Aloha!

We had a couple of 4:00 AM mornings on our Hawaiian adventure.  It wasn’t as bad as it sounded, allowing us unhurried viewing of the first morning light.  It also meant time for reading guidebooks, more specifically an article on Hawaii’s history and the birth of an island.

Islands, like Maui, are shoved into being by a force below the ocean’s floor.  These volcanic islands start as barren geological features and over the course of thousands of years become the beautiful places they are today.  This mostly happens by circumstance — a seed drifts ashore, a bird is blown off course by a storm, people discover and settle.

And there was this thought of our trip and friendships and the parallels it all held to the life span of an island.  People are drawn together by these forces we cannot see, maybe its chance; maybe it’s the result of a much greater force at work.

But whatever you believe, the result is just as miraculous.  Small, seemingly insignificant things accumulate over time — a walk, a meal, an adventure — all of these things build to create a unique landscape between the people that shared them.

An island has a lifespan.  Maui, the guidebook explained, was in its twilight years, the last active volcano hasn’t erupted since 1790.  Its growth has slowed.  Our trip has ended, too, but the bits and pieces we collected will become the good memories that add life to our friendships, until we meet again.

A hui hou kakou.