It’s been a little over 5 years since I visited the island of Kauai, Hawaii, where I have gone to learn how to ‘Live Aloha’! In the Hawaiian language, “Aloha“ may mean love, affection, compassion, mercy, sympathy, pity, kindness or grace. Living Aloha is the bringing together of mind and heart within yourself. I feel when you ‘Live Aloha’ you think and express good feelings to others.

And that’s what I feel I did most recently as I visited the Hawaiian islands this past month. I lived Aloha! I felt the good feelings of others and in return expressed good feelings to others around me. A visit to the Hawaiian islands can be either fast paced, explore… adventure… sight see; or it can be slow paced, relax, unwind, rejuvenate. It has so much to offer and if you’ve never been, I recommend to for sure put it on your bucket list to visit someday! A great place to learn more is by visiting the official Hawaiian Tourism Authority site https://www.gohawaii.com/.

As for me, this last visit was a combination of slow… fast… then slow paced! My lovely wife and I took the time to ‘slow pace’ our time when it was just the two of us, and once my sister-in-law came out to visit us as a last minute trip, we ramped it up to ‘fast paced’! The minute she arrived, we literally went from 0-60! 🙂 It was her first time as an adult to Kauai and she was ready to ‘see it all’. We had so much fun having her bring new energy of excitement and fun, yet I’m not going to lie, she ran so fast, my wife and I had to recover the week after she left to recoup our energies!

As I reflect on my adventure and visit to the islands, I am reminded of a journal entry from June of 2014. It was one of the highlights of my life and I was blessed to go on this adventure again this past month. ‘One of the best highlights of our trip was on captain Andy’s Chartered Sail Excursion off the Na Pali Coast. Incredible, amazing, breathtaking, most spiritual moments ever. Words can’t express how I felt during this adventure. We disembarked from Port Allen on the Akialoa vessel, found some spinner dolphins, snorkeled amongst a sea of native fish and even swam alongside a green sea turtle to shore off the Na Pali coast. We saw picturesque waterfalls, sea caves, isolated golden beaches, and towering majestic cliffs. As the sails were up and we were heading back, being powered solely by wind, the spirit hit me and testified to me yet again of the truthfulness of a living God that loves and cares for His children here on this earth. All of us being of one purpose, individually learning what we need to learn to return to his presence. I’m so grateful to be able to have this experience and hope to remember it for the eternities!’

I feel so blessed to have been able to visit and experience what the islands of Hawaii have to offer and I can’t wait until my next visit! Aloha ‘Oe and A Hui Hou Kākou : Until we meet again Hawaii!!