Each occasion I have journeyed to a Pacific island, I am struck by the simplicity and casual tempo of island life.  People’s lives appear to be uncluttered and unpretentious in the way the majority of the world’s societies lost a long time ago.  The ebb and flow of daily routines embrace much of what we would refer to as ‘down time’.  Periods of quiet interaction with fellow villagers or nature - clusters of men sitting beneath a huge Banyan Tree, women and children playing down at the river or individuals simply sitting on the beach surveying the waves as they harmoniously interact with each other.  It is a lifestyle I envy, devoid of modern anxieties and complication.  I wonder what they must think of the western style of living.  Do they think we are illogical or do they aspire to have some of what we have?  The nice car, money, electricity, running water?  Is the grass always greener on the other side?

"One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things."  Henry Miller