Aloha!
Isn't it just what you say when you're in Hawaii? Yes and No.
Aloha is the traditional greeting in the Hawaiian islands. It can mean "Hello" and "Goodbye". It can mean "I Love You" and "Welcome". How can one little word mean so much? Oh, it gets better than that... believe me.
You hear the saying everywhere you go when in Hawaii. When visiting there for the first time it reminded me of when I was in Paris and had to greet the French in their language. "Bonjour" and "Au revoir". It seemed very strange to me not to say "Hello" and "Goodbye" in my native tongue. But I became accustomed to it after a few days of practicing my French and not worrying about the accent as much as I did on the first day. After all, I was in France and the language there is not English. It seemed rude not to try to speak French. By the end of the trip it was very easy and came natural to speak the French greetings and on occasion I tried other words too!
With the Hawaiian language it was different. Don't get me wrong I do not know how to speak Hawaiian. Now that would be an accomplishment. It is a beautiful language that is now being taught in their schools again after being banned for many years. I cannot fathom someone banning a language in their native land. Such rich history and they would not allow it. Fear of the unknown maybe??? I don't get it but luckily for the Hawaiian people it is back and thriving.
I had a feeling upon my first visit to the island of Maui that Aloha had more meaning to it than just "Aloha" and a really groovy thing to say as a tourist. That one little word has huge meaning. You feel it the moment you arrive. Aloha is a state of being. It's the pulse of the land. It becomes you and you become it. The Hawaiians will tell you it is a warm embrace between loved ones. It is the meeting and greeting of one's spirit with another. It is the sharing of life energy.
As you spend time in Hawaii you "feel" Aloha everywhere you go. Not only is the land beautiful so are the people. Most of the Hawaiians I have met while in Maui are not native to Hawaii but you would never know it. They do not look native as you can tell by their skin color and the fact they have told me how they came to live on Maui as I have asked them. But you can feel they are Hawaiian in they way they treat you, speak to you and care about you. You become instantly friends with them like you have always known them all your life.
I experienced first hand the Aloha spirit on my third trip to Maui. I had flown there with serious back pain. (Hey, I would do anything to get to Maui!) My back had "gone out" on me days before departure. I was taking laundry out of the hamper and "wham" the back pain grabbed me and I was in pain like I have never experienced before. I am no wimp when it comes to pain believe me, I can endure a fair amount of pain and not say a word. So nothing was stopping me from boarding that plane and spending the next 19 hours or so heading to my home land in the pacific ocean. Low and behold it was the longest freaking flight of my life. But I was there, in Maui, and I knew I would get better.
I had contacted a friend in Maui prior to going about getting some massage appointments lined up. This definitely had to help. How could it hurt at this point? I met the friend thru renting the condo we stayed in from her & her husband. Just so happens she is a massage therapist too. The best in all the land I tell you. My first trip to her was a like an outer body experience. Words cannot describe it. I was literally floating as I walked out of her office!! During my visit to her she had concluded she could help me but not heal me all the way as I would need help from a chiropractor. She reccomended hers and gave me his card.
The plan over the next few days of my ten day stay would be get a massage first then go see Dr. Hugs...really that is what he calls himself! I know, I know, you're thinking, yeah right...first an outer body experience getting a massage, now off to a chiropractor called Dr. Hugs...what was she smoking on Maui!?? Well, nothing, I don't smoke...anything. His real name isn't Dr. Hugs but that is what everyone calls him and for obvious reasons. That is what he does before he treats you, he hugs you! It's part of they way he evaluates your condition and his way of adding a little Aloha to your day.
Danny wasn't so sure about the sharing of Aloha upon my first visit to Dr. Hugs. You see I had never been to a chiropractor before and I was a tad apprehensive to say the least. We walk in to the second story office and there in the middle of the room was the chiropractor and his adjusting table right in the open for all the world to see. How strange I thought. But it gets better. All of the patients wait along the wall in chairs that have been lined up in a row. As someone gets adjusted and leaves you all move down a chair. You keep moving until you are the next to go to the table. I became more nervous as not only did getting "cracked" make me nervous now I was part of a show too! I am on the modest side of life with my body and it's issues being very private & personal matters to me. But the pain was putting a major crimp in my Maui vacation time so why not? Danny looked at me and said "there is no way in hell I am getting on that table or having him touch me!!"
My turn was next. With nerves pushed aside and bravey taking charge now I approached Dr. Hugs. Naturally I got my big hug from him first. Aloha spirit had begun. He put me at ease and made sure I was okay with what he was going to do, etc. As he examined me he tells me I have a rib out line, a disk out in my lower back and one shoulder out of line. "That explains the pain huh?" I say. He grins and proceeds to adjust me. As I pop, snap and cringe in front of the room full of people I don't care how many people are present. Aloha was helping me get well and the healing had begun. I continued to recieve treatments from Dr. Hugs every other day while on Maui along with massages. How on earth could I leave here and get well at home?
Aloha filled me and I brought it home with me. Even though I had arrived on Maui in great pain and was leaving with much less pain I have never been more relaxed and cared for in all my life. Both the massage therapist with ther "healing hands" and Dr. Hugs with his "magic hands & hugs" I was overwhelmed with Aloha. I was riding the wave and not even touching the water. They both had shared their talent and care for making humans well. I had learned what I had to do to take care of myself back at home on the mainland. It would never be the same of course but I would never forget that feeling and I would use it to continue to heal.
This trip to Maui was the biggest eye opener for living Aloha. As I live in Maine and long for Maui almost daily, especially as winter months approach, I try to Live Aloha everyday. Some days you use it more than others but as long as you try to live Aloha everyday that is all that counts. It may be a hard concept to grasp unless you have been to Haawii to "feel" it. The nearest thing that I can compare it to in the mainland world is "do unto others as you would have them do unto you" and "don't be afraid to share your true self with others" and most of all "respect and love all living things." Aloha!
