April 05, 2010

Traveling Back To The Future.

  Its been 2 weeks since I have gotten here. What's really amazing is the view of life that is opening up, that a life outside the box which I've been in is possible. It's the life of a child, I will explain. There's no traffic, smog, people hurrying or pushing by each other. Kauai is truly a holistic place to live. Organic farming, community atmosphere and hitchhiker friendly (yes, I have- last Thursday).  Not to mention there's only one main road that connects about 80% of the island. Some of Kauai, the Western side, has no roads and isn't developed.

  But really, it is. It's been developing, naturally, over time. It's funny how I type the word 'develop' and instantly think of yellow bulldozers and cranes knocking down nature to build up concrete. No. It's divinely developed, trees, air and sea enveloped, developed. Perfect as is, and what's great is that here, man doesn't want to finish the road around the island. Locals are happy to have a rare piece of 'un'developed  land to call their home, this is their Kauai.

  What else keeps boggling my mind is that no one uses the (808) area code before giving out a phone number. It's not posted on signs, said over the radio, shown on television or anything. The only time someone would give out their area code would be to announce their visitor status. There is a sense of Kauai island pride to only dish out 7 instead of 10 digits. How nostalgic is a place like Kauai in this regard. I remember when I was a teenager in the early 90's and everyone made 'the area code'  switch. It felt so alien.

  Last night I drove with new friends, people whom I never met before, that took me to the town of Kapa'a where a dance party was taking place at the Bikram Yoga studio. I was supposed to get a ride from this guy I met through one of my yoga friends. He called me to let me know he couldn't get me, but arranged a ride for me. How sweet. Heading there in the back of their van I noticed the wet roads and country-like scenery. It reminded me of when I was growing up in semi-rural Bucks County, where there was stillness. The dark roads not only looked like my childhood, but they felt like it. I felt home.

  One thing Michaelle says to us in class is that Yogalign gets us back in our "kid bodies."  The body where we can just sink in and evoke that sense of play and being that only being a kid could produce. What we used to feel when feeling good was being in our bodies, and being a kid. I think this is what could be happening. I think I'm actually going back in time.

  I'm Going back to my kid body and my kid feelings where everything is reminding me of 1987.  I'm moving away from the New York life, the life of hustle and bustle to get ahead towards "the day which never arrives" spoken by Chilean poet Nicanor Parra in his poem 'The Final Toast." Instead I'm easing backwards in time to a place where I once loved to be, where life was simple, the weather was sweet, the food was fresh and people were good.

1 comment:

  1. Brandon, I am really inspired by your words and reading about your process. You are a beautiful writer and I feel you strongly, your process in Hawaii -this entry feels very light. Look forward to reading more as they come . . . .

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