Tutu Wisdom: The Story of Alana

As is common for most of this at this time of year, I have been thinking a lot about my family, my friends and my loved ones. I was thinking the other day about all the influences on my life and who has been the strongest. Without a doubt, my Tutu (grandmother) has been one of the major driving forces in making me the person I am today. She taught me about my people, our culture and how we can heal ourselves and others through both physical and mental work.

I spoke to my grandmother over the weekend as I was writing on the Aloha Life and wanted her advice on how to present certain concepts. As we talked, suddenly all of these memories and stories started to come rushing back to me. One I would like to share is the story of Alana.

Alana was a young girl who lived on the island of Kaua'i. Alana's family had often spoke of a magical place in the middle of the jungle where a fantastic waterfall cascaded down into a pool of the purest water. Alana dreamt about this place and one day asked her makua (father) how to get there.

Alana’s makua smiled at the girl and pulled out a large machete. He pointed toward the dense foliage covering the mountain and said, “My dear, that is the way. Go and enjoy yourself.”

Alana was upset that her makua would not just take her but she set out in the direction he sent her. She reached the edge of the jungle and realized she could not even see light coming through the trees. She began swinging the machete and began to cut away at the brush.

For hours Alana swung and hacked at the ferns and vines and as she did, she became tired and dirty. Makikas (mosquitos) swarmed her and she was bit more than once by the centipedes. Several times she thought about giving up but she did not. After nearly six hours of cutting her way through the jungle, she suddenly heard the roar of the water. She doubled her efforts and was suddenly in the most beautiful clearing where the birds sang, butterflies surrounded her and the waterfall cascading into the pool was even more beautiful than she imagined. Alana instantly dove into the pool and drank of its cool, fresh water. Never before had Alana felt a spring that filled her with such complete happiness.

That night, when Alana returned home, her makua asked her if she made it to the pool. “Yes,” Alana replied, “but why did you not take me? Why did you make me head out there on my own?” Her makua smiled and said, “My darling Alana, if I showed you the way, it would have been just another pool to you. I knew that if you cleared your own path, when you reached your goal, it would exceed every expectation.”

This story was told to me by my tutu the first time she ever told me of our practice of Ho'oponopono. Like Alana, I learned that I must clear what blocks my own path in order to reach my goals. Once I was able to remove my negative thoughts, guilt and all my other perceived blockages, a light shone through that allowed me to open my heart and mind to a whole new level of communication.

Ke aloha wale, ka mahalo wale,

Alika