The stillness was short-lived though. The next morning, we had to be downstairs at 3:30 a.m. so we could watch the sunrise over Haleakala, the world’s largest dormant volcano, and according to those who believe in such things , the heart chakra of the world. Standing there as the purples and oranges and blues burst over the crater was certainly mind blowing, although by then my lack of sleep had caught up with me and I found myself guzzling three cups of coffee. It wasn’t even 6 a.m. I tried to remember the last time I saw the sunrise, but no memories came to me. My fiancé and I watched sunsets regularly from our rooftop in Brooklyn, but sunrises were fleeting. I remembered Laohu’s words — “go deep” — and inhaled the warmth of the sun before we were corralled into the car to drive the windy road back down to civilisation.