The Spirit of Aloha in Beautiful Stories

Welcome to this week’s art show. With the inauguration one week away I am focused on how beautiful and exciting it is to see history be made right in front of us. Yes, it’s historical that we have elected a black man for president, but for me the more historical significance is how as a nation we have decided through our voting process to change the course of America. I firmly believe we are now pointed in the direction of original forefathers wanted to be pointed in. I am so proud of our country. It’s for this reason that the theme for this week’s show is beautiful stories.

The preface to the beautiful stories I’m going to share with you this week and their relationship to art stems from my belief in the spirit of Aloha. I have been asked numerous times as to why the voicemail to my studio phone welcomes you with an Aloha greeting, and I’ve been asked numerous times as to why I wear a Hawaiian Whale’s Tail necklace. The ancient belief behind the Hawaiian Whale’s Tail necklace is that it will bring the wearer wisdom, but for me the Hawaiian Whale’s Tail necklace, and the reason why I wear it everyday, is to remind myself of the Aloha spirit that I so very dearly believe in.

The reason I love the Aloha spirit comes from the very word itself, the word Aloha is a combination of ‘Alo’ meaning presence, the front, or the face. "Alo" is the presence of ‘us’ as we greet one another. The second half of the word Aloha is ‘ha", which means breath. So it is that Aloha, when we met and say the word Aloha that we are in essence exchanging breathes between us, welcoming each other with the literal meaning of aloha as "the presence of breath" or "the breath of life." We are giving each other the ability to breath and live. Aloha is a way of living and treating each other with love and respect.

Another question I get regarding my voicemail message is why I close out my message by saying Mahalo. Mahalo, similar to Aloha is a combination of words which is in actuality a blessing. The first part of the divine blessing Mahalo is ‘Ma" which means ‘In’, the second syllable is ‘Ha’, meaning breath, and ‘’Alo’ meaning the presence of us. Combine the three syllables of the blessing Mahalo and it translates into "May you be in Divine Breath." So, if you put Aloha and Mahalo together you have the presence of Divine Breath as an invocation and Mahalo as a Divine blessing. Both are acknowledgments of the Divinity that dwells within us. And this is the basis for the Aloha spirit, the giving of life and gratitude to each other. But Aloha is also a way of living and treating each other with love and respect. The deep meaning of Aloha starts by teaching ourselves to love our own beings first and afterwards to spread the love to others. According to the old Hawaiian priests, the ancient kahunas, being able to live the Spirit of Aloha is a way of reaching the realization for our own body and soul. Following the spirit of Aloha is to send and receive a positive energy. The Aloha spirit is to live in harmony. When you live the Spirit of Aloha, you create positive feelings and thoughts, which are never gone. They exist in space, multiply and spread over to others. Aloha" is more than a word of greeting or farewell or a salutation. "Aloha" means mutual regard and affection and extends warmth in caring with no obligation in return. "Aloha" is the essence of relationships in which each person is important to every other person for collective existence. And so it is my friends that at the end of each Radio Show I close out with saying to each of you, Peace & Love. I say it in the spirit of Aloha.

I mentioned earlier that the preface to this week’s topic of beautiful stories was first an understanding of the Aloha spirit. The reason understanding the spirit of the Aloha comes before mentioning a couple of beautiful stories to you is that each story has the spirit of aloha woven between the words.

Here’s what happened last week, a beautiful story that I don’t think would have happened if it wasn’t for the spirit of Aloha. First, I have to ask, how’s all this relate to art? All art, or at least art I create, has a story behind it – a purpose. Living in the spirit of Aloha means your eyes and heart are open to receive stories as they unfold. So it is that the story I’m about to tell you started a long time ago after I got an amplifier for my acoustic guitar. I tried playing my guitar through the amplifier in my home, but the small rooms in my home just couldn’t let the amplifier sing. I needed a larger room to play in. Down the street my from my studio in Hyannis a pub advertised an Open Mic. I thought I’d sign up, plug in the amp, and try it out. I walked into the pub around three o’clock in the afternoon the day of the Open Mic. I signed up for the 7:00 spot that evening. After I signed up I turned to exit. At three in the afternnon the pub was empty, except for two young guitarists named George and Bobby who were playing their electric guitars. Both of them were just barely out of high school. They sounded very good, and in the spirit of Aloha I complimented them.

