Pupukahi i holomua . . .

'Auhea 'oukou e nā hoa pepeiao? He momi kēia! This morning I share with you a wise saying of our kūpuna. Pupukahi i holomua. Unite to move forward. When we look closely at this 'ōlelo no'eau we see that by working together we move forward and make progress. The key to working together is lōkahi, unity. But how do we bring a group of diverse people together and ho'olōkahi, create unity and oneness among them? We know it is not an easy task, but it is possible. First we need a good alaka'i, a good leader. The alaka'i finds commonalities in the group, provides motivation and inspiration and keeps the group on task. Second, we must have vision. When we have a common goal and everyone can visualize the end result, we become unified by the mission and leave our own personal agendas aside. Third, there needs to be a degree of ha'aha'a, humility within each person. Ku'ia ka hele a ka na'au ha'aha'a, hesitant walks the humble hearted. When we put others before ourselves we create harmony, closeness and genuine concern for each other. This builds unity. The alaka'i is the key example of ha'aha'a. When we think of our ali'i, the highest ranking nobles in traditional and post contact Hawaiian society, they exemplified the ability to ho'olōkahi, bring a group together in harmony and unity. This is what made them successful ali'i, for an ali'i cannot really be an ali'i without followers - people who support them, follow them and heed their words. We can learn much from the examples of our traditional alaka'i, the leaders of old. Pupukahi i holomua! Aloha nō, a hui hou!

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