Aloha, Y'all

a north shore view

This Redneck Girl recently had an "Experience of a Lifetime" - the kind of Experience that changes you, reshapes your vision and prepares you for new and better Experiences. Mr. Man and I took a trip to visit my Wise-Woman-Mother & her Captain in beautiful Hawaii.

chinamans' hat

Neither of us had ever been, and neither of us knew what to expect. Mom and I had been relegated to visiting here on the mainland every few years, at my Grandparents' home, weddings & such. Always with a "mission" and surrounded by others. I had never visited her on "her turf", so I knew very little about her home and life there. Mr. Man had the daunting task of meeting his Mother & Father-in-law, which could be stressful anywhere, much less in Paradise!!  We were excited, but uncertain. Would we "fit in"?

Well, did we ever! From the minute I walked into my mothers' home, I knew I was Home. Mom practices "Aloha Feng Shui", just as my home is "Redneck Feng Shui". Here in Texas, our evenings consist of "Porch-Setting"-watching the pink-&-purple sunset in our rockers on the porch. In Hawaii, we sat on the Lanai and watched the sunset - with a spectacular view of Honolulu, Diamond Head, & the humpback whales - like home, only more tropical! Our Porch has now been renamed the "Texas Lanai" - and I think of Mom's Lanai as the "Aloha Porch".

rainbow from the lanai

We had many adventures there, and I could detail each one, but I want to address the main Life-Altering Experience we had there, and that was the gift of the Spirit of Aloha.  Let me try to describe this - being a Spiritual Gift, somehow words feel a bit inadequate.

The literal meaning of aloha is “the presence of breath” or “the breath of life.” It comes from “Alo,” meaning presence, front and face, and “ha,” meaning breath. Aloha is a way of living and treating each other with love and respect. Its deep meaning starts by teaching ourselves to love our own beings first and afterwards to spread the love to others. Nowhere was that more evident than on the Aloha Porch. In a world where it is so easy to take each other for granted, it was moving to see the obvious Love and Aloha (and Mahalo) that my Mom and Captain have for each other and the world around them.

Being able to live the Spirit of Aloha is a way of reaching self-perfection and realization for your body and soul. Aloha is sending and receiving positive energy. Aloha is living in harmony. When you live the Spirit of Aloha, you create positive feelings and thoughts, which are never gone. They exist in space, multiply and spread over to others. We found this everywhere we went-from the waitstaff to the store clerk to the lanai.

plumeria in the backyard

I had a marvelous opportunity to meet a Wise-Woman-Friend of Moms'. She is a gifted metaphysician, and just being in her presence was cathartic. Her clear, clear eyes, and her beautiful soft skin just resonated with an inner peace. My Mother has the same clear eyes and soft skin - it seems to come from living an appropriate Inner Life, which works its' way out.

 Mr. Man and I thrived over there. We grew closer, and became determined to bring the Spirit of Aloha to our Little Texas Home.  As we have learned, this can be easier said than done at times! We live in times where coarse talk means nothing; it is easy to flip f-bombs and sarcasm around the room without thought. But go somewhere where that doesn't happen, and one becomes very aware of its' absence. Come back to it, and one is very aware of its' presence. It's very easy to fall back into old habits, but we keep reminding each other of the "Aloha rule", and Captains' rule which is "BE NICE".

It was a wonderful thing to experience Hawaii this way, and we know that we are very fortunate to see that beautiful place from a different perspective than the average tourist. We have decided that we must go back, and soon. We crave the kindness and peace that we found there.  We left pieces of our Selves there on that Aloha Porch, with Mom and Captain, and we took pieces of them to our Texas Lanai.

I looked in the mirror this morning, and I swear that my skin is getting softer and my eyes are getting clearer!

Namaste, (and Aloha) Y'all!!

And for some REALLY GOOD FOOD, a must-go-to-place: Buzz's Steakhouse - Lanikai

the beach where the famous scene from

"From Here to Eternity"

was filmed