When I tell new friends and acquaintances about my life on a ramshackle off-grid homestead in a remote part of Hawaii, one question that often comes up is “Don’t you get lonely?” People imagine a solitary life in which my only companions are the birds, and where interactions with other human beings are few and […]
A few days ago, I returned to my off-grid homestead in Hawaii after spending several weeks with friends and family on the mainland. Leaving my homestead is hard. Not only do I miss the soothing presence of trees, waterfalls, and neighbors when I’m away, but I also contend with anxiety about what, exactly, will be […]
Although it’s hard for me to leave the lush Hawaiian valley I call home, I travel to the mainland about twice a year to visit the friends and family who would otherwise spend a disproportionate amount of time and effort visiting me. Two weeks ago, I got up early, drank one last cup of tea […]
Dear readers, Here in Hawaii, each island has a “wet” or windward side, and a “dry” or leeward side. The valley where I live is on the “wet” side. The forest here is graced with frequent rains and warm, damp winds. Mushrooms spring from rotting logs; ferns and flowers thrive; streams meander down the cliffside […]
Dear readers, Many years ago, long before I moved to Hawaii, I took a trip to the Big Island with my then-partner. Like many tourists, we started out by consulting a variety of guidebooks and websites, intent on hitting all the best spots and anxious not to “miss” anything. We packed snorkels, fins, and […]
Dear readers, This December marked my five-year anniversary of living off-grid on three acres of tropical rainforest in rural Hawaii. It’s the longest relationship I’ve had with a place since leaving my parents' house at seventeen, and the first time I’ve been solely responsible not only for maintaining a home, but for building one […]
Dear readers, In the rural Hawaiian valley where I have lived off-grid for the past five years, local people come often to tend their ancestors’ graves, which are marked either by Western-style headstones or by traditional piles of stones, or pohaku. Wandering through the forest, you soon become aware that you are surrounded by graves. […]
Dear readers, Before I built the simple open-air hut in rural Hawaii where I cook, write, and practice music, the only structure on my land was a large, open-sided tent perched on a wooden platform. The platform was the first thing I built when I bought the land several years ago—a tiny island lifting me […]
Dear Readers, This weekend, one of my best friends came to visit me at the small off-grid community in rural Hawaii where I live. As we roasted green coffee beans in a cast-iron pan, we took turns asking each other questions from a game she had brought—What was your most embarrassing moment in high school, […]
Dear readers, The other night, I reread one of my favorite Zen books—Novice to Master, by Sōkō Morinaga. He shares a wonderful story of the time when he first began to study at Daishuin monastery. His first task upon being accepted to the monastery was to sweep up the temple garden. When he had […]
