The Sneakers that Found a New Home in Maui

Hi friends!

It's great to be home for so many reasons, one of which is to share some really good Maui stories with you! So here goes with a little one of my faves:

On my recent beautiful Maui vacation, I seemed to naturally relax into a morning ritual that refreshed me enormously, and fuelled my spirit. I’d wake up to the sounds of the beautiful Hawaiian birds at sunrise, put on my sneakers and head out the door. I’d stop at this wonderful little Italian Coffee Shop for my morning decaf Americano, and then walk along the boardwalk to this special stretch of quiet beach. I’d walk the beach (and sometimes jog through the water), breathing in the fresh morning air and incredible sunrise views, feeling so alive and so grateful for what I knew were precious moments indeed.

During the 45 minutes or so it took to walk the beach, I’d say hello to maybe 3-4 others who, like me, seemed to be revelling in the spaciousness and quiet, yet mostly this stretch of beach was quiet and free of anything but the sounds of water, birds and a warm breeze. I felt so connected to the earth, and so free. Free to breathe very deeply, feel the wind on my skin, thank the Universe and drink all the beauty in.

After the first couple of mornings, I noticed some sandals and old running shoes that had been left at the start of this stretch of beach, near some bushes. Wonderful idea I thought! I could walk and run on the beach shoe-less and sock-less ... perfect. Given my preference to pretty much live bare-foot in the summer, I was surprised that I’d needed a cue like that to sink my feet into Maui sand. Ah well, now is the time!

So, I did kick off my sneakers but I heard this little voice warn me that they might go missing since they were pretty expensive and only a couple of months old – and in great condition. So, instead of leaving them there, I carried them with as I enjoyed my morning beach walk.

Then, 2-3 days later, eager to feel as light as possible, and thinking that I was perhaps being too concerned about the shoes, I decided to leave them at the start of the walk, by that bush. Yes! I’ll do it I thought! So I did. And, 45 minutes later...

You may have guessed it. They were gone. I’m smiling now as I remember the moment I noticed the space where they once were sitting, now empty ... because the memory is so fresh. I had surely left them there, lined up side by side, favourite socks stuffed inside, and when I realized they were gone I laughed! I recognized instantly that this would be a good story. I could picture myself walking barefoot a couple of miles back to the condo, wondering where my shoes had travelled to and what this new twist of events might lead to.

So after looking around a bit to be sure I had not mistakenly put them somewhere else, I started the walk back through town, giggling at the irony of the situation and noticing how much I was enjoying the barefoot walk home though the streets. I did sense a bit of disappointment at the same time because I had really liked those pretty new shoes and my favourite socks, for sure, but mostly I heard the voice of one of my mentors, Katie, tell me “Well, whoever took those shoes needed them more than you.” True, I thought. I had them for a while and they had served me well. Now, hopefully, someone who could really use a good pair of shoes would benefit from them.

And the funny thing is that I really didn’t miss them a lot. It was pretty easy to adapt by wearing other comfy shoes (of which I had plenty because I could definitely use help with "packing light") for that morning Maui walk. And more than once I switched things up and visited the pool earlier on in the day instead of going for that walk. This led to all sorts of great discoveries, like free beverages and copies of the Wall Street Journal and Maui News and how great it felt to fall asleep in the early morning sun and wake up to enjoy a chat with someone new in the lounger beside me. Not much to miss!

And there’s one more really ironic piece to this story. As I was sharing the story of the missing shoes with someone, I remembered that I had an identical pair sitting in a shoebox at home, brand new. I’d never done that before. I’d never bought two pairs of running shoes at once. But this time I had – thanks to a great Boxing Day Special and perhaps a hint from the Universe that I might need a second pair in March! That’s pretty fascinating to me. Clearly I didn’t need that first pair of sneakers as much as the person who is wearing them now. I had an identical pair waiting for me at home. Amazing.

So those sneakers remained in Maui when I traveled home and I felt good about that. I felt good that I’d been able to laugh and let them go pretty easily, I felt good those shoes would likely bring a smile to someone else’s face, and I felt pretty grateful that it was only a pair of shoes and favourite socks that I was leaving behind. The truth is that what I gained from my time in Maui (including the shoe adventure) had blessed me immeasurably and I was flying home, so very ready to enjoy my new shoes and being home, sweet home. That makes me pretty blessed, don't you agree?

Love and light,
Lee