When I returned later that evening to play, the two young guitarists, George and Bobby, were sitting at the table directly in front of the stage. I started to play a few very simple chords, and I noticed they were musically following the rhythm. I asked them if they could ‘hear’ the melody. They nodded so I invited them on the stage to accompany me. It was like we had played together for one hundred and fifty years. My rhythmic acoustic guitar being amplified, and their electric guitars were a perfect match.

The next week I returned, and again they accompanied me, only this time, in the true spirt of Aloha, their friend a drummer joined us. The week after that their friend the bass player joined us. It wasn’t long before the word spread and each week different musicians, all very talented showed up and played. One night a young man came in with a digital recorder under his arm and set up shop. He was going to record our music and sell us a CD of it for $5. It was then that only the spirit of Aloha could provide, that the band took a break. On stage was George and I, we were both interested in playing rather than taking a break. I should mention here that George is the unique type of teenager that wears his troubles on his sunken shoulders. His confidence and self-esteem seemed to be a half step behind his easy going manner. I put three simple chords together and played them softly and George went to work producing a beautiful lead guitar over the chords. You could hear a pin drop amongst the crowd. It sounded great, the type of music a parent would be proud of. It was captured on CD, but George didn’t have $5 so, in the spirit of Aloha, I bought it for him. I told him I’d buy it, but that he’d have to give it to his mother, which he did.

As time progressed George went to the local community college, which didn’t go well for him. He just wasn’t interested, which his grades reflected. Then one night this past week as I was setting up my amplifier to play, George said to me, "I came by to play guitars with you tonight and say goodbye." I was confused. He said, "You’ve inspired me to go to school for music. I’m leaving for North Carolina in the morning."

George was so proud of himself. It turned out his passion for music, and perhaps the CD his mother heard, demonstrated George’s potential to raise his head and smile. I could plainly see that George found his purpose through his music, his passion had unlocked his confidence, self-esteem, and motivation. In the spirit of Aloha we had exchanged a divine blessing, and in the spirt of Mahola we were grateful for the exchange.

When George arrived at school he sent me an email it read: Thanks for the support. Like I said I’ll take that with me, I’m gonna need it. I’ll be back in March from the 7th to the 15th, and then again sometime in May for a couple of months. I look forward to the future jams. peace - George

The story of George and it’s creation from the spirit of Aloha relates to art. It’s within each painting, poem or song that each of us, I believe, have the ability to exercise our own gift of Aloha. During the hours, or days, that it may take to produce a piece of art we have time to think and contemplate. It’s what we think of that comes out in our art. It’s what we think of that will be placed in front of the observer. They will be seeing our thoughts and emotions. I believe that if we live within the spirt of Aloha our thoughts and emotions will be positive and giving. Our translatation of these thoughts and emotions will be represented in our work. I believe it’s our daily interactions with those around us, friend or stranger, and what we give each, that will come out in what we produce, whether it’s a painting, poem, or song. It’s all a direct reflection of Aloha.

Inspiring George to find a place of comfort for his purpose as a musician for me was a beautiful story. A story I probably would not have recognized if it wasn’t for my interest in opening my mind and heart to the spirit of Aloha and Mahalo. But sometimes the spirit of Aloha can be soft spoken, barely detectable.

 

Plugs

Quincy Jones has started a petition to ask President-Elect Obama to appoint a Secretary of the Arts. While many other countries have had Ministers of Art or Culture for centuries, The United States has never created such a position. We in the arts need this and the country needs the arts--now more than ever. Please take a moment to sign this important petition and then pass it on to your friends and colleagues. www.petitiononline.com/esnyc/petition.html

I saw a press conference the other day. Colin Powell was describing a great idea. Colin Powell was announcing that President-elect Obama believes that we, as Americans, have a responsibility to help our communities and fellow citizens. In summoning a new spirit of service, Collin Powell was calling on us to make an enduring commitment to our neighborhoods. Colin Powell, on behalf of President-elect Obama that each of us, very American volunteer two hours per week. He described a web site where you plug in your zip code and up comes a listing of places in need of volunteers. I checked it out and this weekend six people and I are painting a children’s shelter in Hyannis. The web site to sing up for Let's Renew America Together is http://usaservice.org/