My Suitcase Was My Standing Desk
In November 2022 I spent an entire month in Kihei, on Maui, and my standing desk was a suitcase (with a stack of books on top to get the height just right). I propped my computer on it at the dining room table so I could stand while I hosted meetings. The rest of the day it was my swimsuit or shorts, a tank top, and flip-flops. Every single day. Honestly? It was one of the best offices I’ve ever had!!
On Thursday I leave for Boise, and a few days later I’ll land on Kauaʻi and then Maui. This will be my tenth trip to Hawaiʻi (yes, tenth...I counted twice). Getting ready this week, I fully intended to write about the pause, how I’ve learned to slow down there. That’s true. AND if I’m being honest, I also can’t stop exploring. Both can be true!
It took me a while to get here. My first trip was in 1999 (the year the world was supposed to end) to run the Honolulu Marathon, which was a great experience and a total whirlwind. Then came a 2017 trip near Lahaina on Maui, which was fun AND activity after activity after activity. In 2018 my sister came with me, and she is a just-hang-out-at-the-beach kind of girl, so that’s mostly what we did. That’s when I learned what it felt like to not fill every minute.
The month in 2022 is when it all came together. I was working as an independent consultant for a women’s organization pretty much full time, so with the time difference I worked in the early morning hours while the Central + East Coast were already well into their day. AND then the rest of the day was mine. I walked a lot. I met up with a friend who lived there at the time, and I explored on my own too. Almost every day I walked to a spot where the honu (sea turtles) always seemed to be waiting for me (or so I like to think), and I would watch them for hours. Hours! Just flowing with the waves, eating, playing, completely unbothered.
Life felt so simple. A suitcase desk, a few tank tops, flip-flops, the turtles, my own two feet to get me places.
I think that’s the part I didn’t see until now. It was never really pause OR explore. It was simple. When life is simple, there’s room for both...room to lie on the beach for hours AND room to wander down a road I’ve never taken just to see where it goes. At home, life fills up so fast. Maybe the simplicity is part of what my soul is calling me back for, too.
Kauaʻi is still newer to me, and this will be my third time. I went with my mom the first time and with friends last year, and both trips we explored various places on the island. This trip I’ll be hiking with friends, AND I know there will be beach + turtle time mixed in too.
The timing feels perfect. Samhain is here, and nature is slowing down and turning inward right before the holiday season can pick up speed (if you let it). It’s a natural invitation to simplify, wherever we are.
So I’ll ask you...as we head into this slower season, where is your soul asking for something simpler?
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