Friday, May 17, 2024 Our final day is dedicated to group work and presentations. Below,…
Daily Manaʻo for Cohort Kumukahi May 2024 – Wednesday
Wednesday, May 15, 2024
Kakaʻako Waterfront Park is one of my favorite places to spend the morning, especially when greeting the morning sunrise over the Koʻolau mountains as the sea winds arrive along the coast. The black ʻaʻama crabs scuttling along the rocks of the southern shore accompanied my initial morning walk along the shoreline with sea spray in the air. Being in Kaʻākaukukui, also within the ahupuaʻa of Waikīkī, helps us to understand more about the ʻāina of Mānoa from a slightly different perspective. Throughout the day, the ʻāina accompanied us on our journey, only raining at the close of our day, so we were able to remain warm and dry while still appreciating the beauty of the rain.
We were so fortunate and thankful to be hosted in the Sullivan Conference Center at the UH Cancer Center, where the walls of huge glass panels allowed us to feel as if we were still outside in the elements. To begin the day, some of us took a walk along the waterfront park, and my team member Makanalani and I stayed in our space with folks who preferred to stay inside or had already gone to see the water. Makanalani led our introduction to Kanaloa, and I was thinking very much about the idea of release, especially when thinking about how I was breathing in the scent of the ocean, then releasing my breath to the sea winds. Breathing always helps to center myself, which is important since we spent the morning discussing moʻokūʻauhau and tracing our many lineages to understand how our ancestors and predecessors shape us in unique ways. While we spent time with our moʻokūʻauhau, I am always so inspired by the bravery of the folks who participate in our cohort exercises since this work takes tremendous time and energy. Wednesday is always an important day for appreciation.
Before we ate our bentos from Sushi King for lunch (ʻono as always, thanks Aunty PMac!), our friends from the campus graciously led us on tours of their beautiful māla and art pieces. Our visit to the māla is always important for us to experience since the many medicinal plants growing there are important representations of how we as humans are in relationship with ʻāina, particularly through pathways of our health and well-being. The ahu located within their māla is held together by the cornerstones of elders who have come before, and the ahu contains a stone from our archipelago’s youngest and still-forming island named Kamaʻehuakanaloa.
At the close of our day, we again had the opportunity to hear everyone share one word that expresses something we were each taking with us at the end of the day. Many folks shared connection/collaboration, community, reflection, kuleana. Some folks shared words such as awareness, complicated, tender, expansive, full, and remembering.
