2 posts tagged “giving”
"Wealth, thought the people old, is found not so much in your possessions, but in the ability to give generously of what you possess… The primacy of giving is best shown by two of the most important values in Hawaiian and other Polynesian societies, namely generosity, or lokomaika‘i, and hospitality, or ho‘okipa. The essential nature of both is the liberal giving of what you have. Such an act of generosity deserves the name lokomaika‘i, which means good heart." —Dr. George Hu‘eu Sanford Kanahele, scholar and historian, and author of Ku Kanaka, Stand Tall, A Search for Hawaiian Values
I love this descripton of Ho‘okipa from Rosa Say: Ho‘okipa defines the art of true service We all yearn for more hospitality, for we know it to be a strong, very genuine signal of the aloha spirit waiting for us within a new relationship, whether that relationship is with a person, a team, a neighborhood, a business, or an entire society. When hospitality is present we feel welcomed, we feel wanted, and we are more willing to be fully involved in the human interactions of life. So what can we do to awaken this sleeping art, doing our part to help hospitality be more vibrant again? How can we savor it more, and crave it less? For there to be ho‘okipa, hospitality must be unconditional Unconditional means there are absolutely no strings attached. Imagine that you are standing in front of this beautiful woman, her smile exquisitely captured in the photo above. She is ready to give you her flower lei of yellow plumeria, but it is gently and patiently held, resting well below her relaxed shoulders so she can be fully present for you. Her first gift, her first genuine desire, is that you receive the just-for-you intention of her smile. She waits, so you will connect with the look in her eyes seeking to share warmth, sincerity, and the complete aloha she has bubbling effervescently within her countenance. You are in a wonderful place, natural, green, verdant, but it has become a background now fuzzy and unimportant; all the focus is on the breadth of her grace in your presence, and the giving of her smile to you. She is there for you, and for no other reason. You soon understand that the lei is not really the gift; it is actually the lasting reminder you will take with you. It remains so you can keep holding that moment of aloha she had given you before the lei was placed around your shoulders, so that its beautiful scent could entice your own aloha spirit to come out and play. However by then, it might very well be that the woman is gone, an artist of ho‘okipa who has already left her mark. She did not have to wait for you to receive completely, because she had already given completely. Her giving has been unconditional, and her art gloriously celebrated. You have just been in the presence of Mea Ho‘okipa, that rare person whose ho‘ohana it is to share hospitality with complete giving.
