A young Hawaiian boy told us, “I like to give aloha to people.” Aloha? Give aloha to people? What does that mean? I’d never heard “aloha” used that way.
We were in Hawaii recently and were greeted everywhere with the word “Aloha.” Also, it was used instead of “goodbye” when we parted. But we never heard it used the way that young boy used it … giving it to people. I had to look it up. Google.
I found out that aloha has a lot of meanings, all of them good. It says a warm hello and goodbye, but furthermore, the word expresses peace, compassion, respect, mercy, kindness, gratitude, love and fellowship. It has a spiritual significance and you can feel it there. The Hawaiian people seem to live and breathe aloha, and they are doing all they can to preserve their heritage and the aloha that goes with it. In 1986, the state introduced a law mandating that state officials and judges treat the public with aloha — no arrogance, no prejudice, and there never has been any prejudice in Hawaii.
Yes, no prejudice. Hawaii is populated with people whose families came from the United States, Japan, Portugal, China and the Philippines to work on the sugar plantations. They were welcomed with aloha and intermarried with each other and the native Hawaiians. We had a wonderful aloha experience when we stopped at Punaluu Black Sands Beach.
Black Sands Beach is a piece of paradise, a long beach made from finely eroded lava that spreads between the ocean and a large lily pond. The black sandy stretch is lined with tall palm trees so people can find shade or sun, and there is a special protected area where giant sea turtles crawl up to bask on the warm sand. (And how the turtles know which area is theirs puzzles me, but they do and it’s rare not to see a few there.)
Well, on this particular day, we saw some young boys pulling lily pads out of the pond that is completely covered with lily pads and lots of blossoms, a magnificent sight. Those boys were working industriously to open up an area of water. Why? No adult was supervising their activity and a big pile of pads was accumulating on the beach. I had to ask what they were doing.
Enthusiastically, they told us that there are lots of crayfish in the pond and they were taking out lily pads so they could catch some. Then excitedly they ran over to their mom to bring back a bucket to show us the ones they’d gotten. We asked what they were going to do with them. “Eat them. They are very good,” was their reply. They looked like miniature lobsters so we guessed they would be good, but surely not much meat in them.
While watching them, we got caught up in their friendly enthusiasm. One of the boys, Kaipo, proceeded to tell us that there were other places around the pond where it was open enough to find them. He offered to show us so we followed.
The pathway led us through a beautiful tropical jungle, and we stopped periodically to watch him quickly scoop up a crayfish and add it to his bucket. We were amazed at how well he could spot them and how adept he was at using his small net.
At times, some places ahead looked quite swampy and I wondered how safe it was going to be to continue on the path. Kaipo said, “Don’t worry, I know a safe way,” and he did.
When we finished our excursion, his friend, Lono, raced up to meet us and check out the catch. I took a picture of them holding one, and they even wanted me to hold one so my husband, Gerry, could take my picture.
We had such a great afternoon. We thanked the boys for being so kind to us, and Kaipo responded, “I like to give aloha to people.”
I was very moved by his words. It was obvious to us that he had been taught to be kind and welcoming to people. I also thought how wonderful it would be if that aloha attitude could be spread throughout the world.
These two boys, 8 and 9 years old, would be great ambassadors. The Bible scripture from Psalms 8:2 came to mind, “Out of the mouth of babes hast thou established strength.” Great wisdom and strength of character can come from the minds of innocents.
Giving aloha to people is the greatest gift anyone can give. I wish we could send a dose of it to Putin!
Carole Gariepy of Phillipston has written seven books, all nonfiction. A recent one is a travel book, “Why Go There?” In her younger years, she was a teacher.