What No One Tells You About Your Hawaii Vacation (The Superficiality Fallacy)

Hey there! 😊 Thanks so much for being here! 

In this article you'll learn about "The Superficiality Fallacy" (a phenomenon we're all guilty of at times) and why it may keep you from experiencing a truly outstanding travel adventure. We'll top off this insightful article with three facts about the Hawaiian Islands.

Has this ever happened to you?

You meet a person and at first you don't find anything interesting about her. 

But once you get to know the person better, after you've talked for a while, and after you found out a lot more about that person's past, where she's been, what she's been through, where she's travelled to, what makes her laugh and cry, what the person does for a living, what her favourite books and movies and songs are and what her favorite food is, you'll start to gain interest eventually. It's inevitable.

Here's another scenario: When you go on hikes, have you ever wondered how that landscape was formed? Have you ever looked at the rocks you're walking on?

Do you think rocks are grey and boring? 

I promise you that if you knew how old that rock is, how it got there, what minerals it contains, what processes it was shaped by, you'd see that ugly, naked, boring rock with very different eyes.

You'd understand that it's not just a rock. You'd start to understand the geologic timescale and how insignificant our human existance is in relation to that.

Or here is another, admittedly a little different, example: black holes.

At first glance, they are exactly that. Black holes. They don't give away their mind-blowing nature just by looking at them. But if you start to learn more about them, you'll realize how special they are. What they teach us about the universe we live in and that surrounds us.

Hence, the only thing necessary to turn ugly, boring, and plain into fascinating, mind-blowing, and beautiful is one thing and one thing only: knowledge. 

 

Knowledge transforms. Knowledge gives meaning. Without knowledge or information, nothing has value. 

 

With knowledge

You get a first glance into that person's personality.

You start to feel empathy.

You start to bond.

You start to relate.

You start to gain interest.

You start to like the person. 

You start to be intrigued by that rock.

You begin to be fascinated by the universe.

You start to connect.

 

Usually, we are only then truly into something, once we learned a little more about it. This is what I call The Superficiality Fallacy. This concept is applicable to really anything, your next travel destination included.

 

What nobody tells you about your Hawai'i vacation is that attending the best Lū'au, staying at the noblest hotel, sipping cocktails by the pool are NOT what make you remember Hawai'i forever. 

It is NOT what you will take home with you. 

It is NOT what will gaurantee you a dream vacation.

Surely, these things are nice and I like luxury myself at times. My point is not to demonize tourist services. 

I want you to understand, really understand, that your vacation becomes great by connecting with Hawai'i through gaining knowledge about the land, the people and culture.

Once you got insights into the Hawaiian history, the culture and language and mythology, the geology and climate, you'll get a feeling of their deep interconnectedness.

It's the experience of authentic connection that gives value to your presence in Hawai'i and to your vacation. Don't fall into that trap of superficiality.

Have you gotten your teeth into Hawai'i yet?

As a little appetizer, here are 3 facts about Hawai'i:

1. When written correctly, Hawaii is spelled like this: Hawai'i. And this is why it is pronounced "Ha-vuhy-ee" - with a brief pause between the two "i"s (I wrote an entire article about the Hawaiian language, find it here).
2. The entire Hawaiian-Emperor Volcanic Mountain Chain would, if projected onto the mainland of the United States, reach from the southern tip of Florida 6.115km/3.800 miles across the country to the south of Alaska.
3. The volcano Haleakalā on Maui is not an extinct, but an active but dormant volcano. It is highly probable for it to erupt again in the future.

 

If you are intrigued to learn even more about Hawai'i and want to become a sustainable, conscious traveler, I invite you to enroll for this free online class about Hawai'i.

It is an online class I created because I want you to have the best Hawai'i vacation you could ever dream of while leaving a positive impact. I want you to experience Hawai'i intensely. With openness. And realistically. 

Be kind and love nature, 

Daniela

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About the author

Daniela is convinced that by gaining deep insights into planet Earth and travel destinations you’ll create meaningful, grounding and memorable life and travel experiences. She explains fundamental geological processes that form and shape landscapes and combines these insights with philosophical and philanthropical views in her online courses, articles, and newsletter. She holds two bachelor's degrees in geosciences (B.Sc.) and business administration with tourism (B.A.). She is the owner and founder of EarthyMe, EarthyUniversity and the Science of Travel blog and the Stories of Earth newsletter.

 

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Image Credit: Photo by Eduardo Drapier on Unsplash