Lotus Moment: Unbossed

Why This Is Awesome: I realize that I haven't talked about my birthday trip to Hawaii very much since I've returned. Unlike my trip to Paris for my birthday 5 years ago, where upon my return I dove into the details of the experiences I had, my musings on Hawaii have been a bit more subdued.

Is it because my mini-milestone celebration was less remarkable? Hardly.

In fact, I would say my trip to the Big Island had its fair share of soul-enlightening moments. As a matter of fact, my entire 2-week birthday "extravaganza" was eye-opening and fulfilling in more ways than one.

So why no detailed post yet?

Because a part of me is still savoring and still processing the entire experience. Granted, I don't have to share the whole story all at once. (I've shared different epiphanies about Paris scattered throughout my blog over the past 5 years.)

No. What I'm dealing with is the same feeling I had when I sat on Honl's Beach on my first full day in Kona, holding the stem of a plumeria that had fallen on my rental car earlier that morning. After a short jaunt to this nearby beach, I sat on my towel, held up the flower and paused.

And in some ways, I'm still pausing. I'm still savoring and processing the awe, humility, fear, mortality, imperfection and grace I felt in that moment. I'm thinking about how this single 5-petal work of beauty is aged, but not brittle; spent, but also splendid; a symbol of a place and time, but wholly individualistic and unbossed.

And now I'm thinking about how that feels a lot like who I aspire to be.

How's that for a lotus moment?

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Image: Plumeria in Hawaii by Candace Nicholson