day 5 in hawaii

dropped by the student recreation centre today. they offered many programs at cheap prices! =)

hiking O'ahu, kayaking to visit off shore islands, surfing, scuba, guitar in slack key are some of the activities that my friends and I are really keen to do. scuba diving! i'm gonna get a cert after i finish the course!

i won't be blabbering exactly what i do each day but i wish to share more of my thoughts and reflections thru my exp here.

it's only my first week in Hawaii, and there is this amazing feeling of "A New Beginning". Coming here all alone. Meeting new people. To SOME extent, who I am and what kind of life I lived before this can be put aside and I get to choose to be the person I want. kind of like a reset button. This of course only applies to the first week because people only know me superficially. but it seems like there is this choice to remain this way - superficial... (please dun try to read in between what i write. i am perfectly fine. i just wanna try to put this feeling into words) because I am like "plucked out and placed in a new world", i enter a place where there's no heavy responsibilities, no packed schedules, just me and how I want to spend my time here with my new found friends. It does create this yearning of wanting to escape reality back home and just remain carefree here forever..

there are many times in our lives we yearn for this kind of opportunity. to escape all that we had to do and to do all we wanted to do. to escape all that we are and to be all that we want to be. but of course i know better.. the Lord always calls me back to the reality (and many times the ugliness of who I really am).. He reminds me of the paradise that is to come and the mission that I am to carry out now. He reminds to be thankful of the blessings that I am enjoying and to acknowledge that it is He who enables me to enjoy.. In His perfect timing, the fruits of studying of Ecclesiastes are wonderfully guiding me now in Hawaii.

Mahalo Lord for this quiet time of reflection and learning. Help me to not lose sight of the things I am already been taught and convinced of...