Our lives sometimes take on an epic quality - when we are called to go beyond our daily routine - when we listen and act.  We aren't sure how we'll accomplish this, only that we must.  This reminds me of the tale of Hi'iakaikapoliopele, the youngest sister of Pele, the Volcano or Fire Goddess.  Hi'iaka is the patron goddess of the Hula, of Healing and is Pele's favorite sister.

One day Pele asks if any of her sisters will travel to Kauai to fetch her dream lover.  All the sisters decline because they fear the unknown journey - except for the young Hi'iaka who loves Pele dearly. She agrees to the request which will take her from the Big Island of Hawaii all the way to the northernmost tip of Kauai.

Hi'iaka asks for protection and receives a magical skirt made of ferns. There is no map, and it takes a tremendous amount of courage, love and trust for Hi'iaka to make this journey.  She develops and uses many skills when she meets great challenges on the trip - such as battling treacherous mo'o/mythical dragons and sharks, and healing lost uhane/spirits.  In the process, this young goddess matures beautifully.

Hi'iaka is very much part of our hula spirit. When we are fully present in our dance, our life - we can meet  challenges and heal wounds. 

A 57-year old friend of mine, Jeana Teiju Corbett, is a modern Hi'iaka.  Though not a hula dancer, she is a teacher of sign language - one of her many skills.  Teiju just completed a very long journey walking across America.  Her granddaughter Jada was born with leukemia and, thanks to a bone marrow transplant when she was 6 months old, is now in remission at 2.   Teiju was called to walk in gratitude for the numerous people who helped save Jada's life and to help save other lives with bone marrow transplants. 

She established the Jada Bascom Foundation and walked from Seattle to Los Angeles and then on to New York City to raise awareness around the need for bone marrow donors and to recruit potential donors for the National Bone Marrow Registry. It took her 15 months to walk over 4,400 miles.  She wore out 14 pairs of shoes.

A thousand people, of all walks of life, fed and housed her all along the way.  She relied on the generosity of all she met.  She carried a 35-pound pack that had a tent, sleeping bag, change of clothes, socks, toothbrush, compass and water.  She spent only 27 nights in the tent. Verizon gave her a blackberry and free service.  This was her lifeline.  She used Google Maps to cross rivers, save miles, and once when she was badly dehydrated, she called the highway patrol to come and help her.

Teiju said, "It was a wonderful kind of 15 month retreat.  It was healing from loss of my marriage and grief.  Things changed a lot for me.  As much as you give you receive."  She is planning another walk to raise awareness about bone marrow transplant, across Germany, Switzerland and Italy - walking from the Baltic Sea to the Adriatic, a mere 1,000 miles!

Now, I'm thinking about the the travels of my dear kumu sister Patricia Kathleen Kalaniumi Maialoha Roxburgh who passed last month after being afflicted with a stroke for several years.  She was descended from the great chief Umi a Liloa and was a strong woman - hard working, always cheerful and full of aloha.  And she loved her hula.  She started her halau after her 'uniki/graduation with Michael Pang and taught many in her home town. She was a natural and also studied with the great Hoakalei Kamau'u who was her 'ohana/family. I was honored to know her and dance with her in countless practice sessions and performances.  She was a voice of life for me. 

We never know when our lives will end.  We only know that they will, and that time is short here on this dear earth.  Appreciate each moment - sad, happy, tense, relaxed.  Appreciate the journey and be a voice of life.