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Lessons from the Ocean Surf
While in Molokai this past Thanksgiving I developed a morning routine of saying hello to the ocean. Each morning I’d awake around sunrise, read a little of something inspiring and then take a short walk out to a rocky cliff that afforded me a great view of the pounding surf. I would get just close enough to feel the spray as the waves smashed up on the rocks creating tide pools and launching foam into the air. My six year old son, Sebastian, was the only one who was waking up early enough to join me on these ocean greetings and he asked if he could come along. So most every morning we would go out and sit for over an hour observing the rhythms and the wildlife. He would see dinosaur shapes in the rocks and on these outings we were blessed with visits from sea turtles, seals, crabs, wild turkeys and rainbows. A deep love and appreciation would well up from me as I watched the waves with my son cuddled up on my lap. We felt no lack, no struggle…only wonder, abundance and love in that place.
The Cloudy Day
One day we went out and the island was covered with clouds. The sky was gray and moody and the weather was slightly cooler than it had been in the days before. Completely undaunted we went as usual to a perch near the spray. It wasn’t long before it had started to rain on us. We enjoyed the feel of the water on our skin and watched the waves grow stormier in response to the stronger winds. When it stopped the sky cleared out to the west and a giant rainbow practically the length of the horizon appeared. My son was delighted as I told him stories I knew from different cultures involving rainbows. We talked about how the Hawaiians view rainbows as a blessing and that when you are blessed you do not worry, you approach life assured that your needs will be met, that good is yours and that abundance is held for you and given to you divinely.
Looking for Rainbows
The next day my son wondered if we would see another rainbow and discovered that rainbows appear in many places not just the sky. When we started noticing and looking for rainbows…when we developed a mindset to seek them out, we saw them everywhere. He learned to see them in the waves as they crested and in the ocean spray. He would say, look mom…I see one. This is what I call developing a rainbow mindset. Each time he saw one we would again discuss what seeing a rainbow means to ones life in the Hawaiian culture. Developing a rainbow mindset is a noticing and seeking of the blessings that are everywhere in life.
Blessings and Aloha
One evening we went to the Kualapu’u Cookhouse. Sebastian had by this time developed an intense curiosity in the Ukulele and there was a player and singer performing at the cookhouse. Sebastian went over and watched him play and sing in great admiration. Later on in the evening another gentleman took over to allow for a break. Sebastian also quickly made friends with him. The gentleman came up to me and asked, is this your son? When I affirmed, he said…aloha…I want to play you a song. He sang for us two songs. Sebastian’s great-grandmother gave him some money to give to the man but he would not take it. He said he had sung the songs as a gift from his heart and that friends are better than money. When I first came to the islands I thought aloha meant hello and goodbye and that aloha spirit was something that was referred to in order to describe the friendly attitude of acceptance for which the Hawaiian Islands are so well known. I now know that it means much more.
The Meaning of Aloha
In the Hawaiian language, the deeper meaning of aloha is “the joyful (oha) sharing (alo) of life energy (ha) in the present (alo).”
As you share this energy you become attuned to the Divine Power that the Hawaiians call mana. It is a way of blessing everyone and everything by tuning into the positive qualities inherent in all things. To bless something means to give recognition or emphasis to a positive quality, characteristic or condition, with the intent that what is recognized or emphasized will increase, endure or come into being.
Yesterday, I took my son and daughter into our hot tub and from it’s steamy, bubbling depths we sat and watched the sunset and the first night stars become visible in the darkening sky. My daughter turned on the underwater light. Sebastian began watching the water intently and said, look mom…there’s a rainbow!
