If you’re lucky enough to be in love this Valentine’s Day, express it in the Hawaiian way, by spreading a bit of “aloha” through our “aloha spirit”. What does that mean?

“Aloha” is the Hawaiian word for love (and hello & goodbye), but we use it to express actions “me ke aloha” (with love, caring).

So “aloha spirit” is our local Hawaiian way of extending kindness & caring — without expecting anything back. Lots of people practice it back home on all of the 8 main islands…Oahu (where the Capital city of Honolulu is located), Hawaii Island where I am from, Kauai & Maui (islands I worked on), Molokai, Lanai, and the 2 smallest isles Niihau & Kahoolawe (both off limits to tourism).

Once I rented a car back home in Hawaii & was worried on the last day that the car was a bit too dirty to return without washing off some of the mud that had accumulated on it. (Rains a lot on the Big Island of Hawaii). So I asked a woman operating a lunch wagon for some water. She didn’t have any to give me in a cup, but handed me a bottle of water, free of charge. I thanked her and used the bottled water to wash off the car with my hands. Then I ran back to her wagon & left her a $1 tip in the jar and said “mahalo” (thanks) for her “aloha spirit.”

And I’ve written this before (which many of you may not believe) but on Hawaii Island, if you get in a traffic jam, it’s bad form to honk your horn — it’s not polite, just not the “aloha way” of doing things.

Last week here in Tucson, while riding the Sun Tran bus, I observed several riders assist a blind rider who needed to be informed when his stop was imminent. And later I overheard another rider giving his $3.50 day pass to someone else to use again, since he was done riding for the day and it was only about 12 noon. Now that’s spreading “aloha”.

So today, Valentine’s Day, how about practicing a little bit of “aloha” by spreading some of your caring to others in Southern Arizona?

The Hawaiian group Mana’o Company sang this popular “Spread a Little Aloha” song:

Let me know if anything interesting happens — in the comment section below. Random acts of kindness definitely qualify.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

And Happy Birthday to the State of Arizona, turning 100 today.