03/02/2010
Hawaiian Thought for the Day: "Ohana". In light of the recent Tsunami warning, it brought out a remembrance of a story told from the book "Tales Of The Night Rainbow" by Koko Willis and Pali Jae Lee about the true essence of Ohana. As I saw families and communities, strangers, and friends all gathered together to seek safety and to watch the events of a morning unfolding with anxiety and the unknown, I was reminded of my Kumu's lesson he has always taught me... "E Piko Kakou" - "We are all connected." ... Here are some words i would like to share from that beautiful book... "Family, to us, on Moloka'i was seen as a solid unit. A whole, of which we were each a part. In actuality, the family was a community or group of people living together, growing together, working out their problems the best way they could together, all connected, all learning and growing and assisting each other in their growth. We were all related in some way. Many generations - many fingers of the same hand; parts of one body."
What I FELT that day was a sense of Lokahi (unity). It was a day to recognize the importance of unity and the one thing that truly matters even in our modern day, which is connection... our Ohana. I urge us all to not forget that we are all apart of a larger system of things, and we all serve our role in the evolution of our lifetimes, from Keiki to Kupuna. Make sure that we take the time to honor this unity whenever we can, not just when we are posed with looming disaster. Aloha mau, k
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