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70 thoughts on “The Aloha Spirit In Hawaii Gone Missing”

  1. My 3 weeks on Kauai were perfect. A shaka here and there, people smiling and having a good time. Local and visitor alike. It couldn’t have been better
    Aloha!

    10
  2. Aloha…a simple word for the greatest concept of how people can live in harmony ever conceived by human beings ( mahalo Hawaiians! )
    That aloha also guides our interactions with the natural world makes it a greater concept than any other moral guide I know of. Humanity owes an eternal debt to Hawaiians.

    8
  3. Aloha could be summed up in the well known words “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” It isn’t difficult or impossible. We just need to keep trying – no matter who we are and where we live.

    15
    1. Hi Colleen.

      Thanks Colleen. You’re a good example of aloha. We appreciate the years of comments – nearly 400 to date. And of course getting to meet you guys as well

      Aloha.

      2
      1. We will be on Big Island in June – but won’t make it to Kauai this trip. Thanks for all your great posts! Aloha!!!

  4. Today I was at my granddaughter’s May Day hula dance at her school (K-5). I saw Aloha everywhere. I saw a small child stumble and fall, and a lady walking by stopped to help him up, and make sure he was o.k…the parents nodded to the lady with gratitude and an an all-knowing of what Aloha really is. Everyone stopped to hug the aunties (we are all aunties) and the people they knew. I felt a moment of pride, that I live here and this is how we see each other. And to see it expressed as we walk through life together, being with each other, once again, I was awestruck by Kauai and by Hawaii culture. I can only hope to be that person on the planet.

    9
  5. From the time island boys saw our predicament and lifted our car out of a hole to when we were included in a local park re-opening prayer ceremony (after the Tsunami destroyed the park)–the time the cop let us go with no speeding ticket to sharing the beach with locals. We’ve been shown the Aloha spirit in many ways big and small.

    6
  6. We will be visiting Oahu from June 30-July 31 of this year & it has been almost 20 years since we last visited. We love Oahu because the Aloha spirit is truly in everything you see & everyone you meet. I hope it is still there. We always bring Aloha & respect when visiting. I’m not insulting Kauai when I say that I felt the Aloha spirit really lacking in ’10, when we visited. I had a ton of change & paid for my purchase…$6.88, at an ABC Store on Kauai. The employee working the register was very unfriendly! She did not appreciate my change.Oahu is our island of choice. Lots of Aloha!

    4
    1. It’s still here. Approach people with a gentle greeting and a warm smile, and your Aloha will be returned.

      1
  7. Alas one reason for the complaint Aloha is done are the constant stream of Malahinis who behave like they did on the mainland. They do not understand the real meaning. Not every one but there are a growing number with all the development and upscale Condos being put up anywhere and everywhere.

    6
    1. Those Malahinis have been coming full-force for decades. Think of the expression “Ugly American”. Not a new thing.

      I think we are more sensitized to it lately because of the constant discussion about it.

      You easily see what you look for sometimes.

      1. In all honesty? It is not rude to speak up, to speak the truth and demand what we’ve asked for, a long time now. Its unfortunate, that a smile and our intent?Cannot be seen through a computer screen.
        The Industry needs to do a better Job of informing their clients of Life in Hawaii. Many have a lack of respect for our people, oceans, land and though naive? Can be Said? It cannot be excusable, because that would mean? They are uninformed! They can read? They still trespass or park on the grass!? Go touch what they not supposed to?!
        Help them understand. After all? The industry is what brings them here. No?
        Then it becomes much easier and less a feeling of disrespect to those who live are rooted here… Aloha..

        1. Hana, the people whose lives are rooted here are just as much to blame. They, too, trespass and park on the grass in all the neighborhoods, touch what they’re not supposed to, burn the campfires and litter the beaches and sidewalks, drive recklessly killing people on the highways, and show a basic lack of respect for the land. I see it daily.

          Please try to be fair and admit that most people who are here or who come here respect the land and customs of the Hawaiian people. If you must judge and speak up against those who don’t, understand that it applies to all of the people on our islands, not just the Malahinis.

          1
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