Dancing in Hawaii Pt. 1!

Hey there Hive community!

A few days ago, I arrived in Kona, Hawaii. I'm just beginning to fully take it in that I'm here. I absolutely love the diversity of life here in all its forms: birds, insects, plants, fruits, people. I've been living off of fresh jackfruit, guava, mangoes, macadamia nuts, and coconut water. The weather fluctuates between 80 degree sunshine to pouring rain and thunderstorms within minutes. This is a view from my room:

I'm with family, and have basically become a family mediator and conflict resolution support for the various dramas that keep emerging. I've taken a few days off of work, but I'll need to get back on the work grind while I'm here. Plus, I'm still dealing with my asthma mostly induced by stress and doing too many things. So I'm making a conscious effort to slow things down here, take deep breaths, and allow my body to regenerate and heal. Every morning I've started off with a meditation outside with the birds next to my favorite tree on the property (pictured below), followed by a sweaty dance or pilates workout. I have deep gratitude for the opportunity I have to stay in a beautiful home, work wherever I am, and have good enough health to travel in this way.

The other day we hopped on a Zodiac inflatable boat to go snorkeling. It was so fun speeding into the deep blue sea at full speed! Our captain even let me drive our boat for a little bit, testing my willingness to go in caves and spin us around 360 degrees. Needless to say, I stepped up to the challenge!

I saw amazing life underwater, and even swam next to a huge turtle for a little bit! Here's a picture of me snorkeling.

I was able to see my sister for a day before she heads back to her second home, LA. She just got accepted into the Nurse Practitioner program at University of Colorado, so she'll be jumping back into the academic world soon while continuing to do what she loves: rave and party. Gotta love how she can still go hard!

As an activist with a full time job and lots of responsibilities, being out here is healing and inspiring. I love how earthy and natural it is here. I love talking to the locals and feeling the humanity of strangers I've never met before. I love the insight and wisdom that nature often provides, if we slow down to its pace.

Being out here is inspiring me to dance to some of my favorite reggae songs. In my early 20s, I went to all the annual California reggae festivals. I had Steel Pulse and Don Carlos on repeat. I cultivated a deep respect for the reggae culture scene and most parts of Rasta philosophy.

I feel so free, open, and wild when I feel into the reggae rhythm. So I decided to create a little dance video featuring beautiful flowers. I also integrated the few videos I took of my time here in Hawaii up until this point! Hope you enjoy, Hive community.

Look out for more dance videos this coming week :)