When I first decided to go to Life Coaching School, I was overwhelmed at my options. Not even knowing life coaching was a THING a few years ago, all of the sudden I realized it was a very big industry. When I found the certification program I ultimately chose, I was excited to see that school entailed an in-person week of learning in Hawaii. Well – sign me up!!!! I mean, I won’t argue with God if he wants me to go back to HI. When I originally planned the trip, I decided to arrive a few days early and sightsee. Unlike the old Robin, my motto for traveling these days is kindof a wing and a prayer model. So, true to my new form, a few weeks before I left, I randomly picked my locale for the few days of sightseeing before the training began. I would come to see that my choice would not disappoint.
Arriving in the small town of Pahoa, I had no idea that this is where the devastation from last year’s volcano eruption had occurred. I picked well indeed. Now, before you accuse me of living under a rock for not knowing this is where the volcano had spewed its hotness all over poor Hawaii, in my defense I have chosen the past few years to ignore media for the most part. I did know there was a volcano and I did know it was on the big island…I’m not a complete hermit. In fact, my whole life I have been abnormally intrigued by volcanos and lava, so I was pretty stoked to see this area first hand. If you’ve ever had the honor of visiting Hawaii, I’m sure you can share in my assessment that it looks not only like a different country but also a different planet altogether. For millions of years, these lush islands have been created by lava flow. It seems to be a place where we can see the hand of nature and God tearing down the old and ushering in the new beautiful landscape.
Perhaps during this trip, I began to understand for the first time in my life this affinity I’ve had for Hawaii and all things lava flow. I knew at this moment; this seemingly unexplainable destruction is all part of the divine plan of the Universe. As things grow and change, sometimes the old must be removed for the new to come in. As humans, we see this as pointless and often question why these shifts have to occur. We enjoy the flowers and the abundance created after the removal, but we forget that the removal is just as important a part in the process. The past three years of my life this has been the case. So much of my life taken from me, so many people, places and things that left my life, making me feel as if I was an island all my own. During this time period, I didn’t have enough foresight to see what was really occurring. This is why surrender is so key in our journeys. After the fact, I was able to look back so clearly to what had occurred in my life - God was making space for all the things that were yet to come. The landscape of my soul was being tilled to remove all the old shit from the preceding years of my existence. What looked like nothing but loss and devastation was actually the groundwork for so much beauty and freedom that was yet to come. In fact, when I began to let go without my need to logically understand controlling my every decision, it became so much easier. I had become one of God’s islands, shaped and molded by the lava flow we call life. I was rebuilt with more compassion, love and joy than I’ve ever known. I began to find great gratitude and thanks for the things that were removed from my life, knowing that what is meant for me will find me easily and effortlessly.
Maholo ya'll!