The sand was wet from the recent rain. The surf was high, breaking over the barrier guarding the cove. The sky was grey with heavy clouds.

And I was free.

There were only a very few people on the small beach; a family with two little kids playing in the sand, two Hawaii born and bred young men jumping into the saltwater from a rock, and an old white-haired artist painting the waves.

And I, soon to be lost in the warm and welcoming arms of the ocean. The sand under my feet was smooth but firm as I walked to the ocean, soon giving way to a few rocks hidden under the white water. 

I swam towards the barrier, the waves towering high above me but breaking against the rock right before they could swallow me. A turtle swam by me and danced in the moving water. When I put my head underwater, all I could hear was the muffled sounds of the ocean, so comforting that I wanted to never resurface.

And then, during one of the many trips for a gulp of air, suddenly, it was raining. The sweet water splattered against the salty ocean and sent a mixture of tiny droplets against my cheeks and eyes. It felt like if I was underwater even when my eyes were open and looking back at the beach, the cliffs, and the grey cloudy sky.

And in this perfect moment, a sense of complete and absolute freedom washed over me as if I became a part of the ocean, as if I became water myself, inseparable from what was surrounding me.

“Aloha is being a part of all, and all being a part of me.”

This is just a part of what kids used to learn about the deeper meaning of Aloha.

At that moment, it felt like if the islands themselves were trying to teach me, the sky, the ocean, and the land being the greatest mentors. I disappeared and became all. Nothing mattered but all. And I loved and felt loved by… it all.

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The previous Searching-the-Aloha article is HERE.

You can find all the previous (and the ones that are to follow) posts from Hawaii HERE.

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And have a day full of the feeling of unity! 🙂

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