Aloha is a word you hear often in Hawaii. While many visiting Hawaii are taught that it means hello, goodbye, love, etc. it's true meaning is much more powerful than a simple greeting.
In the Hawaiian language, Aloha is a very spiritual word. The word itself is composed of two separate words each of equal importance to the overall meaning. Alo meaning presence or essence, and ha meaning life. When you wish someone Aloha, you acknowledge the life inside of them.
In our ash scattering services at sea we acknowledge the life that lives on through us all. In Hawaii, young children are taught about the Spirit of Aloha through a little saying:
Aloha is being a part of all, and all being a part of me.
This saying is oh so relevant during our ash scattering cruises, because all those in attendance have interacted on some level with the deceased, and through that interaction they have become connected. Our kahus, or Hawaiian ministers, often discuss our lifeline, our bloodline, and how through this our family will always live on through us. Through this we can find comfort that our loved ones will never be truly gone, because our memories of them imprint onto our lives and effect the way we move forward with others.
This creates a chain through which we connect with everyone, living out the definition of Aloha.
This creates a chain through which we connect with everyone, living out the definition of Aloha.
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