Here I am sitting on the lanai of the Wild Ginger Inn in beautiful Hilo, Hawaii http://www.wildgingerinn.com/. We arrived Tuesday, February 15th, on a three week exploratory mission to see if we want to relocate here. It’s everything we hoped to find. It didn’t take Geraldine long to decide she wants to live here permanently, and of course it’s what I want to do. I feel like I am home again after an absence of 25 years which seems like forever.
The environment, culture, weather and people are conducive to peace, tranquility and spirituality. I contacted a couple of old friends and am making new ones also. We’ve been enjoying life in the laid back way that’s typical of the Big Island.
I’m reading a great book, Hindu Encounter with Modernity Click here, a critical, theological biography of my param-guru, Bhaktivinoda Thakur. It is very affirming of the path I have been following. He was very influenced by 19th century rationalism, Christianity and Unitarian thought. What it comes down to is that I am an essence seeker concerned with eternal truths and not externals. Bhaktivinoda presented the teachings of Sri Chaitanya in a new way to the intellectuals of his day, just as I am adapting those teachings to thoughtful Western people today.
Land is more expensive here than we thought, but it still seems like it might be doable. We found a couple of sub-divisions that look promising and have a realtor helping us. We visited a vacation rental place that has a couple of yurts like we are considering buying. They seem as comfortable, practical and nice as they do on the internet. Pacific Yurts-Original Modern Yurt Manufacturer We may look into other options also.
I’ve been having bad respiratory problems from the vog, volcanic gases in the air. They usually blow to the west and are not so much of a problem here, but the wind is from the south now. Even the trade winds are screwed up. I just heard that the volcano has been very active the past few days. Geraldine had stomach problems for a day, but we are still real glad to be here.
We took it slow the first few days, but now we’re being more intentional. We hope that we’ll be able to get quite a bit done in the next couple of weeks as we now actively look for land. It’s incredible how expensive falling down shacks are. I’ll keep you posted regarding our progress and the outcome of this process.
Aloha!
