Road to Hana

A few weeks ago I was exploring Olympic National Park with a friend I met at a spiritual retreat a few weeks prior. While exploring the park, I was speeding through a forest trying to rush from one hike to the next. My friend had been patient with my antsy demeanor until I started taking curves too fast. He yelled out, ‘Calm down, look at the beautiful forest you are missing in your rush, remember the retreat taught us to enjoy the journey.’

I immediately slowed down and started to admire the beautiful forest around us. I thought of how I would do this drive again, not to get anywhere but to simply enjoy the views. I also wondered why more people were not driving through this lush forest.

It made me think of driving the Road to Hana a few weeks prior. The Road to Hana is a scenic drive and the most popular tourist destination on the Hawaiian Island of Maui. While there are unique experiences along the way, the main attraction is the drive itself because of the flourishing rainforests, flowing waterfalls, plunging pools and dramatic seascapes you see along the way. The drive itself is the end goal.

What would happen if Road to Hana was not labeled as a ‘scenic drive?’ Would people still spend their entire day driving it? Would people still fly all the way to Maui for it? What if the road through forest at Olympic National was labeled as a scenic drive? How many people would line up to simply drive through the forest? We surely would have seen more than two other cars the hour we drive through.

Now take your life as an example. How often do you rush from one goal to another, or one task to another? How often do you get antsy trying to finish everything without really enjoying the journey? Is your life a beautiful journey like the Road to Hana? What if instead of treating your life as a means to an end, you treated your life as a scenic journey filled with unique experiences along the way? What if the journey or your life was the end goal?