Several things draw me to the Hawaiian culture; the Aloha spirit (the actual word meanings of “Aloha”), the beauty of the natural setting and people, the way their islands produce a “laid back”-ness, but one thing I love most? No matter what the color of your skin, you immediately become known as “Auntie” to any child with which you come into contact. And with that simple little word comes all these huge emotions within me. All of a sudden, I feel instantly connected, instantly recognized as someone of value, instantly honored, instantly responsible for playing a role or part in that child’s life, even if it’s just a few moments of interaction. And any time I hear that word… “Auntie”… I am brought into the love I have for my own aunts, my own nieces and nephews, the ones who have helped shape and helped guide me, who continue to do so. Just like the word Aloha, and all Hawaiian words, there is a layering of meaning and not just meaning, but EMOTION under every word, every syllable. Intentional, like Sanskrit words. And that intentional flow holds energetic power and grace.
I spoke with my mom last night. I’m pretty sure I woke her up so maybe she felt a bit more disoriented than usual. She has struggled with pain most of her life and I’ve often wondered if that genetic link is part of my own cross to bear. During our conversation, she started describing her left arm, her left hand, and couldn’t remember what was “wrong” and why it is crippled up the way it is. I reminded her of Dupuytren’s Contracture… that darned ole “Viking’s Disease” that has made residence in her body. I’ve learned a valuable lesson from my stepdad, that somehow being light about heavy and dark things brings about more space for acceptance, healing, understanding… it brings joy into sorrow and light into darkness. So I played my humor card and made mom giggle at her own ailment. And through the laughing, we stumbled on a thought; maybe she was predestined to host that disease… a disease that can be traced back in time, a disease that only certain people with a certain blood line contract… maybe she has that disease because through her and through her experience, our family tree is being “healed”. Let me explain further; part of my training in Lomi Lomi has included the recognition that as healers we are challenged to be a bridge not just for other people, but for our own families, sending prayers of healing, energy and love into our heritages to cleanse and heal and make whole. Mom had the “eureka moment” of feeling THAT was why she suffered, why her body suffered; for the benefit of those who went before, for those who will come in the future, a physical manifestation of a way to purify. Then she laughed and said something like, “if that’s not the reason, at least it makes me feel better about it.” That way of thinking seems so simply profound to me and so hope filled.
So what do the two have in common? Being called “Auntie” and being called to heal our families? While meditating on both this morning, I find myself linked into the feeling of complete connection. We make a difference. Our choices, even the choices we make of how to spend our time THINKING (are we thinking on things that bring peace and love into the world or are we caught up in tangled up strings of panic, confusion, frustration, disappointment, etc?), our choices deeply affect one another. Our thoughts deeply affect one another. And I’m starting to see that we not only influence one another during this time and place, but we affect those in our past and those in our future. Oprah once quoted I think someone else… and I love this quote, “Take responsibility for the energy you bring into this space”. When being called Auntie by other people’s children who are trusting you with that name given, when caring for a mother and trying to gently be present and supportive, when contemplating whether we can make huge changes not only in the present but beyond, life’s energy - God’s love - encompasses me, sings to me, breathes new life and freedom into me. And I hope somehow I can take that gift given and pay it forward.
Aloha kakou.
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