VERDIGRIS
  • Blog Intro
  • Day by Day Blog
  • Website
  • Contact Jen
  • Sign up!
  • Blog Intro
  • Day by Day Blog
  • Website
  • Contact Jen
  • Sign up!

The aloha that connects us all.

3/13/2011

2 Comments

 
Picture
Picture

Internet photo of March 2011 Tsunami damage.

Picture

For most of us the technical term of aloha means hello or good-bye. But in reality the term aloha represents a kind of spirit of life. When a person says aloha to you it represents their inner peace and their own willingness to share their love and affection. Aloha is about harmony.  When a New York City cabby says hello to you, do you get that sense of aloha? Probably not. Sometimes, living in CT  we feel about as far away from aloha peace as possible. To understand aloha, a trip to Hawaii helps! I have been fortunate to travel to Hawaii a number of times to watch Chris race the Ironman and see it aloha first-hand.  But honestly, we got this same feeling when we lived in the Caribbean island of Saba. While I never once heard a person from Saba utter aloha, the aloha spirit was undeniable. I think that when you are surrounded on all sides by water, you are forced to feel an inner connection between nature and humanity. I even felt it when I was a lone sculler out in the pre-dawn hours rowing in a paper-thin shell with a simple set of oars.  Water makes me feel vulnerable. Every rower spends a lifetime trying to establish a respectful relationship with the water.  When water is friendly and calm, it invites us to jump in and frolic, but water also has a voracious nasty side that warns us to stay away when bothered.  People that live the aloha spirit have an innate understanding of this connection because they have learned to live in harmony with the ocean. But as we have seen in the past few days, this spirit of aloha has been tested to the extreme degree in Japan and Hawaii. I see the destruction in the photos and find it hard to grapple with the fact that the ocean can unleash such anger. Perhaps, it is a warning to all of us that we need to wake up respect the natural world, because there is no question in my mind that mother nature is really in charge. As all of the twisted metal, floating cars and man-made crap flow back into the ocean, lets hope that this has been a reminder that we need to respect the earth that has been given to us. While japan grapples with this horrible disaster, I hope that they rebuild with a more harmonious relationship with nature in mind. Seeing the damage of the Kona pier is a small personal reminder that the tragedy in Japan is not so foreign, and that none of us are immune to the nature's wrath. May we learn treat our earth with the aloha spirit and hope that in return we get some aloha back. 

Picture

Internet photo of Tsunami survivor...perhaps we have met before.

Picture
Picture

It's beauty is awe-inspiring, but never take it for granted

Picture
2 Comments
Patti Florio
3/12/2011 11:28:11 pm

How beautifully written! I would love to send this out to some of my friends in CA. How do I forward?
Love,
Patti

Reply
pat scales link
3/16/2011 01:13:28 pm

Superbly written, Jen; lovely thoughts; keep up the good karma; we all need it. Thanks, Patsy.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    July 2018
    June 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    October 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011

    RSS Feed