My Tucson: Why we could use a little ‘aloha spirit’
by Carolyn Classen on Jan. 13, 2009, under Opinion
Hawai'i, the 50th state, is one of the most beautiful places in the world, physically and spiritually.
Hawai’i. Say that word, and people react positively.
When I tell them I come from there, most people immediately seem to be in awe, or say they visited and enjoyed it, or hope to go there someday.
Hawai’i, the 50th state, is one of the most beautiful places in the world – physically and spiritually.
I have lived on the islands of Oahu, Kauai and the Big Island (where I was born and grew up) and worked on Maui as well.
I have also visited the smaller islands of Molokai and Lanai a number of times, and once went to Midway Atoll in the northwestern Hawaiian Islands.
Why is Hawai’i so beautiful? And why does this matter to Tucsonans?
I think it is the images of the physical beauty that people yearn for, maybe seeking utopia or paradise.
It is also the image of a place with subtropical weather and constant warmth, around 70 degrees Fahrenheit, and a multicultural place where people are friendly to strangers and practice the “aloha spirit.”
Hawaiians do spread their aloha spirit wherever they go, as well as their culture, music and ono (delicious) food.
Take a look at the growing list of hula and slack key events on the U.S. mainland in Hawai’i magazine (www.HawaiiMagazine.com).
As a My Tucson columnist this past year, I wrote about “Looking for the aloha spirit in Tucson” on March 25 and about Tucson’s three Hawaiian food restaurants on May 6.
Then I wrote Sept. 9 about what it was like to grow up “racially colorblind” in Hawaii.
At this time, I would like to extend my gratitude to the editors of the Tucson Citizen for this privilege of being a My Tucson columnist for 2008.
For the rest of the world, what does it mean to be a local from Hawaii?
We Hawaiians grow up learning to love the land (aloha ka ‘aina) and respect each other.
We live on six islands, and that means we are dependent on each other in a limited physical environment. It also means that you have to get along, no matter what your racial/ethnic background.
Being a local Hawaiian on the mainland means to hold on to your culture of aloha and to be patient with those who don’t know what that means.
It means to try to extend that extra kindness or gift giving we practice so readily back home. We can all carry that little bit of Hawai’i in our hearts.
We need to spread con sciously that aloha spirit as humans to each other. We need more caring and less conflict in our global society, and more tolerance and acceptance of differences, especially racially.
So, I am signing off for the 2008 year as a My Tucson columnist, with this simple two-word phrase (used on bumper stickers back home in Hawai’i).
Live Aloha.
Carolyn Classen, originally from Hawaii, is a former legislative aide to U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye and a former practicing attorney who now is a community volunteer and Small Claims Court hearing officer. E-mail: carolynclassen@yahoo.com
Carolyn Classen
