Dive Right In

This morning I woke up in Maui.

Immediately anxiety wrapped her rusty barbed-wire fingers around my spine. Crazy, I know. My first day in paradise, all my bills are paid, I'm surrounded by friends, but still I'm gripped with fear and sandy-souled discontent. I felt cagey, ungrounded, unsure of what to do.

My morning routine is usually something semblance of the following:

-lay in bed for 20 minutes, semi-coherently contemplating my dreams, or lack thereof.

-pee.

-meditate for 20-30 minutes.

-triple sh.

-brew a hot cup of earl grey.

-make up half a song on the six-string.

-forget to write it down.

-call some people.

-sit down and get to work.

But this morning I woke up IN MAUI.

Do you get the implications of the circumstances?

That initial breath of plumeria-scented sea air dictates a whole new set of plans. What do you do first in a houseful of friends on Paradise Island? Get coffee? Wake up everyone else? Twenty-seven Sun Sals? Harmonica solo? Eat a papaya? Shower naked in the back yard?

Then consider that I'm here on business, and the man who signs my paychecks and expects nothing short of my greatness was stirring upstairs.

What primary activity would set the right tone, reinforce my egg-shell positive personal self image, establish professional responsibility AND make me look really cool to my house-mates? Arghhhhh!!!

So I did what any self-respecting adventurer would do. I pulled on some pants and a t-shirt and went for a walk. I found a wrought-iron gate with a "No Trespassing" sign and jumped it. I shimmied down a pole and bouldered down the beach on black volcanic babies of Pele. I swam in the warm waters of Na Maka O Ka hai as Surya crested the far off mountains, filling the heavens with pink, orange and brilliant white.

I dove right the f**k in.

Afterwards, as I ambled back to the house, barefoot and skyclad from the waist up, giggling at the clouds and talking to the trees, the jazz of creation began to make sense to me. Once again I was reminded that when we don't know what to do, we just gotta do SOMETHING, and listen for the cues.

I rolled up on my compatriots engaging in sweet and simple morning activities...sipping ceylon, down-dogging in the driveway, reading a book...and with salt on my skin and sand in my hair, I looked mad cool. :)

Uncertainty and her sister, Miss Tension once again crept in, but I had begun my day in my own way, and moving forward was simply a matter of continuing the course.

I took a shower, made some tea, touched my guitar and got to work.

It's been a beautiful morning in Maui.