On August 8, 2023, the entire community of Lahaina, Hawaii was destroyed by wildfires. Once the capital of the Hawaiian kingdom, Lahaina was home to 13,000 people, of whom 97 were killed in the fires.

In the center of Lahaina there is a 150-year-old Banyan tree which has grown to cover more than half an acre. News media reported that, after the fire, the trunk of the banyan tree “appeared badly charred,” and “its leaves browned to a crisp.”

After reading this I felt sad.  A few years ago I owned a home on Maui, and I came to cherish the Banyan tree almost as much as the locals do.  It’s across the street from the Peter Lik shop that sells great professional photos of nature. I have three or four displayed in my office and at my home.

But there is good news.  The tree may recover.

According to the New York Times, “…some feared that it might not live on.  Then, green shoots began to unfurl around the trunk…others sprouted from its branches between brown and withered leaves.”  A landscape contractor who is tending the tree says, “…we saw a lot of new root growth…”

I’m rooting for the tree (pun intended) and hoping it will recover, along with the town. I remember how pleasant it was to visit. I once enjoyed an engrossing conversation with a close friend under the shade of that same Banyan tree.

The learning I take from the beloved banyan is that trees, like people, can recover from disruption and disaster and, like the Banyan tree, we are all beautiful in our way.

Trees grow toward the light.

And, hopefully, so do we.

Alan

About a year ago I had surgery to remove cataracts.  This morning I visited my eye surgeon for a follow-up.  He noticed there was an eyelash in my right eye and asked me if I would like him to remove it.  I said, “Sure.” 

He then gave me a release form to sign and date.  He told me that whenever he does any “procedure” he first needs a signed release form, even for something as minor as removing an eyelash. That’s the rule. 

I said, “That’s sounds like an unnecessary rule.” 

He agreed.  Then we had a brief discussion about the usefulness (or pointlessness) of certain rules. 

This started me thinking… We are all governed by many, many rules.  For example, traffic lights:  red means “stop,” green means “go,” and orange means “go faster.”  While there is a good reason to follow all (or most) of the rules of driving, we often find ourselves following rules that no longer serve any useful purpose. 

Years ago, I noticed that an employee in my accounting department was on the phone collecting data and writing it down on paper. She had been with my company for two decades. 

“Helen,” I said, “why are you doing it that way?” 

“Because that’s how you told me to do it,” she said. “Don’t you remember, Alan?  I’m following your exact instructions.”  

While she was undoubtedly correct, I had given her those instructions eight years earlier, before we had computers.  I hadn’t thought to update my instructions, which she continued to follow. She was spending an extra hour or two every day — still working under the original rules. 

The list of rules in our lives seems to always expand and never contract.  Rules seldom go away, even if they are entirely out of date or counterproductive. But if rules are meant to improve our lives – to keep us safe, or make us more productive — shouldn’t they evolve along with our changing lives? 

From this I have learned that: 

1. We should be careful in setting rules. 

1. We should encourage ourselves and others to question rules and consider whether they continue to be useful. 

Those are my rules on rules.  The only two, I think, that always matter. 

Will you follow them? 

Alan 

I hate moving to a new house.

Strategically this means I disappear at 8:30 am on the day of the move, just as the movers arrive, and I reappear later in the day at our new location once everything has been unloaded.  So that you don’t have to guess about the situation that provoked this blog, I’ll tell you –in a month or so, Daveen and I are moving to another house.  Hip hip hooray.

But my goal in life, always, is to be pragmatic.

For that reason, today I’m thinking about all the advantages of the new house, rather than what I will miss about the old house.  For example, the new house has a much larger backyard, and we should be able to actually park our cars in the garage. Also, we won’t live on a street bordering Southern California brush that is easily combustible (an area my insurance company considers a fire risk).

I borrowed the title of this blog from a Stephen Stills song.  It was on his 1970 debut album by the same name.  He called it “a good times song, just a bit of fun,” But I think it also holds an important truth and is very good advice.

Perhaps my dislike of moving involves my selective dislike of change.  But life is always about change.  We choose some of those changes, others are thrust upon us.  As a pragmatist, I know that change is very often a good thing.

This past week I’ve been reading the new Walter Isaacson book about Elon Musk (which is a Musk read).  (Groan received.)  When all of Musk’s activities are added together (including Tesla, which I drive, and SpaceX, which my son-in-law worked for until he burned out on 80-hour work weeks), Musk is undoubtedly the most prolific human agent of change in modern times.  While I wouldn’t want to work for him, or live with him, I’m happy to enjoy the products of his energy and vision.

So my advice to myself is that if certain changes are inevitable in my life, such as the impending move, I should just relax and enjoy it.

Will I enjoy our new house as much as I’ve enjoyed the house I’ve lived in for almost seven years?

Ask me in 2024.

Alan