In the last weeks there has been much time to think and process about exactly what has been going on in this life here in Hawaii. From the hurts and curiosity of relationships and opportunities to the doubts and hopelessness that often protrudes through the curtain of strength. But behind with all of that, there will be another time for those words.
This post will be about explorations and living in the Son light. Recently we journeyed to Waimea on a hike and excursion called “Annas Pond”. This is a hike that takes you through some of the most fascinating deep rolling hills on the Big Island of Hawaii. So much so that they remove your mind from the Island and place you into the scenes from “The Sound of Music” along with those seas of wavy flower blessed mountains of Europe. The drive is about forty-five minutes from Kona and about an hour from Hilo. You park at the side of one large green brush stroke of love and leave your vehicle to take a hop over a cattle guard gate. Now, there are no trespassing signs warning to keep out. But it is such a well known area and hike that it’s nearly always ignored. The thin trail leads you winding backwards into the depths of the hillsides, the smells of freshly moistened blades caused by the early morning rains pours into your lungs. Behind you is Mauna Kea, surrounded with fluffy little clouds at the base and marshmallow sized near the top. The observatory protrudes through for a brief moment and stands strong at 13,796′ tall, the sight is unlike anything ever seen. Micro streams are often passed over with the calming sound of cool water trickling down the rocks. We come to a fork in the road where the trail goes somewhat unseen. So I venture onward up the hillside with curiosity blooming, the contrast of bright green and a wholesome blue is almost overwhelming. Directly above swaying in the sky are swift clouds that look like soft brush strokes of water color. Atop the hill are very interesting looking trees, mangled and forcefully formed in one specific direction or another from the powerful winds that blow through the valleys.
Having found a tree that was so bent over from the wind that it was nearly horizontal, but not uprooted, I chose to sit down for a while and pray. Not too long afterward my name was being called from below. Knowing that the other members of the group, specifically my mother was concerned on where I was, the time had come for me to descend.
The trail was found and we were all headed back on track, destination Anna’s Pond. After many Ups and downs, walking alongside the flowing river and climbing down ropes, we all had finally made it to the awesome waterfall. In all of it’s force pounding down and ricocheting off the cliffside. There were a decent amount of people swimming, rope swinging off the cliff side and launching themselves into the pond. Gronaloa bars and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches were for lunch. The water was a very potent root-beer color, caused from all the recent rain the Island had been receiving. The pond was icey, yet incredibly refreshing. My two sisters and a few of their friends ventured onward over to the waterfall, where the rope swing was. My oldest sister takes hole of the rope and pushes off the cliffside. Swinging out over the pond she lets go and begins to fall, only instead of staying straight her body begins to lean forward and she practically bellyflops into the cold water. We all started laughing at the visual. I could tell that she was somewhat embarrassed, but it was all in the fun.
The time spent with family was solid and allowed for some great exercise. Really wish that we could have stayed the rest of the afternoon there, but I had a job interview and was pushed Hilo side around 2 PM.
Learning more about family members is possibly one of the most gratifying thing in my life. Being able to hold fast to that knowledge and use it to help them is very powerful in a relationship. When times are rough and your mind needs a break there’s nothing quite as relieving as going out on a hike and venturing around into unknown territory.
– ArrowAhead