I made that decision back in 1985. I was out here getting

When Bill Kreutzmann remembered, “I made that decision back in 1985. I was out here getting certified in SCUBA with Garcia in Kona and I thought to myself, this is a place to wake up in in the morning,” he spoke not only of a moment in time, but of a revelation. His words are the testimony of a soul who, amidst the salt of the sea and the stillness of dawn, discovered what it means to be at peace with the world. In that hour, he was not merely a musician, nor a seeker of adventure—he was a man who recognized the rare harmony between place, spirit, and the rising sun.

The origin of this reflection lies in the bond of friendship and in the embrace of nature. With Garcia, his comrade of the Grateful Dead, Kreutzmann sought certification beneath the ocean’s waves, a place where the world slows and the mind grows quiet. In Kona, surrounded by the vast Pacific, he found more than coral and current; he found the rhythm of life itself, steady and eternal as the tide. In that sacred stillness, the decision arose: here is where the soul may rise each morning with gratitude, here is where the earth and the spirit breathe together.

To awaken in a place such as Kona is to partake in one of the oldest lessons of mankind—that environment shapes the heart. The ancients, too, sought places that lifted the spirit. The philosophers of Greece gathered by the sea, the monks of Asia retreated to mountain temples, the desert fathers of Egypt sought stillness in barren sands. All knew that to dwell in a place of beauty and purity was to awaken each day with renewed strength. Kreutzmann’s words are the echo of this timeless wisdom: that the land itself can be a teacher, and the morning can become a sacrament when lived in harmony with it.

History bears witness to others who made such choices. Consider Gauguin, who left the confines of Europe to live in Tahiti. Though his journey was fraught with hardship, he sought what Kreutzmann also recognized—the profound truth that some places breathe life into the soul more deeply than others. The decision to remain in such a place, to awaken each day to its light, is not an escape but an embrace of life’s fullest offering.

Yet there is more in his words: the presence of decision. Kreutzmann did not stumble into a life of peace by accident; he chose it. He heard the voice of the sea, he saw the light of the dawn, and he said within himself, “This is where I shall live.” Such choices shape destiny. Many drift through life without listening to the whispers of the heart. But the wise pause, observe, and commit. To decide upon one’s place of awakening is to decide upon the quality of one’s soul.

The teaching is clear: seek the places, the people, and the practices that cause you to rise each morning with gratitude and peace. Do not cling to places that darken your spirit or companions that weigh upon your joy. Life is too brief to awaken each day in discontent. Choose, as Kreutzmann did, with intention. The right place may be a seaside town, or a mountain cabin, or simply the inner stillness you cultivate wherever you are. What matters is that when dawn comes, you rise with a heart that says, “This is where I am meant to be.”

Practically, we must learn to listen. Ask yourself: where do I feel most alive? What setting, what company, what rhythm of life allows me to breathe most deeply? Then strive toward it—not as fantasy, but as decision. Create space in your life for mornings that fill you with joy, not dread. Invest not only in wealth, but in environment, in friendship, in daily peace. For the true riches are not measured in gold, but in the way you feel when you rise to greet the dawn.

Thus, Kreutzmann’s words, born from a day of SCUBA in Kona, become a teaching for all. He reminds us that life offers places of harmony, if we are willing to see them and choose them. Let us then live not as drifters, but as seekers who find, and as choosers who commit, so that each morning we rise not in regret but in gratitude, knowing we wake where the spirit is free.