Hawaiian Storytime: participation vs control

Aloha, and welcome to Episode 35 of Life on the Brink!

I've just returned from a week in Hawaii, and I cant' wait to share a story of something CRAZY that happened! Today we're talking about participation versus control, and how planning less can be more freeing in the long run. I know we all have responsibilities headed our way, so why not breathe and loosen your grip a little bit? This episode will hopefully encourage and refresh you.

Plus I'm sharing a fantastic album by a Hawaiian artist and laying out the podcast schedule for the upcoming autumn season.

For the complete show notes, click here!

Site: lifeonthebrink.live
Social: @anna_on_the_keys

Transcript

0:07

Welcome to life on the brink, a lovely little place filled with inspiration, creativity that is dedicated to enjoying life one day at a time, I'm onna and together we're exploring the beautiful things in this world that fascinate us, and often discovering something new. Hello, hello, and welcome to Episode 35 of life on the brink. I am back from Hawaii. So aloha to all of you. I hope that your week was lovely that you were able to enjoy the summer, two weeks Actually, I wasn't here last week. And gosh, it was just such a wonderful week. I didn't want to leave at times. But there's also a beauty and coming home. So I'm recording just a quick little podcast today because my week did not exactly go as planned. Josh and I missed a connection in Chicago on our way back home and spent many hours in the Chicago airport. Because our previous plane was delayed. So my week is a bit thrown off. I'm still sleeping at weird times. And there's a lot coming very soon. So this week's episode will be short and sweet, but lovely. And I'll also be talking about the upcoming fall schedule. And what you can look forward to this next season. So if you have not made yourself a cup of tea yet, go ahead and make yourself one now, I am actually drinking a tea that I took from my hotel in Waikiki. It is from the Hawaiian natural Tea Company love that. It's their island breakfast blend, and it's just a really nice black tea. I've been enjoying it this morning in my tea cups, so please feel free to make yourself a cup of tea or coffee. When I was in Hawaii, I pretty much only drink coffee. It's only that I was home that I began to miss tea. And let's get started. I've got a fun little story to share. And also just some reflections I've had on her routine and home. So for those who may not have heard from a previous episode, Josh and I went to Josh is my husband. And we went to Hawaii, we stayed on the island of Oahu. For our late honeymoon slash first anniversary trip. We got married on July 31. Last year. And if you recall, there was no traveling last summer. So it was always our plan to just wait until things opened up a little and then go. And now the fact that this coming fall, I have two different teaching jobs at different schools with different schedules, we realized we should probably make this happen before the school year Josh is trying to finish up his master's degree as well. So it came together very quickly. We decided maybe four or five weeks beforehand. Yeah, let's do this. Let's go to Hawaii. So I'm a planner. And I love to plan. So I spent those four or five weeks researching and looking things up and listening to podcasts about visiting Hawaii. And all we would need to know and it's very easy for me to over plan, perhaps you were like that as well. But planning a vacation is like half the fun. And the anticipation is so fun. So I did a lot of research. But I tried. I willed myself not to plan every day or everything we were going to do to give us options and some wiggle room. And I will say that that really helped make our trip more relaxing and more special in the moment, I think. And of course it helps that I have a really nice travel buddy Josh is also you know, he wants to see a lot of different stuff wants to get out there but doesn't want everything to be regimented. So it worked out well. Because some of the best moments of this trip or during times when we were just sort of winging it, and we just did something and it turned out to be so much better than I could have planned it. So I guess that's sort of why I wanted to share some of this today is just to sort of encourage, I feel like there are many things coming at us with this new school year and a lot of things are still uncertain. And as we head into the end of summer because it's not over folks. There can be a lot of unknown. And if you're someone who is uncomfortable with unknown like me, it can be stressful. But something that was really made clear to me on this trip was how beautiful the unplanned moments can be. And there's one in particular that, and there's just a couple moments in particular that I'd like to share from this trip that were not at all could not have been orchestrated by me. So on, I think it was our second day there. Josh and I had done a trail, we went to the Manoa falls trail, which was exhausting, but so incredibly beautiful. And then my spontaneity came out when I saw a pineapple stand, people doing all kinds of pineapple things, and I was like, why don't we get one of these smoothies, they made pineapple smoothies and put them inside the pineapple. And that was gonna be perhaps redundant, because from that trail, we were going to the dole pineapple plantation in the middle of the island. But we were like, hey, it's here. It looks beautiful. Let's just do this now. And that turned out to be a very good thing. Because I didn't know it. I could not have known it in my research. But there was like a humongous line in the Dole Plantation just to get into their store and restaurant. But we'd had pineapple smoothie that day, we were pretty good to go. And we were there mostly because they have a humongous