Dear friend, I will be going to Hawaii in about a week.
Before I leave I would like to share some of the Hawaiian wisdom with you from:
"A Little Book of ALOHA" by Renata Provenzano.
...To live with aloha is the secret of well-being for the people of Hawai'i. It is an inner knowledge, by birth, to be loving and genuine in all interactions with people and nature, for all life is connected. It is how you say hellow, it is sharing food, caring for strangers, a nod of the head, understanding one another, a smile, kindness, honesty, touch, empathy in times of grief and a free willingness to love, as naturally as children love...as naturally as mother nature loves the earth.
"When the heavens weep, the earth lives.Sky father comes down to mother earth and to her peaks. The mist is the sperm. So heavy rains come from father and mother earth fruits. Everything goes back to love, much love...love...love."
Kupuna Alapa'i Kahu'ena
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Hawaiians live in both worlds - the visible and tangible on eart and the spiritual, where their aumakua (family spirit guides) reside. They gather information to make life decisions from both the waking world and in dreams, from signs, visitations, omens and divine guidance. it is important to see beyond what the eye can see, listen for things that are not said and recognize what your na'au (gut instinct) already knows. Hawaiians are naturally aware and connected to the spirit and in being so create their life with pure intention. They believe that life evolves as nature intended and the right time will come for all things.
In Hawai'i beauty is living with aloha, not an outwardly judgement of a person's body. When Hawaiians use eart essences to cleanse and adorn themselves- flowers in the hair, oils to massage, salt scrubs to cleanse, leaves and flower leis as adornments - it is never to cover or to add to themselves, but rather to become closer to and a part of their environment...to be one with nature...to have aloha'aina.
Family ('ohana) is not just blood relatives, but all close friends are considered 'ohana or calabash family. Hence the title of auntie, uncle, cousin, sister or brother are given to people who may not be direct family. In an island culture, space is shared and so is life. It is understood 'ohana is always there for each other in times of need and in times of celebration. This sense of 'ohana is extremely important to Hawaiians for their sense of belonging, sense of direction and sense of self. It is not uncommon for Hawaiians to trace their lineage back a thousand years.
"For us love is down to the depth of the sea. Something that is serious, that is born in the family. We are family type of people. Family is our solidarity, it is our governement, it goes back to time immemorial. Aloha means if you give someone a lei, you do not buy the lei - you make the lei with your own hands and then you give it away and that lei is made with love and respect and everything that should be in the soul of man.
Levon Ohai, La'au Lapa'au
...Be sure to remember the unconditional love of children. Listen to them tell the story of their day and how little things excite and delight them. Watch how they invite everyone to play and make-believe. Hear the tinkle of their laughter come out loud from their belly and how they sing to their own tune. Children remind us of life, because they are all born with the knowledge of aloha.
"For Hawaiian people, hospitality (ho'okipa) is a way of life...
... - you nevere turn anybody away. No matter what you have, you always offer to share. You never hoard or hide, you never turn away anyone in need"...
Daniel Akaka
"Know that man is not superior to our earth. Know we are stewards of the land and the ocean. Aloha is to share, to give and to receive. The sunlight and the moonlight are our source of energy. We need to know those things are important to us. The importance has to be every day, all the time."
Anonymolus
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I will send you all much ALOHA from Hawai'i
Love, Inda
