Top of the Waterfall in Hawaiʻi

Look, But Don’t Leap

Water runs through the trees and down into Waimea Canyon as a waterfall on the island of Kauaʻi in Hawaiʻi, as seen during our 2018 Kauaʻi Trip.

During our visit to Waimea Canyon, we decided to follow a trail that we had seen, little realizing just how difficult the trail would be. If that story sounds familiar to you, you must have already read Part 5 of the trip report.

But we were rewarded for our hike with the above view, as the water rushed by us and on over the side of the canyon. As it turns out, this was the top of Waipoʻo Falls, which we had seen from the other side of Waimea Canyon. Of course, I could not get a closer view of it without falling into the canyon. But that was okay.

We were hot from hiking through the mountainous terrain, and we thought that getting in the water might help us cool down. However, we definitely did not want to end up at the bottom of Waimea Canyon, and we had seen how much of a drop was there, so we did not get too close to the water, or too close to the edge. Sometimes, views from a distance suit us just fine.

Just a Drop

Water is always fascinating to me. The way it moves. The way it sounds when it is moving. Or the way it reflects light, especially in a still pond. Lots of cool stuff about water.

One of the things that fascinates me is just how much water there is. The basic unit of water is a drop. Yes, some drops can be bigger than others, and some can be smaller, but you have a good idea of how much a drop of water is.

A drop is not all that much, right? Unless it is a raindrop that lands right in the center of one of your glasses lenses. Or unless it is a drop that gets inside your phone and messes everything up. Otherwise, compared to a lake, a waterfall, or an ocean, a drop is really, really small. Compared to those bigger things, a drop is really insignificant.

Imagine that you have just hiked through Waimea Canyon, and you feel like you are about to die of thirst. It really is not that hard for me to imagine it, because we were really thirsty after finishing our hike. Now, imagine someone says to you, “Okay, here is a drop of water for you. That should help your thirst.” You would think they are crazy, wouldn’t you? I know I would. Because a drop of water just is not that much at all.

Sometimes, that is how we feel in our lives. I am just one person. Just a small, insignificant drop. Not much at all. But actually, that is just faulty thinking.

We are all significant. We matter to those who love us. And even more, we all matter to God. He created us. He knows each one of us. And he cares for us.

When you feel insignificant, remember that God loves you. And when you might not be feeling insignificant, remember that there are others who might be feeling that way, even if you do not know it. Show everyone some love, just to remind them that they matter, too.

We are all in this life together. And when you put a whole lot of drops of water together, you have quite an impressive amount of water, capable of doing all kinds of things.

Don’t just be a drop of water, be a part of the ocean.

Bible Verse

Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? - Matthew 6:28-30

About the Photo

I actually went through several processing versions of this photo before settling on what you see above. Believe it or not, one version had much more color saturation than what you see here. But that really ended up being too much, so I dialed it back a bit to get this version. Everything was so colorful that I wanted to be sure to capture that. But I actually went overboard with it for a while. Hopefully, this version is suitable.

Photo: A single Raw exposure, processed in Luminar. Read more about photography tips, photo software, camera gear, and more at Steve’s Photography Tips.
Camera: Olympus OM-D E-M10
Lens: Olympus 14-42mm IIR
Date: July 6, 2018
Location: Waimea Canyon, Hawaiʻi