my motto for life is "actions speak louder than words," which hypocrites cannot attain to. you've got to talk the talk AND walk the walk.
the definition states: a person who pretends to have virtues, moral or religious beliefs, principles, etc; that he or she does not actually posses.
since being in Hawaii, almost everything has changed. and it's not all bad, but I feel I have hypocrite written of my forehead.
the original plan was to go to the big island of Hawaii and get into sustainable farming. not necessarily to make money by it (but if we could, awesome!) but for ourselves. to be healthier. get out of "the system" a little bit more. to educate ourselves. pass this onto our kids. yes we could've had done it in Colorado, but for obvious reasons, Hawaii is more desirable. land on this island is still actually attainable (3 acres for $15,000 or so). you'd be surprised how much money you'd have if you sold everything!
and of course we knew at some point hubby would have to get a real job, and with checking craigslist (our answer to everything!) we knew something would work out.
well wouldn'tcha know it, we know someone that lives in Hawaii, Kuai actually. he has had a successful plumbing business for 20+ years and he could use some help. he used to live in SoCal, came to our wedding 10 years ago, and he and his family are christians (real ones). he offered to not just train Matt but also give him a company truck.
coincidence? I think not. in fact, we don't really believe in coincidences anymore, God is just too good. He has always worked out these kinds of details for us throughout our marriage, and this move to Hawaii appears to be no different.
the catch: he doesn't need help on the big island, he needs help on Maui. well, have you ever heard a bad thing about Maui? not me.
there is A LOT of money on Maui, which also makes the land waaaaaaay too expensive for us. try $50-$75,000/acre! not exactly in our budget. so the big decision, postpone this farming endeavor or go for it and find other work? what to do ... what would you do?
like I said, we knew a real job would have to come at some point, and most likely sooner than later. how often does one get a job opportunity like this - working for someone you know and trust, doing something that uses your God-given gift, training, tools, & truck? how do you say no to that? off to Maui.
Maui is a beautiful place!
a few weeks into being there Matt goes on a business trip to Oahu, to sit in on a presentation of a job already sold. basically to get his feet wet. we all come to realize that Oahu is really where we ought to be for this job. it could work in Maui, but it would take off on Oahu. time for another decision.
the farming thing is already postponed, so in that regard, how different can another island be? off to Oahu.
here's the job: this plumbing company has sole rights in the state of Hawaii to sell a product that cleans & re-coats the inside of piping, so demolition is eliminated completely. working with the inside of the pipes doesn't require any down time for business &/or the residents of the building, so its very convenient. the target for these jobs are the high rise buildings downtown, so these are BIG jobs.
Matt is doing sales and marketing for this product. for those of you who know him, you know he can sell ice to eskimos! :) God really have given him a gift; he really does love people and connects with them almost instantly. in theory, it all sounds perfect.
I feel like after we made the decision to move to Hawaii, I have had to fight for people to understand why we make the decisions we do, and I still do.
things happen, life changes, decisions have to be made.
but our actions are not what we said they were going to be ... hypocrites.
I feel like a hypocrite because our move here is not taking us a little bit more out of "the system," but really, putting us right in the middle of it. this job will make us money; chances are, lots of money. his work in downtown Honolulu. how much more in the system can you be?
it very easily looks like we've made these new decision for money, and in a way, we did. money is now essential to live in this world, but our intention from the beginning is still to get healthy, live simply, do homeschool, love life, and not have to look back and say 'what if?'
*sigh*
more to come ...
3 comments:
Great post! It was so good to hear all about your situation.
Basically, I feel like it is YOUR family. I don't think you're a hypocrite for moving to Hawaii to go off the grid, but instead you're in a big city. You can still live a green life in an urban setting. And who knows what you'll be able to do in five years time? Stay strong, get creative and keep your head up high. You are a brave, smart, beautiful Mom and you are taking those boys along for a heck of an adventure!
It would be nice to live in the song of "Imagine" (John Lennon), but you have to support your family and I guess for you, that is following where you think the money is. Dad gave me a fridge magnet that says "Bloom where you are planted". I live by those words now-a-days.Not a bad mantra to adopt. Good luck.
that's what I'm talking about Mandy, money was not our intention.
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