“Inspiration” is ‘in-spirit.’ Thus Inspiration is Aloha.

HCer* Joanna Young has been asking us this month, “What inspires you?”

Her theme for her coaching at Confident Writing has been Fire-Breathing Dragons: Inspiration Is The Theme For March, a follow-up to another conversation I was delighted to participate in with her.

As you might imagine, my immediate stream of consciousness answers, as the sources of my inspiration, spill out as;

• Aloha (thus, Managing with Aloha),
• Ho‘ohana (thus this site),
• New learning of some kind (thus Brex, and my moonlighting as the managing editor of Joyful Jubilant Learning), and
• Opportunities for energetic creativity (thus my Ho‘ohana Aloha tumbling).

I’d like to expand a bit more on Aloha for today.

In the work I do…

…I am inspired when I see someone connect to their own spirit of Aloha personally: It reaffirms my core beliefs about the inherent goodness in people, and thus the sense of hope and promise I carry with me. I truly believe that human beings are only born good, and meant to produce more good.

This is one of those instances for me where, to paraphrase a once-popular song, “if I am wrong, I don’t want to be right.”

You could correctly say that this is a decision or conclusion I have come to by way of the values I have chosen to live my life by; I wouldn’t argue the point. You could accurately say that I have bought into the stories that many kūpuna (elders) have shared with me; stories about how their values have played out in their lives. I eagerly gulp in their evidential validity hook, line and sinker and admit that I do: A person’s immutable truth (Nānā i ke kumu for them) is not something I question; I know they are conclusions I accept as fact, inspired by the journey they have taken to arrive there.

“The greatest friend of truth is Time, her greatest enemy is Prejudice, and her constant companion is Humility”
—Charles Caleb Colton, English cleric, writer and collector of aphorisms and short essays on conduct (1780-1832)
—Shared with me by Lynette Spicer in Humility in the Workplace

Come to think of it, I suppose this is why biographies are my second favorite genre of books to read (behind non-fiction business)… they are Nānā i ke kumu stories of self-mastery and personal self-attuned thinking people are willing to share; it is their aloha spirit.

In the life I live…

…I am inspired when I see those expressions that people more commonly associate with Aloha; the sharing of the Aloha Spirit in the ‘social graces.’ One of the hopes that I have for our world is simply to see us become much nicer to each other, with behavior that is befitting of our own personal dignity (Ho‘ohanohano). We have a long way to go with our giving of respect.

“I love customer service. I firmly believe that customer service is the new marketing, and that companies that provide great customer service will far surpass those who don’t in the coming years. It won’t be products that separate the good companies from the great companies; it will be the service those great companies provide that will elevate them to greatness.”
~ Phil Gerbyshak for Joyful Jubilant Learning within a book review on The Celebrity Experience by Donna Cutting

I could not agree more. And I believe we have to focus on basic social graces, not just the expediency of efficient customer service. Yes, we love it when we are attended to quickly, however we want to be treated well, with enough time and attention given to us in the genuine expression that we matter. We want the aloha connection.
~ Commentary I added on Ho‘ohana Aloha, March 19th

I am inspired by parents today who are teaching their children to be polite, to be helpful, and to be kind. I am inspired by teachers who expect these social graces of respect in their classrooms, and by business owners who expect them in their workplaces, and seek to associate an aloha reputation with their brand (and reputation is awarded by others, not self-proclaimed).
[HCer* April Groves wrote a great guest post for me at Talking Story in regard to this: The Business End of Southern Hospitality, and her parenting essays are wonderful too.]

We, my husband and I, would say that our son and daughter have good manners, and that they are quite polite and helpful, yet we could have done much more with demonstrating our own kindness to others outside the family so that they in turn, would be more civic minded and generous in the giving they in turn now deliver outside their circles of friends and family. We, and I, can still do so much more.

Thus seeing these things in others, people more kind, generous, thoughtful and giving than I, inspires me greatly. Good manners and civility merely scratch the surface: Genuine giving of our aloha goes deeper, affecting both giver and receiver.

I need to be more of an originator and less of a watcher. Inspiration for more good is a very, very good reason.

“Inspiration” is when we can say we are ‘in-spirit’ and have the respect for each other which helps us be better. Thus to me, Inspiration is Aloha.

Your turn: What is inspiration to you?

I would love to hear from you. We Ho‘ohana together,
~ Rosa

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Mahalo, thank you for reading today.

• If you would like to read more about Aloha, you may enjoy Aloha in A Love Affair with Writing, another writing inspiration I thank, and appreciate Joanna for!
• If you would like to read more about Ho‘ohanohano you have picked the perfect month, and I recommend you start here: Ho‘ohanohano: No more jerks for managers
• If you would like to read more about Nānā i ke kumu, try this one: Ho‘ohana; Nānā i ke kumu, Look to your Source
• I have written about the ‘social graces’ connected to Ho‘okipa, the Hawaiian value of hospitality. You can read a short post (and challenge!) here:  A charge for the Ho‘okipa Brigade: Social Graces

*HCer stands for Ho‘ohana Community member. Join up!

Photo Credit: "Did I say something funny?" found on Flickr by capn madd matt.

Comments

[Joanna Young]

Rosa, I love the simplicity of inspiration as in-spirit. And for me inspiration has become entwined with the idea of breath - breathing in deep (like going to the well...) and then breathing out our truth, our values, our selves

When we do that - we make connections, we inspire others, we change things.

Thanks Rosa for exploring this further with me and your readers

Joanna

[Rosa Say]

Joanna, these words of yours - "(like going to the well...) and then breathing out our truth, our values, our selves" is what Nānā i ke kumu has always been for me, yet you make the connection to aloha so well with speaking of connection and inspiring others too. It is a gift to be able to speak these things with you, mahalo.