Workaway On The Big Island
It’s been a little over a week since arriving on The Big Island to live for the next few months. Interestingly enough, Hawai’i was never really on my radar to live or move but when the opportunity presented itself to do a work trade at an off-the-grid vegan meditation & ecological center, I booked my flight and didn’t look back.
I was originally supposed to come in November of 2020 but that got pushed back. After a few months of thinking I was back at square one, I reached back out one last time and to my surprise, was invited to come in January. Up until my flight to Hilo, I felt cool as a cucumber. I had no idea what this opportunity would bring but I knew that my soul has been calling me to live in an intentional community and do some sort of work trade and this opportunity in Hawai’i was the first one that was put in my path.
Getting To The Big Island
The 16+ hour travel day was relatively easy but as I flew further away from my home in Kentucky, the doubt increasingly crept into my mind including thoughts of, “Am I making a mistake?” “What am I thinking?” “Am I ready for this?” It was a little too late for these doubts to make any impact on my journey so I decided to push them aside and welcome this new experience with open arms.
The place that I’m living for the next few months is a beautiful 10-acre property on the Big Island. We’re off the grid meaning, no cell phone service, solar powered electricity, and water collected from the rain. It’s an adjustment but it’s what I wanted. I wanted to disconnect from the madness of the world and from the hustle of the life I was living. As with most discomfort, it’s not easy in the beginning. You want to run back to what you know and to what is comfortable. There’s no running back home right now since the nearest town is 30 minutes away. So I guess I’ll embrace the wild pigs waking me up each night, taking 5 minute cold showers, and the feeling of being disconnected from all the things I once held so close to me at home.
Daily Life
It’s not all uncomfortable, though. Each day, I begin with meditation and yoga and come together with the only 10ish volunteers for a delicious breakfast of chia seed putting, fresh fruit grown on property, and a lot of peanut butter. Each day looks different–some days I’m on a kitchen shift, washing and chopping home grown vegetables while our head chef, Terry, makes magic on the stove. Other days I’m housekeeping cleaning the bathrooms and communal spaces or on grounds weeding and cleaning the compost.
For the work trade, we work about 5 hours a day 5 days a week. In the grand scheme of things, that’s nothing. On my off days or when I have free time throughout the day, I work on things like my blog, do some more meditation, read, or head to the nearest beach to lay out with my friends. It feels nice to have my life simplified. We eat at the same time each day and most days look and feel similar. There’s not much to think about because life just sorta is.
The Inner Battle
I’ve been struggling with this pull within my head to be here, in the present moment, and the urge to go out and explore and do all the things. I want to explore the rest of the island, yes. I want to make memories with my new friends (who I feel like I’ve known my whole life), yes. But I want to push myself to simply be here in this moment in front of me. My whole life, I have constantly been searching for something outside of myself. It’s exhausting to always feel like you are running towards something...I keep reminding myself there’s no where to go, nothing to do. Simply be here.
I feel immense gratitude for this opportunity. I am grateful for this magical land that is allowing me to live for the next few months. I feel grateful for the people I have met that continue to open their hearts to me and to each other. Gratitude is something that continues to come up for me because this has been the life I have been dreaming about for the past 2 years. I created this reality. Despite all the hardships and obstacles of the past, I held my vision close to my heart and it is here in front of me today.
I am slowly acclimating to this new way of life and while it’s not all enjoyable, glamorous, or what I expected, I have a deep knowing in my heart that this is exactly where I am supposed to be. I trust and honor my inner knowing to tell me when it is time for me to move on to the next thing but for now, I am here on the Big Island and that is perfect.