Be Aloha: 14 Ways
May 21, 2019
“Aloha has become a very universal word, heard all around the world. But what does this word mean beyond the greeting we so often hear?” asks Lahela Chandler Correa, co-founder of Aloha Movement Kauai in the forward of the “Aloha: What it Means to My ‘Ohana.” This book, based on Correa’s life lessons of Aloha and written for elementary school children by Aloha Movement co-founder Ann Hettinger, has been used for curriculum in local public schools and expanded into three editions for lower elementary, upper elementary and adult. It outlines 14 different meanings of Aloha and how these lessons can be applied in everyday life. “It doesn’t matter if you are white, black, blue or green, I believe we all have Aloha,” Correa writes. “Aloha is considered the gift of the Hawaiian people to the world.”
Timbers Kauai is proud to partner with Living Aloha to share this insight into local tradition and culture with our residents, guests, and friends.
Aloha is a Greeting
This is important as to how you say hello or goodbye. It must be said with true aloha from the pu’uwai (heart).
Aloha as expressed in everyday life: Give someone a shaka (Hawaiian hand gesture to say Aloha) with a big mino’aka (smile on your face). In Hawaii, we also give a pūliki (hug) and kiss honi (kiss) to say Aloha.
What Aloha means to you: “You can say Aloha means hello, but it’s more of a feeling in Hawaii. It’s how you make someone feel and it’s just good vibes,” says Debbie Edgerton, Senior Sales Executive for Timbers Kauai who was born and raised on the Big Island and currently lives on Kauai with her husband and two daughters. “Aloha is welcome, it’s how have you been, it’s mindfulness in thinking about others and showing sincerity. It’s really showing genuine love and embracing someone with a word … it’s like a hug but in a word.”
