Celebrate Life

By Virginia Beck

Chandley G. Jackson is seen here enjoying a sunset at Miloli‘i, Napali Coast last summer. Photo by Léo Azambuja

Spring on Kaua‘i. We are warming up for proms, graduations and weddings. Planning for summer. The snowbirds, our winter residents, are planning their return to the cold places. Preparing to enjoy their homes elsewhere.

The kolea, or Pacific golden-plover, are starting to migrate to Alaska. Kohola, or giant humpback whales, have already fattened their newborn calves and are on their way back to the colder Northern Pacific.

Kaua‘i has always been a source of recovery and renewal. The Polynesians came to find new homelands. Trading ships stopped for supplies; to refit their ships before continuing to the Far East. Whalers came to plunder our whales for blubber, oil and ambergris.

Today we come for special occasions, celebrations of love, honeymoons, weddings, anniversaries or birthdays. Those who live here, wake up to the sunrise with a deep sense of gratitude despite the rains, work and chores. The pesky roosters, jabbering mynah birds and squawking green parakeets get us going. Rainbows will travel with us as we drive. We have the world’s most beautiful commute to school or work, enjoying mountains, beach views, flowering trees and checking out neighborhood gardens.

Some visitors stay inside their comforting, nurturing accommodations for their entire stay. A day or two is fine to recover, but then, get out. You may miss out on what the island has to offer. Kaua‘i has acres of natural beauty lying just inland from the beach areas. It takes a little energy and action to get yourself out, but it is unbelievably worth it.

A raw, invigorating, reality of velvety greens cloaking steeply eroded mountains; wind-tossed clouds sailing overhead, and the vast ocean spreading turquoise, indigo and blue to infinity. Rains flood our streams and flash floods will hurtle down the cliffs in a dancing array of waterfalls, flushing our rivers — bleeding red topsoils, turning the deltas brown where they meet the ocean.

Admire and respect the forces of nature at play — harsh lava cliffs, huge surf that will crash on those cliffs and sweep unwise explorers into the smashing fury of a deep ocean’s energy, unlike anything seen on the Mainland coasts and lakes.

Activities suited to 20-year-olds can prove risky or fatal to older visitors, unprepared for the unbelievably strong athletic challenges of forceful waves, and sudden currents, or unexpected weather changes. Pigs cut trails through the underbrush that can lead to steep canyons with rocks and broken legs and no way out.

Celebrate in safety. Confine your alcoholic beverages to your party or accommodations, and don’t swim or surf under the influence. Most resorts have on site activities and concierge services that can provide you with safe, guided adventure tours. Remember a lot of websites are written for 20-year-olds, partying 20-year-olds.

There are limousine services if you want to restaurant-hop or listen to spectacular music and just cruise our island and bliss out. Celebrate your life by cherishing it and your family.

Aloha makes us great!

• Virginia Beck, NP and Certified Trager® Practitioner, offers Wellness Consultation, Trager Psychophysical Integration and teaches Malama Birth Training classes. She can be reached at 635-5618.