Let me tell you something you already know.

We live in paradise.

Statement of the obvious, of course, and that is my special gift. But sometimes it needs restating, and acting upon.

Why do we get caught up in the details of life and forget to live? Don't we know where we are?

If you've got frog-sized hail, an F5 tornado knocking at the door or, frankly, any weather colder than 60 degrees, fair enough. You can sit at home and bemoan your credit card debt or medical insurer jerking you around while you wait for Armageddon to end.

But here? No excuse. Even the Big Island quake in '07 was just another reason to barbeque. Well, for most of us — HECO was a little busy.

Sunshine is medicine. Especially Hawaiian sunshine, delivered on a sea breeze.

Your dosage: daily. During the work week, get whatever you can squeeze in, but DO squeeze it in. No more praying for the clock to wind down — you're wishing your life away! In paradise! That's nuts!

And on the weekend — ah, the glorious weekend — something more. Get in the water, pack a picnic, play volleyball or soccer at the beach park.

Or hike! Get up to your knees in muddy glory.

This is what my friend Charlie and I do when we're free. A couple Sundays ago we conquered Olomana like Vikings. I guess he was more the Viking because he got to third peak while I hung back on second. That third peak trail is the poster child for erosion, a fuzzy green needle of a mountain and getting skinnier all the time.

But who was the badder, bolder hiker is beside the point. (Here, Charlie would insist I insert, "He is.")

It's connecting with good friends, with the Earth, with the sun. It's unplugging long enough from day-to-day worries and fears to remember that they're transient, as fleeting as that sweet-scented breeze.

Business has slowed, and Charlie and his wife are heading for the Mainland. Which is sad, and we all have friends who have done the same. We don't know when this economy will improve, or what worries lie beyond that.

But the ocean is there, the mountain is there, and the sun is shining.

What are you going to do today?