The Answer Is in Front of You
Here, I sat under the shade of a koa tree. I faced the ocean, on top of a gray stone wall, my feet hanging over the edge. I watched the powerful waves crash, spitting cold water onto my toes. Besides the fact that I was on vacation in Hawaii, it was an ordinary Tuesday of sitting, drinking coffee, and wrestling with the usual existential life questions. Am I on the right path? Am I wasting my time? Where do I find my value? How do I live a worthwhile life? Crying out, circling in some doubt, I wanted some answers.
And then, like clockwork, an older man walks up. Scraggly and tall. Tan, like the locals are. “Beautiful place, isn’t it?”. He told me that often dolphins can be seen here. Dolphins segued into sharks. He prepped me on what to do if I saw one in the water. He spoke with that Hawaiian, everything will be all right, ease. He shared how he landed back here. Born and raised. Ambition drew him out to the mainland — Santa Barbara, San Fransisco, and LA - working in tech. But after some time, he was worn out. Tired. Longing once again for the simplicity of life he found in Hawaii.
He shared how every day, he comes out, walks among the land, picks up trash, and reflects with gratitude and prayer. “Mālama,” he spoke. “That’s my purpose now.” This Hawaiian word means to care for, serve, tend to, preserve, and protect. “Mālama ka ‘aina” means to take care of nature and the land. “Mālama pono” means to care for people, the community, and those around you.
“Everyone wants to change the world but in the process forgets to care for what’s in front of them. Smile at a stranger. Clean up the land. That’s more than enough. That’s actually what life is all about.” He couldn’t tell, but behind my sunglasses, little tears swelled in the corners of my eyes. My sweet reminder and affirmation. I could hear the tender whisper, “You are on the right track. You are doing enough. You ARE enough.”
Without knowing this phrase, I can see how this theme of Mālama has been popping up in different ways. I can see its subtle thread, sewing the different parts of me, my life, together. What a beautiful framework for how I want to live my life. How I want to hold, and steward, my work.
Sometimes the answers we are searching for are much simpler than they may seem. Sometimes, they have been in front of us all along. I’m learning that here in the simplicity is true depth, purpose, fullness, and life.
E mālama pono — take care my friends.
