Aloha is ʻOluʻOlu

Aunty Pilahi Paki wrote this chant of aloha. In a wonderful workshop with Leialoha Lim Amina in 2005, Leialoha taught us what she had learned from her training with Kumu Pilahi. Here is the first verse of Pilahiʻs chant:

Akahai e nā Hawaiʻi           
Lokahi a kū like
ʻOluʻolu ka manaʻo
Haʻahaʻa kou kulana
Ahonui a lanakila.



This week I want to share my thoughts and feelings about ʻoluʻolu, Hawaiʻi meaning agreeable expressed with a feeling of pleasantness. It often seems that in this modern world those two words, agreeable and pleasantness, seem so old-fashioned and discarded by many. Spirit teaches us that these are needed more than ever to counter the chaos and unkindness which is prevalent all around us. And that we donʻt have to get drawn into othersʻ anger and distress. To be agreeable is not weakness, it is a show of inner strength to hold your core in kindness and release that feeling to your world. There will always be a time to fight, to protect your self, your loved ones. However, that is always the last response and seldom is needed.

To be agreeable and welcoming when in daily interactions on the phone, in the stores, in public and at work creates that warm and welcoming energy. It allows all you come in contact with to react to you with a smile and a sense of wanting to return your pleasantness.

The spoken word has power. When a word is spoken aloud, the meaning of that word is released into your home, your neighborhood, your world. In Hawaiian belief that word and its meaning cannot be called back once spoken. Its power has been released. Therefore, we endeavor to choose our words with care and consideration for our lives and our planet.

This is so true for me in my working world of real estate broker. I often spend full days in the car with new friends. Just did that yesterday! We had so much fun together and found so much in common as we searched for their new home here in our beautiful mountain village. Ours is a business of relationships. I strive to live with, and in, aloha with all of my business partners. To move through the day in ʻoluʻolu opens up so many more possibilities for magic and discovery between us while it colors the outcome of our business, as well.

I am grateful for Pilahiʻs wisdom and for Leialohaʻs additional teaching. My kuleana, responsibility, is to pass that teaching along, with aloha.