Helping Papa (mother's Earth)
In the last Polynesian dance class at KAUST, I was talking you about the tale of Papa and Wakea. At the end of the class, I read you a brief text of the real meaning of Aloha and how we can connect the hula steps and Tahitian dance moves with Nature. After a strong workout and when you, amazing hula dancer, was with your eyes closed, I was reading the following text:
"Aloha is being a part of all, and all being a part of me. When there is pain - it is my pain. When there is joy - it is also mine. I will not willfully harm anyone or anything. When food is needed I will take only my need and explain why it is being taken. The earth, the sky, the sea are mine to care for, to cherish and to protect [1]. "Kindly I work with unity, truthfulness, and humility. I am patient but I have perseverance." I decide to "joyfully share the breath of life". This is Hawaiian - this is Aloha!"
The only constant in life is "the change"
What I was not aware of, is that at the exact moment I was reading these words, Mexico, my country, was being hit by a horrible earthquake. The strangest thing ever was, that the epicenter took place in the state where I grew up, Morelos. It is not common at all that my hometown experience an epicenter, for that reason, houses are not prepared. Just take a look at what happened to the Earth where the origin of this terrible earthquake was:
Connecting again with the foundation
The last couple of days I was thinking of how weak we are, and that the only constant in life is "the change". That is the reason we have to live the Aloha Spirit each moment. I found also an interesting fact about Hawaiian culture. Did you know that they do not have a word for "nature" in the sense of "being outside in nature"? But they do have a word for "world" or "Earth", this is honua and it also means "background" or "foundation". The ancient Hawaiians did not view nature as being something separate from themselves because nature was their reality [1]. That is why many traditional hula dances connect with Mother Nature, the foundation of our physical world. Is it possible that Nature is shouting for help and telling us to reconnect with her?
Help Mexico, spread the Aloha Spirit
It is been sad days for Mexican people, lots of small towns and Mexico City are fully collapsed. There are even people from KAUST community that still don't know if they lose their homes. Today while I am writing this text, two earthquakes hit Mexico again, making some weak buildings collapse.
The Mexican community at KAUST is organizing themselves to provide extra help for reconstructing Mexico in the medium term, so in the next couple of days if you know a Mexican ask the way you can help. Or if you prefer to donate directly to the Red Cross, you can do it through the following link.
In the meantime, I invite you today to spread the Aloha spirit through our hula dance moves. We will dedicate our session to all the victims in Mexico, dancing the Tahitian song E Hau, which talks about providing peace and love to death people.
You can see the Tahitian dance video here:
Maururu (Thank you in Tahitian),
References:
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