Warm greetings all. 🙏 💚
On this day, four years ago (April 1, 2018), I arrived on the Big Island of Hawai'i. I've loved it so much that I never left (and I don't really have any intention to do so). The whole time I've lived on the Big Island has been in the magical realm of Lower Puna, on the Eastern side of the island.
Lower Puna is a very special place in the world. The energy here is wild, raw, and intense. Because of most of Lower Puna is within a very active lava zone, which makes eruptions and volcanic flows here quite unpredictable, most corporations and governmental agencies won't invest money in development that could be destroyed in a month. The effect of this is that there is very little government or corporate influence or reach here, and people pretty much do what they want.
There are so many off-gridders, back-to-landers, homesteaders, and intentional communities out here. Most properties in Lower Puna are off-grid, with solar electrical systems and rain-water catchment. Many people grow a portion of their own food. I've lived this way my whole time in Hawai'i. It's both deeply beautiful and deeply challenging living in this manner. In many ways it's like pioneer living.
There is an amazing array of wonderful people who choose to call Lower Puna home, with a great many others passing through, staying for a time, then moving on. People here seem to be more human, more open, more authentic, more real. Being human is OK in Lower Puna, and that's one thing that I have always very deeply appreciated.
In my four years here, I've lived barefooted and naked for most of it, and very close to Nature. This land has healed me, or it's allowed me to heal myself, over time. I have learned and grown and changed sooo much since I arrived here, I can barely believe it, and I'm still in the midst of it! I am so overwhelmingly grateful to have come to the Big Island and Lower Puna, and to be able to call this truly amazing place home! So much beauty, all around, everywhere, in Nature, and in the people!
Hello World. I don't take photos of myself often, but I did for this special occasion!
Thank you all for sharing another magical Lower Puna moment with me! 🙏 💚