a vision in the making
A sanctuary rooted in the earth
A refuge shaped by time
Somewhere between a dream and a calling, this vision has followed me for many years. It first emerged during a workshop exercise in 2014. The task was simple: write down your short-, mid-, and long-term dreams. I wrote about creating a sanctuary — a place where people could come to rest, reset, and reconnect with themselves. A refuge far away from the noise of daily life. A place that feels like home, even if you’ve never been there before.
At the time, the idea felt impossible. I imagined it would take a lifetime to materialize if it ever did. I didn’t yet know that the idea would take root so deeply. And I didn’t know it would lead me to Hawai‘i.
When I returned to the islands in 2018, I came to reconnect with the feeling I remembered from a decade earlier. But what I found was not a soft or blissful reunion. The energy of Hawai‘i, and especially the Big Island, brought everything to the surface. It was as if the land itself was holding up a mirror, reflecting all the layers I had not yet faced. It was not a single event. It was an ongoing sensation, one I now recognize as part of the medicine of that place. Many people arrive expecting a tropical paradise and are surprised when old wounds rise to the surface. But that is part of what makes this place sacred. The rawness. The honesty. The undeniable invitation to meet yourself without filter. It is not always comfortable. But it is profoundly real.
That’s when I knew. If this sanctuary is to exist, this is where it will be built.
Over the years, the idea has taken on more texture. A space shaped by nature, built on values of care, rest, and contribution. A coffee farm that supports the refuge and offers something lovingly grown to the world. A foundation that owns the land and redistributes any surplus to other aligned projects. A place where guests stay not for profit but for presence.
This project is still in the making. It is not yet bricks and timber, but it is more than a dream. Each offering I create today carries this vision within it. The coaching, the group work, the retreats — all part of the same thread. Healing, as I’ve learned, is not a linear path. For many years I tried to outrun my pain by changing places, jobs, countries. It took me a long time to realize I wasn’t just looking for distance. I was looking for safety. For the conditions in which something in me could finally be still.
That is what I want to offer others. A space, both inner and outer, where something can settle. Where avoidance can soften into clarity. Where what feels unbearable can begin to move.
I don’t believe in quick fixes. But I do believe in the right conditions and the right companions to support real transformation. This is the long road. But it is a beautiful one.
