Mahalo: To Know, To Become, To Share

We have welcomed November well in our focus on parenting thus far: Mahalo nui to Pete Alden for his story, The Wise Son and mahalo nui to Starbucker, Toni, Chris, Leah, John Keoni, and David for their comments!

Our value of the month is mahalo, living in thankfulness, and I’d like to share a post I wrote last year about the trio I have long associated with this value, on appreciation, gratitude, and thankfulness, and how we can think of them as to know, to become, and to share.

From the archives: A Mahalo 3by3

Appreciation, Gratitude, and Thankfulness.

Differences? Or overflowing abundance of everything good …

4 words, including Mahalo, for when we have thankfulness as a way of living we feel blessedly rich. To have such an outlook is to feel a very sweet kind of contentment, don’t you think?

I took my cues from the dictionary for the definitions I share with you below, however I added to them with what I know of these things as Mahalo, my Hawaiian value of living in thankfulness.

APPRECIATION: Know.

From Webster - To value justly. Recognition of the quality, value, significance, or magnitude of people and things.

    Within Mahalo - Know how much you have at this very moment. Understand how unique you are, and stand tall. Realize there is no one else who is the person you are. To live in appreciation for the richness that makes your life so precious is to simply live in celebration of your sense of self. Take nothing in this day of your life for granted. Take exceptional care of the aloha within you, for it is the breath of your life.

GRATITUDE: Become.

From Webster - The state of being grateful; thankfulness.

    Within Mahalo - Become all you are capable of being, by using all your gifts, each and every one of them. Grow into every crevice of your capacity, filling it with worthiness. Test your limits joyfully, and with confidence palena ‘ole (without boundaries). Seek to complete yourself physically, intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually. In doing so, you acknowledge who you are in a manner which appreciates what others have done for you. You create prosperity and abundance so you will have more to give.

THANKFULNESS: Share.

From Webster - Aware and appreciative of a benefit; and expressive of gratitude.

    Within Mahalo - Share of who you are with the utmost respect for those who complete your life. Say “mahalo” or “thank you” often. Speak of your appreciation of others, and it will soften the tone of your voice, giving it both humility, and fullness. People need to hear words spoken from your aloha, and in speaking them you offer a generous gift. Use your own gifts to reveal those which exist in others all around you.

What would you add to these thoughts, for us as a community to live fully within the value of mahalo?

Let’s Talk Story!

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Our November Ho‘ohana; Mahalo, and When Parenting Works

New to Talking Story and wondering what is all about? More about Ho‘ohana here, and you can meet the Ho‘ohana Community here.

Comments

[James Shewmaker]

Rosa,

I separate these into four categories
Knowing - The process of learning
Becoming - The process of internal transformation
Living - The process of external exemplification
Communicating - The process of reproduction

The reason that I place a step between becoming and communicating is that a person should not try to remove a speck from another's eye when there is a plank in their own eye.

Incidently, the root of communicate is share.

Aloha,
James

P.S. Within Living, there is a five step ladder of execution, between each step of the ladder there is an opportunity for a roadblock (aka: a disconnect) to occur which prevents execution.

[Rosa]

I understand James, thank you for adding to the discussion with your thoughts. My intent was purely to look at the connections to mahalo rather than at this as a complete process, and I am drawn to the association of it all with sharing, for we feel better about the sharing we do with others when we value what we have to share first and foremost.