"Leave it All Behind?"

"You can leave it all behind, sail to Lahaina, just like the missionaries did so many years ago. They even brought a neon sign, 'Jesus is coming.' Brought the white man's burden down, brought the white man's reign." So go the lyrics from the song "The Last Resort" by the Eagles. It went through my head as we visited Lahaina today. The irony in that song is that, they did not "leave it all behind" at all. Rather, they brought everything with them, "they brought the white man's burden down, brought the white man's reign." I have been to Hawaii only two times in my life. Both times, I have sought to "leave it all behind," even if for just a short time. Each visit, I have sought to experience that spirit of aloha that I hear about - graciousness, kindness, peace, "shalom," if you will. I am aware that my mere presence at a hotel in Kaanapali contradicts that sentiment somewhat. However, my sincere hope is that myself and my family conduct ourselves in a way that both reflects aloha and inspires it in others. That is my hope. Today, I went to one of my favorite snorkeling spots - Honolua Bay. The conditions weren't great, but I still had a great time. While in the area, I kept seeing bumper stickers on cars that read "Save Honolua." They listed a web site, www.savehonolua.org, so I checked it out. I looked up the web site and found out, if the information is correct, that developers are trying to develop this area for housing, tourism, etc. It reminded me of another lyric from "The Last Resort." It went, "put up a bunch of ugly boxes, and people bought 'em." I decided to make a small contribution to the save Honolua campaign. I don't understand why we feel the need to always develop places that have a natural beauty unto themselves. That's just my opinion. Whether you agree with me about Honolua, or disagree, that is absolutely fine. But, here's the thing. I hope that we can all continue to work towards aloha, shalom, the reign of God.