I have been to the Hawaiian island of Maui many times. It is a lovely and serene place to visit. The residents have told us many times that it is such an inspiring place to write in. Every time I go, I always prepare a notebook, a pen, and a book to read so that I can write some articles while there.
This year, my mind’s goal was the same. I was praying to write a new section for my book. When I arrived, the first place I went was the Westin Ka’anapali Ocean Resort. Usually, when we come to Maui, we stay in the villas here. The place I love the most about the hotel is the meditation garden. The area has chairs surrounded by tropical plants with flowing water from a small fountain. Every time I go to sit there, I would have ideas for articles to write. This time, as usual, I brought a book. This time I had a book by Osho, Volume 3 of Lao Tzu’s Tao Te Ching. As I was sitting in the garden, I figured I should start reading the book I had brought. Osho writes about the theory of Tao Te Ching and the idea of doing nothing. He explains, if you keep seeking something, you will miss it. If you don’t seek it, it will find you. If you look too hard, you will miss it. The tree sits quietly and does not move, and it still grows by itself. So if you just sit quietly, you won’t need to see or do anything for enlightenment to come to you.
When I read that, I realized that this was what I was supposed to be doing during this stay in Maui. I knew that during this trip, I was meant to let go entirely. No actions, no thoughts, just go with the flow. But after a few days, I started to wonder. It didn’t seem like I had accomplished anything. As I was thinking about this as we drove back to the hotel one day, all of a sudden I saw a rainbow. Because the car was going so fast, I was unable to take a picture. After we returned to the hotel, I remembered that I had forgotten something in the car. I went back to retrieve it, and as I was about to leave, I looked up and saw a small section of the rainbow left. I started to take a picture, but then I realized that the rainbow had begun to extend until it became a full rainbow. Another rainbow formed above it, and it looked as if someone was drawing the rainbows as I tried to take the picture. I had never seen something like this before.
When I left California to go to Maui, I was still full of burdens because I was still trying to sell my house, which had been going on for many months. It seemed as if there were fewer buyers, and even though we had finally secured a buyer, I didn’t know what the outcome might be, so my heart was heavily burdened when we left. When I saw the rainbow, I was delighted. I felt as if it was an assurance from above because only God can draw a rainbow.
The next day, I grew disillusioned as usual and asked, “Can you show me another one?” We planned to go to the Blowhole in Maui, which was a rock formation under a cliff in the sea that would spew out big fountains of water every few minutes. We were excited to see it and rushed down. While my daughter was busy taking pictures, I tried to move closer to the rocks, and all of a sudden saw a rainbow there. I was shocked, knowing I had asked for it. I was delighted and so happy. Out of every time I’ve been to Maui, this was my favorite one, because I let go and was able to enjoy the plants, the flowers, the beach, the water, and the freedom I had. The enlightenment I gained from the book I read lead me to the most enjoyable vacation I have ever had.
