Dennis the Menace gets what Mellow Ma‘alahi Mālama is all about

We get to start on Beat 2 of our 5-Beat Rhythm (in the box below for your quick reference) with the joy of learning from Dennis the Menace!

Due to copyright, I cannot give you the comic itself here, but you can see it at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. I caught it in our local Sunday paper (March 30th).

The dialogue says it all pretty perfectly: Dennis and his mom are out in the garden;

Dennis Trivia: click on the image for a bigger view.
[more on the official website for Hank Ketcham’s Dennis the Menace]

Ya know mom, if ya dig a little deeper
We can put in a swimmin’ pool!

How come ya like gardening so much?

Lots of reasons, (his mom responds)
Fresh air…
Plenty of exercise…
Spending time in the sun…
Having lots of fresh vegetables… (Dennis gags at that one)
The feeling of accomplishment.

You’re leavin’ out the best part! (Dennis interrupts her)
Playin’ with all this great dirt!

What’s the best part of the work you do?

That’s where your mellow Mālama maintenance should be directed.

Even Dennis knows that not much can grow in lousy dirt.

There may be a little Hawaiian in him...

“Hawaiians did not regard land as just a lifeless object to be used or discarded as one would treat any ordinary material thing. As part of the great earth, land is alive - it breathes, moves, reacts, behaves, adjusts, grows, sickens, dies.

Imagine how this perception of land would affect the attitude of a taro planter feeling the soft mud in his lo‘i oozing around his toes or his fingers, as he works to raise the little pu‘u or mounds, in which to set the huli.

A modern city dweller, who has never stepped on anything softer than asphalt, might feel squeamish about all this. But the earth-loving planter finds something very real and sensual about feeling the “good earth.”

—George Hu‘eu Sanford Kanahele, Kū Kanaka, Stand Tall

Need a reminder on Beats 1 and 2 of our monthly habit rhythm?

BEAT 1. We start with an essay on the value of the month. When you read it, take some time to write down two things: 1) Your questions - add them to the comments if you want me to address them! Others in the community may be thinking the same thing, and we can get some synergy going here. 2) Your intention in learning more about the value - understand that your intention creates a kind of intuitive magic for you the rest of the month; when you capture your early thoughts, connections will get made in the days to follow. You wake up your self-attuned attentions. All you need to do this is paper, pencil, and the reading time for this Day One Essay: Mellow Maintenance Mālama. Mālama and our 5-Beat Rhythm: Getting April Started in the Best Way. BEAT 2. During the month I will continue to write about that value. My articles here are designed to trigger you into making decisions on how you can apply what you are learning as immediately and as repetitively as possible so you can replace old habits with newer, more useful ones. For this prompting, courtesy of Dennis the Menace, focus on that question I asked: What’s the best part of the work you do? What is the mellowest, most enjoyable part then, of playing in the dirt with it, as you work to Mālama it (take care of it as a steward would) and maintain it in the simplest, yet most effective way? Can you take some specific actions TODAY? If not, WHY NOT? Ask why five times. What can you do to be sure you can take those actions tomorrow?

Quick reminder: Today and tomorrow are the last two days to sign up for April Coaching if you would like it.

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Catching up with us? It is always a good time to dip in for us, if it is for YOU! This is the “Language of Intention” you will find I write with during April:

• Mālama is our value study for the month. Like my tag line says at the top of the page, Value your Month to Value your Life in a great way. My mission is the reconstruction of the workplace, with great spill-over into our personal lives. Briefly, Mālama is the value of caring and stewardship.
• Mellow Mālama Maintenance is our mantra this month, and it is explained in more detail within this Day One Essay (as is Mālama).
• Our 5-Beat Rhythm is our monthly Habit-Generator: Read all about it here, and print a free template. This was Beat 1 for April on Mālama.
• Don’t forget to subscribe! RSS and Email choices are here.