How Running Out of Gas Changed My Life
Posted in business development hints of inspiration messages from maui by on Aug 5 2010
The day that I met Dennis Ka’aihue my life changed. And I mean, really changed. I met Dennis three years ago; a tourist on the island of Maui, I ran out of gas on the infamous road to Hana and landed at his mailbox in Ke’anae, on the pristine and untouched North Shore area of the island. A very fortuitous meeting, Dennis was a mechanic and handyman in addition to being an ambassador of aloha. He would accept no payment, secured just enough gas to get us back to town and sent my brother and I on our way.
A few days later, when I boarded a plane to return to the complexities of my rooted life in Charleston, SC, I had no idea what a profound effect this chance occurrence would have on the course of my life.
I sent Dennis a thank you gift, and thus began a letter writing correspondence that lasted six months. Dennis wrote of his dreams of cultivating a farm and assisting local farmers in marketing their products and building businesses. He described building a cultural center, speaking to the spirit of the aina and the healing power of the land, where people could come and experience the “real Hawai’i.” He learned of my gifts, asked me for my help and invited me to come to Maui.
I was being called back, and something continued to tell me that I needed to accept his invitation. So, I returned to Maui, this time on an open ticket with an empty day planner, a blank black book and two suitcases. I arrived on his land one year to the day that I had run out of gas, welcomed by a rainbow.
Over the course of the past two years, I have assisted Dennis in envisioning the growth and marketing of his farming operation. I have encouraged his dreams and served as a business resource, creating branding for his business operations, teaching him communication technology skills and bringing people to the land to learn about his efforts. Dennis is blending traditional farming methods with modern irrigation and fertilization techniques, and continues to study business development. He knows the importance of connecting to modern resources, but values the time-tested and true techniques that he has learned from his ancestors.
Dennis Ka’aihue Talks About Farming Taro
Knowledge is power, empowerment leads to hope and hope leads to positive change and growth within communities and the world. Dennis has shown me the truth in this statement. He is a knowledge seeker – respecting the balance of the old and the new, traditions and innovation. He has an inherent respect for the past, while living in the present and envisioning smart and positive ways to work with technology and new sources of information to move into the future.
Positive change and growth within communities will continue to be of utmost importance within the dramatically shifting global economic, social and political landscape that is characterizing our times. We must look to each other, coming together to share mana’o (energy and ideas) crucial to the sustainability of our collective cultures. Making the connections between people, projects and progress, we must move forward with intelligent optimism and open minds.
Visionary Margaret Wheatley has a lot to say about this idea of coming together, “Communities in many different cultures have taught us that, in spite of the worst external circumstances – war, famine, abuse, societal collapse, ecological devastation—human beings can get through anything as long as we’re together…uncovering the resources we really need – each other’s companionship, knowledge and wisdom.”
One of my dreams is to work with bridging the gap between developing and developed cultures, using my gifts to connect “people, projects and progress,” assisting with sharing resources and collecting knowledge to support collaborative community growth efforts. Dennis and I were delivered to each other, to help each other reach our dreams. As he shares on his “thought of wisdom” board, “to get what you never had, you must do what you never done.” What will you do today? One person, one action, can change your life. What can you dream? Grace Delivers.
