MOKIL (Mwoakilloa)
I spent four days on Mokil in August of 1990. (Journal) (Photos)

The memory of the isolation, quiet, and distance from the rest of the world lures me during times of anxiety and frustration, and at times of satisfaction and accomplishment.  I guess I can sum it up as, “And then there’s Mokil.” 

Mokil serves in my mind at times like a carrot and at others like a version of insanity.  Being on the remote island is the closest I’ve ever come to stopping: finding stillness.  On my good days, which are abundant now, stopping feels like a reward I should give myself.  On bad days, thoughts of a spell on Mokil feel like it would be the worst thing in the world for me.  What a rare gift that a place could have such a double-edged impact.

Mokil is here and there at the same time. Mokil has been a great spiritual teacher.

Where it's at: Eastern Caroline Islands, at 6 39'N. and 159 53'E, about 85 miles easterly from Pohnpei. The total land mass of the atoll is 1.3 square miles. They speak their own language. When I was there they had no roads, stores, or phones, and two gasoline-powered generators: one for the radio phone, the other for the refrigerator which held medicine.