garden maze. I love a garden. And Josh loves a maze. I love a maze, too. But so we just did the maze, and we walked around and then we left. And that bit of spontaneity paid off because we were already full of pineapple. And then we decided to head to the North Shore, which is full of food trucks, and lots of really cool hole in the wall places to eat. So we got Of course, some shrimp there. The garlic shrimp is something they're famous for. And it was wonderful. We just went to a park to eat because there was nowhere to park. And then we said, Well, why don't we go to a beach, we've got our stuff. We haven't seen the North Shore yet. So I'm looking on Google Maps on satellite to try and find a beach that has some some kind of parking. Because that was the main challenge most days was trying to find where we're going to put this car and oftentimes included a lot of walking from that spot. But that was fine. I said, oh, there's this little beach laniakea Beach, that's just a few miles from us. And it had a little bit of parking in like a patch of dirt on the side of the road. So so we go there, it's pretty tight with the parking and there's a lot of cars a little bit stressful. But everyone drives so courteously over there. It was wonderful. So we're on the fence. But we were like, okay, let's stop here. And we go to the beach, we find that it's pretty Rocky. So we walk down the beach a little bit, and we're actually in front of people's houses. But there were other people and it seemed very normal and cool to be there. And I was a little hesitant to get you know, fully in the water. I hadn't done that yet, not because I was you know, I thought jaws was waiting for me. But just, I had understood the bigness of the ocean. And so I finally waded out into the water with Josh, and we're just swimming and taking it easy. I'm never farther than I can walk to on my feet can always touch the ground, but the waves come and go. And there were a few other people around us. But eventually they made their way to the sand, some people left. And so there were a couple groups of people way down the beach from us. And then there was pretty much no one in the water around us. And it felt like we were the only two people in the whole ocean in a way. And it was such a beautiful moment. And I was really taken aback by just how beautiful it was. And then as Josh is talking to me, he's in the middle of saying something and he stops and he's like, what is that? And I, I look behind me, my back is to the water. And I'm probably like, four and a half five feet into it. And I look behind me and there's a rather large, shadowy figure because the water is very clear at this spot, very light. And I can see there's something probably eight to 10 feet away from me. And so I kind of freaked out we both kind of freaked out. I was like, What is that and I'm trying to swim as fast as I can. Josh grabs my hand and we're just trying to get to the shore cuz this thing was big. I was like, I don't know what that is. Josh, of course went to worst case scenario, you know, something life threatening. I thought maybe it was like a ray like I'm sting ray or manta ray, but I just didn't know. So I was like, Let's just go. And so we're waiting on the shoreline. We were completely out of the water just watching the waves and we can still see this thing and it's kind of moving And we're just waiting to see like, what is that it's too big to be a fish. And then a wave comes and out of the water pops the head of the sea turtle, and just sort of went right out of the water looked straight at us. And then went back under. And then as we're waiting, we were like, Oh my gosh, is that a turtle. And then, again, the turtle pokes his little head out the water for a second and then goes back under. And we're just like, so shocked. And like in awe of the fact that we were one swimming with a turtle, essentially, that was right there right behind me. But also kind of scared because it gave us a rush. So we just sort of tried out on the beach. Then when we finally left, we walked back to the rocky portion to get to our car. And we noticed several sea turtles on these rocks, that I guess were like eating or hanging out or something. And there were turtles all in the water. Come to find out this beach is sometimes called Turtle Beach. Because it's a great spot to see sea turtles. I didn't know that I didn't find that in my research. We just happened upon it, and then happened to be swimming with a sea turtle. And that was just so cool. What a crazy experience. And I I'm rarely thrown into danger or into crazy situations. But that one was very unique. And I was like, I can't believe that happened to us. There were lots of moments on that trip where we maybe we did a hike that was very isolated or kind of steep down a mountain. And you know, we would take a break, and I would look around and think I'm in the middle of nowhere right now, hiking through woods. And I couldn't have planned that moment. There were plenty of things we did that I that I did plan, we did go to a couple shave ice places that I'd heard were the best. And I would say that they were right. But there were also so many beautiful moments that we just thought, hey, what if we do this, and we participated in the life of that place, rather than trying to control it. And that I think made the biggest difference in this trip. So I say this to say that. I know personally, this coming season, even next week, I'm starting new ventures, the school year is upon us. And whether you're a student or a parent, or a teacher, or maybe you're not at all affiliated with school, but you know, the season changes, I feel like there's a lot and in a panic mode, it's easy for me and perhaps for you to regimen, everything, schedule everything, just to be on top of it. But I would encourage you and myself