Makahiki...

Today we had a most beautiful closing ceremony for the Makahiki Season with the pa'ahao, the inmates, at Halawa Correctional Facility. The presence of Ke Akua, Lono, our ancestors, and the powerful Aloha spirit permeated the reinforced concrete walls. It was a time of reflection. Of redemption. Of forgiveness. Of Light. Of Love.

We learned to huli the Naha stones in our lives. What seems inhumanly possible becomes achievable only with the kokua of na kupuna. With ha'aha'a. Humility. With Aloha pau'ole...all things are possible. We also learned to give the Pōhaku Kea, the white stones, in life...to stop making war..with ourselves.

We learned to allow our spirits to know no boundaries. No constraints. No restraints. Except the walls we painfully erect around ourselves to hide from the Light. The Light which we fear exposes the unlovable. The worthless. The ugly. The monsters. The failures. The people we see in the mirror. The people we see reflected painfully in the eyes of loved ones. Who cease to exist in the bright blinding Light of Ke Akua's unconditional love.

And we shall finish the unfinished dreams of our kupuna. We, the mo'opuna, will make our ancestors proud. We will be the shining beacon which makes all of their sacrifice and suffering worth it. We shall overturn the Naha stones. We shall set our spirits free. We shall save this World. One man at a time...