Mindfulness is the practice of paying attention to the present moment, without judging it. It is most often practiced through meditation, mindful activities or mindful breathing. I see mindfulness as coordinating my mind with my heart because I feel like my heart is beating and therefore living for the present moment. What if this practice was The Law?
Well, it is in some places. In Hawai’i it’s called the Aloha Spirit. To tourists, Aloha is a friendly greeting of “hello” or “nice to see you.” To kama’āina like me (those born in or residents of the islands), the word is far more complex and its use corresponds with many intentions - all of them good. Here is how the practice of Aloha is enshrined in law in Hawai’i (Hawai’i Revised Statute (HRS) 5-7.5):
| (a) Aloha Spirit is the coordination of mind and heart within each person. It brings each person to the self. Each person must think and emote good feelings to others. In the contemplation and presence of the life force, "Aloha", the following unuhi laula loa may be used: Akahai, meaning kindness to be expressed with tenderness; Lokahi, meaning unity, to be expressed with harmony; Oluolu, meaning agreeable, to be expressed with pleasantness; Haahaa, meaning humility, to be expressed with modesty; and Ahonui, meaning patience, to be expressed with perseverance. These are traits of character that express the charm, warmth and sincerity of Hawaii's people. It was the working philosophy of native Hawaiians and was presented as a gift to the people of Hawaii. Aloha is more than a word of greeting or farewell or a salutation. Aloha means mutual regard and affection and extends warmth in caring with no obligation in return. Aloha is the essence of relationships in which each person is important to every other person for collective existence. Aloha means to hear what is not said, to see what cannot be seen and to know the unknowable. (b) In exercising their power on behalf of the people and in fulfillment of their responsibilities, obligations and service to the people, the legislature, governor, lieutenant governor, executive officers of each department, the chief justice, associate justices, and judges of the appellate, circuit, and district courts may contemplate and reside with the life force and give consideration to the Aloha Spirit. |
Being kind, expressed with tenderness (akahai); united, expressed with harmony (lokahi); agreeable, expressed with pleasantness (oluolu); humble, expressed with modesty (haahaa); and patient, expressed with perseverance (ahonui) do require some mindfulness effort. In my case, some considerable effort!
We all have our challenges but I find it pretty easy to practice these and other traits of Aloha when dealing with some situations but not with others. I am proud of my Aloha practice in these circumstances, but I wasn’t always this way! Sometimes at the hospital the irritation of a new policy or standard operating procedure would make me get off my practice of Aloha - oh, there are so many of those examples! Trying to practice Aloha when driving – that was a real challenge, too. As if I never made any mistakes when driving!
When I started seeing myself in other people - and that their mistakes were the same transgressions I had sometimes previously made - things changed for the better for me. I just came to realize that their unhappiness, their anxiety, their stress, was not going to rub off on me today. I was going to keep my regard and affection for them in place and extend my warmth - as a smile, a kind gesture or maybe just not saying anything at their moment of melting with silent recognition of “been there, done that”. When dealing with a difficult family I try to lead with my heart and with akahai.
I generally know what the right thing is to do, but sometimes my mind steps off the mindfulness path onto a path I shouldn’t be on. But now I coordinate from my heart to my mind. That makes all the difference for me. What has helped me build a daily mindfulness practice each day is to choose a unuhi laula loa to focus on for that day, from akahai to ahonui on the list above. Then I began to focus on two each day, and so forth.
What if we enshrined these same concepts in our hospital and health centre policies? Focusing on building a mindfulness practice can be helped with specific goals in mind. When we acknowledge the importance of these concepts in our daily work lives to build a more mindful place to take care of others, wouldn’t our work lives be better? All you need is some ahonui.