to leave room. You know, obviously we have responsibilities. But you don't have to schedule everything of every day. Because that is one impractical because things are outside of our control. I know for me when I'm absolutely sure that something is going to go one way and then it goes another it'll rattle me for a little bit and I have to get over it. So if it's insignificant things or leisure time or things like that, I'm really going to try not to plan it. Because Secondly, there are so many beautiful things in this world to be enjoyed that you don't know about yet that you can't plan for that you can't expect because you don't know they exist yet or that they will happen in that moment. So this is a call to all of the stressors and planners and people like me to sort of loosen your grip a little bit. I don't know if it's because I had such a crazy trip coming back. But I am really glad to be home. I had many moments on this past trip that I I started to just really get bummed out thinking of having to leave and come home and face responsibility. 24 full hours of travel. Walking through the front door of my apartment was just like a sigh of relief. And not only that, but the fact that I've cultivated a place that feels good to be in as my home made coming back that much easier. And after you know a little cleaning a little tidying opening up the windows to air it out. I'm still in the process of laundry but doing all of this sort of resetting helped me appreciate the things that home provides. Even today is overcast and a little chilly. And I really don't mind it making an effort to enjoy the everyday the simple things, like we talked about all the time here at life on the brink, it just brings such a warmth to your home into your life so that when you do go out and do extraordinary crazy things, or go travel the world, it's still a beautiful thing to come back. And even with all the responsibilities that are coming my way, I know that I enjoy my life, my normal everyday life here at home. And sharing not only the big highs and the crazy stories, but also the small, gentle, quiet, simple moments with all of you. So I know this episode was a little bit different, just sort of more of a conversation. But stick around for just a few more minutes, because I've got music to share and then plans for the upcoming season. So I suppose I could put a little joy, I've had like a million, you know, it's it's been a very big joy week. But I kind of shared it already with that crazy sea turtle story. And if you're interested in seeing more moments from this trip, I will be posting lots of photos, not only in the show notes, but also on my Instagram. So you can head over there. But I did want to share some music, of course, for this week for this coming end of the summer. And it's of course going to be by a Hawaiian artist, Josh and I listened to the radio a lot over there, especially to the Hawaiian reggae stations. And by the end of the trip, we knew some of the songs were singing along. One artist that I really came to love is named Kelly Rochelle, I believe is how you would say Rachelle his last name, his album, melon, Lana is the most beautiful, happiest kind of music, and I think is perfect for absorbing the last few relaxing Days of Summer. In particular, track three equal a mummy is a real jam. And it's the one that I should say I'm originally to find this album when I was over there. So I'll be linking that album in the show notes. You can head to life on the brink dot live for the blog. And for photos and for this playlist. Do give it a listen, I think it's beautiful. And now before I leave you, I just want to talk a bit about this coming season. So hopefully you have enjoyed these weekly episodes. I know there wasn't one last week, but over the summer, the weekly episodes of life on the brain with interviews and with different kinds of summary ideas to enjoy. So now with this new school year beginning, I know for some people that hasn't started yet, but for me, as a teacher, it is already upon me. So I'm going to be returning to the every other week schedule. So you can expect a new episode in two weeks, that would be on the 19th of August. And all through at least the fall. We'll see what happens at Christmas time. And I'll be bringing in some more interviews, you'll finally get to hear from Josh very soon. And I hope to bring the same level of excellence and enjoy ability if that's not a word, but to create beautiful podcasts to refresh you every other week. If you're like no, I need one every week, and you haven't listened to episodes from last fall. By all means go ahead and check it out, you can go back into the archives. And for now, look forward to episodes every other week. I know that you will also be more busy in this coming season. So I do wish for you the most relaxing most enjoyable last days of summer. Because the season of summer itself still goes on for well over a month. So enjoy the weather enjoy all of the fresh fruits and vegetables and time outdoors. And again, try just to let go a little bit. Maybe not all the way I know our lives are all different. But maybe join me in working to participate rather than control your own life. And with that, I will see you in two weeks have a lovely time. Mahalo. Thank you for tuning into this episode of life on the brink. If you're enjoying these episodes, please feel free to leave a star rating or even better. leave a review on Apple podcasts to help spread the word. Your podcast show notes and extra inspirational posts throughout the week. Head to the blog at life on the brink dot live. If you'd like little extra dose of inspiration in your life, sign up for the monthly newsletter, which lights up your inbox the first Friday of each month. Thank you so much for listening. And until next time, friends, you have a lovely week. Bye