Perpetuating Aloha

Aloha e Haumana,

We are asked to answer the question: As a parent of kupuna or caregiver, think about what kind of legacy would I want to leave for my children and family? How will they in turn preserve and perpetuate those family values and ideals that I want to leave with them?

I think about all that I have learned in this online course (Kana'iaupuni), the legacy that our great Ali'i Kamehameha left for us. I also think about his great-grand-daughter Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop. She had no children of her own, but my goodness, what a legacy she left us! We are her children, the children of Hawai'i, Keiki 'o ka 'Aina... Under her leadership and through her legacy, we have opportunities to become educated, to become self-sufficient, to work hard and become employed, to keep learning and to share our knowledge - to sustain ourselves and to prosper as a people. What an amazing legacy our dear founder left for us.

I think about what I can offer. I am studying the deep concept of Aloha and Aloha as Leadership. I would like to teach Aloha to people who do not live in the islands, or perhaps have never visited once. Aloha is in our hearts and in our consciousness. It is our spiritual connection to the 'aina, our makua, and our kupuna when we are so far away. Aloha reminds us of who we are and where we came from...and what our purpose is here on earth. How cool would it be for each of us, near and far - to live real aloha everyday? Classes like this offer us that opportunity to learn, reflect and share what we have learned. It has been a very special journey for me, one that I would like to continue. This is an excerpt I would like to share, from Legends of Hawaii:Oahu's Yesterday, written by Aunty Pilahi Paki:

"From the Hawai'i point of view, the Hawai'i who know and understand the meaning of Aloha, their knowledge should be sought and they should be consulted in order that others may understand their past and its meanings. Aloha was the basis of Hawai'i's religion. Aloha is the basic element of the Natural Law as lived by God's Children of Nature, the true Hawaii...Aloha should be a positive element...The real Aloha must be lived daily, as a positive element for good, creating beauty on 'Oahu and throughout the world." Pilahi Paki, p. 12 - 13)

Reference: Paki, P. (1972). Legends of Hawaii:Oahu's Yesterday. Edward Enterprises, Honolulu: HI.