Aloha. A Hawaiian word for greeting. Having experienced Hawaii, I think it more accurately represents “Welcome” and welcoming. Hawaiians also have a word “Ohana” that means family. They integrate welcome and family together. Similar to the Spanish “mi casa es su casa”.
Oahu can best be described as Aloha Ohana. The people there are friendly, kind and generous. They have this wonderfully relaxed attitude about life, something that so many of us should incorporate into our existence. We could all benefit from a little bit of “hang loose”. Just think about what your fingers might be clutching at this very moment and what is stressing you out.
One of the most notable demonstrations of that was being on the freeway during rush hour. In Denver, it is a fight for dominance. Horns, howling and hand gestures. Not to mention the inability to move from one lane to another. “Let me in? No way in hell.” In Oahu, the mood was “we’ll all get to where we’re going when we need to, just chill.” No noise, no hand gestures except to wave you in. If you put on your blinker, they very kindly make room for you to slide in. Poetry in motion. Please don’t ever lose that.
Oahu had two things I love most: a beach on one side of the street and city on the other. Eat, drink, shop and swim. Heavenly. And to think I wasn’t all that excited about going there. What?! Are you nuts?! Well, I love a good beach and I had been told that the water was rough. It is, but on Waikiki they have a shore break so even a baby can be in the water. Totally brilliant. And now that I’ve been there, I want to go back.
Thank you to Oahu people for showing me that life can indeed be beautiful, relaxing and simple. . . . . Aloha.
Loving Your Sh*T 