(image via jscneid)
Gooood Morning SuperForest!
The sun is shining here on Kauai. The roosters are crowing. I’ve been here three days now and each day has brought adventure and growth on an expanding scale.
I arrived in Lihue on Wednesday night. My lovely mother picked me up, with a car full of doggies, and takeout ramen from my favorite noodle shop. I slurped noodles as we drove through the darkness to the North shore of the island, chatting and catching up.
The next morning I woke up early, had a coffee and drove up to the land that will one day be Zero One. Justin and Mea, the delightful couple who have been living there since April 1st, were not there, so I was free to wander the grounds, unpack my boxes and the teepee, and soak in the land on my own.
My intention was to do nothing. Just observe in a patient and protracted manner. Several hours later, having flown a kite, napped in a hammock, gardened, wiped down shelves and surfaces, put all my clothes in the closet, moved the tv into storage, and eaten lunch, I left for home, feeling warm and tired. A bit more got done than I’d planned, but that’s life.
Drove home to my parents house via Princeville shopping center, where I applied for my Makai card, which is what the locals use at the supermarket to get tasty discounts. I was pleasantly surprised to see that Foodland, the local grocery store, was having a sale on rice, and that $8 would buy me 20 pounds of white rice. 20 pounds of rice would last me months. They were also having a sale on miso paste, so conceivably if I ate a lot of salads and rice and miso and had chickens and did some fishing, I could eat very well while living verrrry cheaply.
To live very well and very cheaply sounds great to me. If I can reduce my energy usage greatly, and help others do the same, win. But slowly! Slowly and softly. This is a waltz, not a mosh pit.
I’m reminded of a quote by Robert Heinlein, one of my favorite authors, which I must paraphrase:
“Revolution is an art that I pursue, rather than a goal I expect to achieve.”
Softly, softly, the revolution. I was asleep by 11PM.
Yesterday I woke up with the chickens again, had brekky, kissed mummy goodbye, and went and met up with SuperForesters Jordan and Aaron, both of whom are here on Kauai for a while. We sat by a pool in the sun and laughed and caught up. We toasted our good fortune and gave thanks and praise for the opportunity to give thanks and praise.
After the pool, a trip to my Auntie Mimsy’s house to say hello and reconnect. Arrived to find Mimsy hula-hooping with her daughter-in-law, the lovely Miss Sari, and Sari’s two wonderful children Luke and Django. Luke, (who is six) was busy hosing some toads on the lawn, so I borrowed him to help me collect eggs from Mimsy’s chickens. After carrying Luke across the grass (at his insistence) to protect his feet from sleeping grass (pokey!) we found 9 lovely eggs, still warm, and we put them in a basket to carry back to the house.
Then I ransacked Auntie’s shelves for how-to books, coming away with a mighty stack of titles ranging from: “The Care and Feeding of Poultry” to “Hawaiian Flowers” to “Japanese Gardening in Small Spaces.” As Auntie put her names in her books, Jordan, Aaron and I picked oranges, filling a large cardboard box with the happy little juicy ovals.
I had been to the market earlier and bought a length of sugarcane (which is member of the grass family.) Luke and I hunkered down in the shade and I used a machete to peel it and split it into lengths. Sugarcane is wonderful! It’s like sweet bamboo. You chew it up and the most wonderful flavor fills your head, and then you spit the husk out and compost it.
Having laden the car with the books, oranges, and 18 eggs, Aaron and I decided to drive over to Zero One to unpack and see if Justin and Mea were around. As we went to leave, a woman pulled into the driveway offering to sell us a huge box of pre-packaged frozen steaks at a great discount. I couldn’t resist.
Aaron and I went to Zero One, and there met the incomparably lovely Justin and Mea. We all exchanged gifts and stories, and talked about the land, and our intentions for it. Mea brewed a pot of ginger lime tea, and we sat sipping and swapping information. The sun had begun to set and Aaron and I were both hungry. As if she had read our minds, Mea asked if we wanted anything to eat, and reappeared a moment later with a plate of insanely tasty veggie/sushi rolls. I grilled a quick steak to chase the veggies down and Aaron and I ate and laughed once more at our incredible fortune.
Earlier in the day, on the way to Mimsy’s, Aaron and I had stopped to give a hitchhiker a ride. The hitchhiker’s name was Ezra, and we learned that he was a recent transplant from Florida, and that he was a raw food chef. He seemed a decent fellow. He had a great mustache! On the way to drop Aaron off last night, we passed Ezra again walking up the same stretch of road we’d found him on earlier.
Ezra jumped back in the car and we drove to Mimsy’s guest house (where Aaron is staying) and there the three of us got properly acquainted, telling stories and chewing big mouthfuls of sugarcane. As it turns of, Ezra is another traveler of the path of spiritual ascension, a kung fu practitioner, dancer, musician, DJ, and all around cool cat. He’d been living in a tent in a bramble patch on someones land, paying $350 a month for the privilege.
I’m thinking that he and his skills would make an excellent addition to the work at Zero One, and I mentioned this to him. We shall see…
I am taking deep breaths. Sucking in my belly, and breathing into my chest. I am concentrating on each moment as it arrives. And yet, from within my sphere of tranquility, all around me wonderful things are springing into existence. I have set the intention for Zero One, and now my every breath brings it closer to fulfillment. All I have to do is breathe and watch.
It is amazing, this self-assembly. It happens faster than I’d ever thought possible. I would think that after all the miraculous things that SuperForest has shown me, I’d be more blase about it, but just the opposite is true. The more SuperForest reveals itself to me, the more astounded and child-like I must become.
The world feels brand new. Old ways have fallen into the ocean, and new ways are pushing them there. I feel reborn and strong and so thankful. Here we are free to create a new system! One entirely to our liking. Take the best parts of everything and leave the rest to compost. Freedoms abound here.
Love to All,
Jackson
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