Aloha: An Introduction (Part 3)
Aloha. This one hits different. Unlike ciao and yo, aloha is more than a salutation. “Hello” and “goodbye” are only the tip of the spear. Aloha is a philosophy. Aloha is a way of life. Aloha is a perspective, an inclusive and love-colored worldview. Aloha is a spirit. It is an intuitive and connected way of being. Aloha is peace. It is humility. Aloha is rooted in honor and tradition and a universal love.
I know this because for the last ten years, I have become part of this beautiful culture, leaving behind the brash of New York City and building a more substantive life, raising a child, and establishing successful businesses that serve the community here. And this was only possible because I knew that I didn’t know what I didn’t know and approached all aspects of our new lives with an energy of humility. And this has served us well. The spirit of aloha is reciprocal, and when you put it out you get it back in leaps and bounds. Our community has embraced us, guided us, supported us, and given us a supernatural wealth that compels us to open up our hands and hearts and share what we have been given with others.
This living and breathing aloha is why we are here. It is why under the incredibly challenging circumstances of post-fire Lahaina, we are determined to stay. We have work to do. We have a responsibility. To give back all that we have been given, and a desire to deliver even more. To reinvest in a community that has been so invested in us. To turn toward our home, not away from it, when our ohana needs aloha the most. Because aloha also means showing up. Right now, for us, it means fighting for our collective lives here on this island that is indeed scarred, but still sacred.
It is this living and breathing aloha that I want to celebrate in this designated section of the blog. They say that Maui is no ka oi but it is more than just a pretty face. This island is the seat of an ancient culture, Lahaina the ancestral home of Hawaiian royalty. And Maui is also contemporary, with strong engagement in the most relevant issues of our time. It is transcendent but also rooted, for better or for worse, in its old ways. It is hip to say that I am from here and Maui is trendy and hashtagged more than ever, but it is also wonderfully elusive. You will get the real real on what it is like on the ground here right now, how I navigate this historical moment as a member of Lahainatown proper, in my marriage, as a mother, and as a business owner eager to rebuild and get back to the work of serving my community. I want to share all the things, seen and unseen, that cross my path, that inspire me, that inform my day-to-day, and most importantly the things that I learn living here. It is a unique and love-leaning perspective that I believe the world especially needs now.
Aloha.
