"I Give You My Aloha"

"I give you my Aloha."

We had passed their roadside stand every day on our way to and from the beach and had seen the large Hawaiian woman ensconced in her chair outside the old van.  Her hand-made jewelry was spread out on tables for the tourists to see and hopefully buy.  Next to them were pineapples and other tropical fruit that her adult son would sell.

The woman sat there, working on her jewelry, all day long.  We saw them setting up on our way to the beach between 8:00 and 8:30 in the morning, and they were always there mid-afternoon.  This was their livelihood, their way of life.

We decided to stop a couple of days ago on our way back to Little Beach after our early afternoon break. I have been keeping an eye out for a necklace or bracelet for my teenage son and decided to stop and look over their wares.

My eye immediately fell upon a grey puka shell necklace, but right next to it was an angel whose dress appeared to be made out of a sort of papier mache and whose body and wings were made out of a finely woven straw material.  I was captivated and asked about it.  The woman explained that it was made from the bark of a mulberry tree and another plant, the name of which sounded like "lahavala."

"I learned how to make these from my mother," the woman explained.  I did some mental math and guessed her to be in her late 50's.  That means her mother likely could have been born in the 20's.  Perhaps her mother had in turn learned from her mother, and I thought of the mother and daughter whose picture I had seen the other day at the cemetery at Keawala'i Church.

I like to collect Christmas ornaments every year that reflect trips taken that year or other memorable events, and this angel would be perfect to commemorate our trip to Maui.  It was hand-made, it was beautiful, and it reflected the spirit of Maui.   After a bit of research, I confirmed that the angel's dress was kapa - paper made from wauke, a type of mulberry tree - and that her body and wings were made from lauhala fronds.

"How much?" I asked.

"Thirty dollar," the woman's son replied.  I looked in my wallet.  I didn't have that much.  I turned to Mark and said, "I don't have that much cash."

"How much you got?" the man asked.

"Twenty."  I said it as a statement, not a question, but that's how he interpreted it.

"Twenty okay," he replied.  He then turned to his mother, who appeared every bit the matriarch that she undoubtedly is, and said something to her in Hawaiian.  She hesitated a split second, then said, in English, "Twenty dollar okay.  I give you my Aloha."

It all happened so quickly.  I commented later to Mark that it hadn't even occurred to me to haggle.  It just doesn't come naturally to me.  But I had successfully concluded my bargain without even trying to haggle.  I handed the son the money and picked up our new delicate Hawaiian angel, as pleased as if I had just successfully acquired a rare antique at an auction.

I thought a lot later that day, and again yesterday, about what the woman had said to me:  "I give you my Aloha."  I had never heard the word used in such a way.  I had already learned that "Aloha" originally meant a lot more than simply, "Hello."  Of course, I have heard it used many times since arriving here almost two weeks ago, usually by store clerks.  I felt uncomfortable using it in return, however - mainly because of connotations associated with its use in church meetings back in Utah.

As I explained to Mark, one would occasionally hear a speaker in a Mormon sacrament meeting (a lay member of his or her local congregation) greet the audience at the beginning of his or her talk with "Aloha!", at which point there was an expectation that the congregation would in unison respond  by returning the greeting.  No matter that the speaker had only the remotest connection to Hawaii.  I always found such situations awkward and silly.

But since being here in Maui, I have learned the original deeper meaning of Aloha was "the joyful sharing of life energy in the present."  It was used to convey affection, peace, compassion and mercy.  In other words, its use was meant to bestow a blessing, much - apparently - as the word "Namaste" is used in India, acknowledging in so doing not only the sacredness of life but also of the now, the present moment.

So, when the woman said, "I give you my Aloha," she was doing much more than agreeing to the price.  She was pronouncing her blessing upon the transaction and, I felt, upon me.  The deal was done; it was an honorable one.  Neither of us came away disappointed, feeling that the other had been bested or taken advantage of.

Upon perusing the Internet the next day, I learned that, in traditional Hawaiian thinking, words have "mana," or spiritual or divine power.  Aloha and mahalo are among the most sacred and powerful, and the concepts represented by these words have been described as ineffable, indescribable and undefinable with words alone; to be understood, the Aloha Spirit - like a sunset or God - must be experienced.  "The wisdom of Aloha," one commenter wrote, "is a current of conscious and subconscious awareness in the mind.  It focuses on the now, not the past, not the future.  The wisdom, the energy, is in the now."

The morning after purchasing our Hawaiian Angel and receiving the Hawaiian grandmother's blessing, we arrived at the beach parking lot a little before 8:00.  As we walked onto Big Beach, we were amazed at the size of the waves crashing against the shore beneath a brilliant blue sky.  Nearly deserted, the only other people on this end of the beach were two teenage boys (pictured above) who were sitting on the edge of their surfboards, eyeing the tempting waves.

We passed them, and I took the lead climbing "Mt. Vesusvius," the name I've given the little hillock between Big and Little Beaches.  As I reached the top and turned to face Big Beach, I felt with a rush, the spirit of the Hawaiian grandmother's blessing:  the Spirit of Aloha.  It came unbidden, but was as welcome as my lover's kiss.  Suddenly, I smelled the fragrant air, felt the gentle breeze, was captivated by the beauty all around me and felt immersed completely in the spirit and peace in that place and in that moment.  The Spirit of the Now.  The Spirit of Aloha.

Later that day, I wrote in my journal as I contemplated the moment I have just described in the context of my life and what I have experienced on this trip: 

"I'm still trying to articulate what I have felt these past few days, as I've sensed that I am starting to relax [after almost two weeks!].  I think the lesson I am learning - again - is that I am in the middle of a process. I have the tendency to want to immediately go directly to the finish line, but I don't know where it is or how I get there or what I'm supposed to learn or achieve along the way ... Which brings me back to the hear and now.  I can only get to the finish line by staying where I'm at and focusing on the Now, relaxing into the Now, accepting the Now."

So, our Hawaiian Angel now has a name:  The Spirit of Aloha.  And Mark commented, even before the experience of yesterday morning, that we should not pack her away to be taken out only a once a year at Christmas time. Rather, he said, we should keep her out so that we can see her every day, to remind us of what we experienced here on Maui and to strive to always keep the Spirit of Aloha.