When Roosters Teach You About Harmony: A Kauai Story
From rooster stress to island peace. Kauai helped me hear noise in a new way.
In my blog, “Aloha Dreams My Heart’s Path to Kauai”, I said I’d come back to share more
about my rooster encounter.
It is a funny story and yet at the same time a lesson learnt.
Last weekend, I wrote a blog on my Dutch website CarolinePinterCoaching.nl with the blog title
“Van stresskip tot yoga in de tuin”.
Stresskip is a Dutch humorous expression and is hard to translate.
It just works better in its own language.
It’s about how life can feel so busy, loud, and stressful.
Especially when the outside world doesn’t match what you need on the inside.
And for me, that outside world includes… being overwhelmed by the sound of roosters.
My History with loud Sounds of Roosters
When I moved to Rijsenhout two years ago, I was annoyed to find out that our backyard neighbors
kept a cage full of chickens and roosters.
Not just at 5 AM in the morning but during the day as well.
Unwanted noise has such a strong effect on my nervous system.
Especially when you hear it every day.
Maybe you recognize that too?
So last year I was looking forward to get away from the sound of the rooster when I took
my trip to San Francisco and Kauai, Hawaii.
Three weeks without that rooster noise. Peace at last.
Or so I thought.
Arrival on Kauai: Roosters Everywhere
Little did I know that Kauai would greet me with an overwhelming number of wild chickens and roosters.
Something I had not noticed during my trips to Hawaii before.
At least not on Oahu. I have lived in Waikiki and I enjoy being on the Hawaiian islands
as I enjoy the Aloha Life.
In touch with its beautiful nature and the rich Hawaiian culture.
" FUN FACT: There are roughly 450.000 wild chickens and roosters on Kauai, compared to 75.000 human resident”
They are everywhere from the beach, the falls, the canyon, rivers, caves.
And also…. in the living room of my rented apartment.
I laughed.
As I had traveled all the way to the other side of the world, only to be greeted
by the same sounds I had tried to escape.
The universe has big a sense of humor.
A Mother Hen and Her Chicks
At the apartment I rented on Kauai, a wild chicken family showed up every day in the my backyard.
A mom with her three little chicks.
I tried to keep the backdoor closed. It only took them a second for the door to be open
and sneaking into the bedroom.
Suprisingly, I got attached to them.
The chicks were so tiny, and the mama was so attentive and caring.
I felt protective of this chick family too especially as I am a mom myself.
Even with wild cats on the property, all three chicks were still alive and well
when it was time for me to go home. And I said goodbye to the chicks I had become so fond of.
That felt like a miracle to me.
In the Netherlands, I don’t often see that kind of peaceful coexistence between animals.
But here? The wild cats seemed to respect the chickens’ space.
It was as if they had some kind of unspoken agreement: chickens rule the day, cats rule the night.
It felt… harmonious.
Cultures, Nature, and Slowing Down
That moment struck me deeply.
The way life is integrated in nature is for me so calming and feels safe, respectful and inspiring.
Every culture has its own traditions, habits and deal with day to day situations.
That is ok.
What helps is to understand those traditions and see what works for you.
Interesting is also to know what does not work for you.
Even more, why it does not work for you.
And how to implement it in your daily life in such a way that it will work for you to be ok with it.
What’s “normal” in one place might feel uncomfortable or strange in another.
But that’s okay. It’s not about right or wrong.
That goes without saying for everyone, whether you live abroad or in the Netherlands.
On islands, whether it’s the Waddeneilanden in the Netherlands,
the Isle of Wight,
islands of the coast of Norway,
or the Hawaiian islands, I feel something different.
There is a slower rhythm. More respect for nature and for each other.
Life is lived more outdoors.
Noise Association: A Life Lesson
One of the biggest lessons I’ve taken from my trip to Kauai is how deeply I associated certain sounds with my emotions.
This is called noise association.
When a certain sound becomes tied to a feeling or memory, sometimes without even realizing it.
I never realized how deeply the harsh sound of crowing roosters had become a stress trigger.
The noise was out of my control but it had definitely taken control of me.
The chickens and roosters on Kauai triggers my feeling of safety and my pleasant memory of my living in Hawaii (even for a short period of time).
On Kauai the sound felt part of nature.
Now, back home, I no longer feel stressed when I hear the roosters when I am sitting in my backyard or doing yoga in the morning.
In fact, I often smile.
The sound reminds me of Kauai.
Of beautiful sunrises in front of my apartment, the hikes in the canyons and the picknicks on the beach.
All in good company.
Becoming aware of our emotional triggers, even something as simple as a sound, can change the way we experience daily life.
Once we understand what a sound means for us, we can choose to shift it, reframe it, or simply let it be.
Final Thought: What Can We Learn?
I went to Kauai expecting silence.
Instead, I found roosters and a lesson in harmony.
Not just the sounds around me but silence within me.
Being on Kauai reminded me that I can’t always control the outside noise: a neighbor’s rooster, a crying child, or the endless pinging of notifications.
But what I can do is notice my reaction. I can choose how I respond. Every day.
