Be Aloha: 14 Ways

“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 her book “Aloha: What it Means to My ‘Ohana.”

Based on Correa’s life lessons of Aloha and written for elementary school children by Aloha Movement co-founder Ann Hettinger, the book has been used for curriculum in local public schools and expanded into three editions for lower-elementary, upper-elementary and adult audiences. 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.”

Hokuala Kauai is proud to partner with Aloha Movement to share this insight into local tradition and culture with our residents, guests, and friends.

Aloha is Kindness

The meaning of kindness: showing caring, compassion, empathy and generosity from the heart.

Mana as expressed in everyday life: When you are out surfing with your hoaloha (friend) and you let them get the best set wave instead of taking it yourself. Or offering a co-worker, friend or even a stranger a sincere compliment to brighten their day.

What aloha means to you: “[Aloha] in the form of kindness is to always be in a place of gratitude.

Everything in our environment, where we come from, is alive. So, in the gentle tradewind that’s wafting over us, in the eye to eye contact with someone we may not know, that we are meeting for the first time.  We always come from a place of kindness and compassion, and as we are taught by our tutus, always first and foremost, from gratitude.

To be gratitude in every breath, in every interaction, and to make one feel at home and welcomed and comfortable is our goal.  Not being attached to the outcome or what you may receive, but feeling the gratitude of being able to convey your aloha in the ha of the breath, being in gratitude for what we have, and sharing that so freely is ultimately what we live on, what we pride ourselves on as Hawaiians, and what we hope to reach and connect to everyone that we come into contact with.  “ – Joy Kamakea Stedman, Timbers Kauai Sales Executive