1/15/2010 – Cultural Spirit of Aloha

Kona is awash with flowers. The Winter here is extremely subtle and the land is constantly producing new growth, flowers and an abundance of fruit. As the pink and red flowers float in the breeze it evokes a sense of laughter in me as the full showiness of the island occurs all around me.

I’m reminded of one of the tradition that exists here between families. When you come over to someone’s house you bring some flowers or fruit from your yard. The land around my house while I lived here produced lemons, limes, oranges, tangerines, persimmons and avocados. Bananas grew in the neighbor’s yard and he’d decorate his banana trees with Christmas lights when that time of year came around.

We always had an abundance of fruit on the table outside our classroom which was brought by various students from their own houses when the land produced more than they could possibly eat themselves.

The land produces a huge abundance and people share fruit and vegetables with every opportunity. The generosity of the culture here reflects the generosity of the land. People will do anything for you when asked because everyone looks after everybody else. Many people rely on other drivers to hitchhike to other places for nothing more than a smile and friendly conversation. Passion fruit fall and litter the roads from town to town and many a hitchhiker can score a meal off the side of the road without any trouble. People exchange favors, open their homes, their fridges and their hearts to anyone in need.

When I first stayed on island a year ago I stayed at a bed and breakfast which was surrounded by fruit trees. The sickly smell of rotting fruit and avocados lingered in the air on the property. The owner insisted on my eating as much as I could as bushels of avocados sat uneaten by the laundry room. She could never give all the fruit away and her insistence felt pushy and evoked a sense of fullness simply by looking at the amount of food available.

As the island is sympathetic to its residents’ needs, the residents’ are sympathetic to one another. There is a sense of deep concern that people have for one another. There is a lilting, melodic, and rhythmically punctuated tone to the Hawaiian language and the opulence and sensuality of hula are indicative of the fullness of expression present in the culture. Everyone is an auntie and uncle to the children regardless of blood relation. Warmth, hugs and mutual concern predominate all exchanges. There is great gratitude that predominates the islands and this energy wakes everybody up to be present to the blessings of life, to forgo the future, and forgo the past, living fully in the present.

This Earth energy, nourished by the Fires that create, purity and warm the land create the most abundant and full Earth spirit. This is the fulfillment of the Spirit of Aloha:

You have probably heard about Hawaii’s “Aloha Spirit,” but what is it exactly? In the Hawaiian language, “aloha“ may mean love, affection, compassion, mercy, sympathy, pity, kindness or grace. These sentiments make it a lovely common greeting and expression of farewell. The idea of aloha is so important in Hawaii that the “Aloha Spirit” is even part of State law. The statute reads in part:

“Aloha Spirit” is the coordination of mind and heart within each person. It brings each person to the self. Each person must think and emote good feelings to others. In the contemplation and presence of the life force, “Aloha,” the following unuhi laula loa may be used:

Akahai, kindness to be expressed with tenderness;
Lokahi, unity, to be expressed with harmony;
Oluolu, agreeableness, to be expressed with pleasantness;
Haahaa, humility, to be expressed with modesty;
Ahonui, patience, to be expressed with perseverance.

These are traits of character that express the charm, warmth and sincerity of Hawaii’s people. It was the working philosophy of native Hawaiians and was presented as a gift to the people of Hawaii.

“Aloha” is more than a word of greeting or farewell or a salutation. “Aloha” means mutual regard and affection and extends warmth in caring with no obligation in return.

“Aloha” is the essence of relationships in which each person is important to every other person for collective existence.

“Aloha” means to hear what is not said, to see what cannot be seen and to know the unknowable.

In exercising their power on behalf of the people and in fulfillment of their responsibilities, obligations and service to the people, the legislative, executive and judicial branches of government may contemplate and reside with the life force and give consideration to the “Aloha Spirit.”

We hope you will embrace the spirit of aloha in your everyday lives; for it is not a gift only for those who visit our beautiful island, it is a gift which can be shared throughout the world.

When we are full, nourished, and have more than we need, our giving becomes abundant and filled with joy and gratitude. There is nowhere to go, nowhere to be, we are content, full, and present with each other and for each other, in the now. This Earth energy is abundant in cultures that live closer to the tropics and the equator – the geographic and homeostatic center associated with the Earth Element.