with you? The beaches are not tropical, of course, and the water is icy cold. The sea looks gray and drabby and gets very foggy, especially in Port Angeles, where the fog gets so dense that you can’t see the water. Yet, you’re moved by what you see, smell and hear. The sounds of sea gulls calling and seals barking, and waves crashing near picturesque light houses- along with the fog- just blow your mind away. 

Hawaii doesn’t have those attributes.  However, it has its own spiritual assets that go in tandem with its physical beauty.  What makes these assets so very special and different? You judge for yourself based on my discussion below. 

Have you ever given a thought to what usually happens to hurricanes when they’re about to hit the Islands? They either die out, or become less destructive tropical storms, or mysteriously veer off Hawaii, as if God had said “don’t you dare….” The last two Hurricanes that touched Hawaii, Eva and Iniki, as they were about to hit the Big Island, veered southward. After passing the Big Island, it went back to its original course.  It seemed that they wanted to avoid hitting any part of Hawaii, so they changed direction again and headed north.  If they had stayed on course they would have hit Lihue. They found a pathway in the channel between Oahu and Kauai. They hit the eastern half of Kauai, sparing Lihue. I find this to be rather odd: First, they paused right next to the Big Island as though navigational adjustments were being made. Then they cut through the channel between Kauai and Oahu. Why didn’t they just go over Oahu and hit Honolulu? It seems that they were trying to avoid all islands.  

It’s the same with tsunamis. We are located in harms’ way being in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.  Earthquakes in Peru, Alaska, Japan, and other Pacific Rim places have occurred many times and have generated major tsunamis. Yet, only two have had major destruction, both on the Big Island. Of course, we should not make light of the aftermath of the first one in 1946, which killed 24 school kids and teachers and destroyed parts of downtown Hilo.  Nor should we make light of the second one that annihilated lower Hilo in 1960. But these occurred about a half century ago.  

What about tornadoes? Annually, there are many tornadoes in Hawaii, but they rarely hit land, preferring to stay way up. Again, maybe God gave them stern warning.  There have been some rogue tornadoes, especially in the past 3 years. But they came down in non-populated places- such as pineapple fields and the ocean- then died out before hitting residential areas.  I consider them mischievous, not really intending to hurt anyone.   

What about lightning and thunderstorms? They don’t happen too often in Hawaii, but when they do, like tornadoes, they keep high in the sky. This is why in Hawaii thunders sound like a giant bowling alley in the sky, rather than like firecrackers. I remember the thunderstorms in Elkhart, Indiana, where my wife is from. I actually saw lightning hitting the front yard, not once but throughout the whole night during a thunderstorm. It sounded like firecrackers. When I took my family to Disney World back in the early 1980’s, it was a most fascinating experience: We were at the water park one afternoon when a storm suddenly appeared. The life guards were frantic, shouting to the people “get out from the water quick; a storm is approaching! Go under the roof!”  

Running for shelter when it’s storming is unheard of in Hawaii, except to stay dry. As kids, growing up in Kunia, we would look forward to those thunderstorms and whipping rains; we’d go walking getting ourselves soaking wet. Our parents would let us, not worried about anything.  Whenever we came across puddles, we’d pretend they were miniature lakes. We’d swim in them, hoping they’d stay forever. The thunder and lightning made it seem surreal. The more frequent the better.   Foolhardy, naïve- whatever you think we were- we never got hit by lightning.    

Another asset found in Hawaii is its near-perfect climate, averaging 76 degrees annually.  The heat rarely exceeds 90 degrees, and when it does we have a natural air conditioner to cool us off- the trade winds.  Trace their pathway around the earth.  Only a few places get them.  What are the odds that the convergence of all these assets in Hawaii, the most isolated place in the world, just eight pebbles in the mighty Pacific, is coincidental?  Maybe the Humpback whales that make Hawaii a birthing place know something that we don't know. 

Also, In Hawaii it rains with sunshine. We take it for granted here, as this occurs every day.  It's usually misty in Manoa Valley,  Iao Valley, Waimea Valley, and the Koolau range, to name a few places.  With the sun shining, we get rainbows.  If we drive on H2 freeway when it's misty along the Koolaus and sunny along the Waianaes, there will be a rainbow to our left heading towards Downtown,  it will stay with us, as though following us, a good distance after connecting with H1.  If we decide to go to kaneohe, instead, and take H3, there would be another giant arch in the sky greeting us. Commonly, visitors to Hawaii see a rainbow over the Koolaus greeting them when they arrive at the Honolulu International Airport.  Rainbows occur in different places and times of the day, depending on where the sun is shining and the location of the rain.  Mt. Wai'ale'ale, Kaua'i- the wettest spot in the world- possibly has the most constant rainbows in Hawaii because of its constant rain.  The rainbows would be moving as the sun makes its journey in the sky.           

Finally, Hawaii's volcanoes don’t explode as Mt St. Helen, or Pinatubo and Krakatoa do.  Instead, Hawaii volcanoes- among the world’s tallest and most active- erupt gently. As they do, they attract people, not scare them away. The lava flows are Pele’s jewelry, hot and beautiful. Instead of being wasteful and destructive, the flows create more land. Awesome! Instead of destroying, they create.  

All of the above make Hawaii Heaven on earth.

There is one more attribute that adds to Hawaii’s elevation way above the other beautiful places- the people. Hawaii has virtually all ethnic groups of the world, at least all races and sub-races. What makes Hawaii different is that these diverse groups of people blend and flock as one people. Isn’t this what God wants? These ethnic groups just don’t live in parallel societies but in one harmonious paradise called Hawaii.  Consequently, some of the most beautiful faces of the world are found in Hawaii, a place that exists not only on the map, but in spirit as well. Hawaii is, indeed, a state of mind.  It is no coincidence.    

In a future article, I will talk about how I was encultured in Hawaii. Tune in next time.