Muliwai ... a threshold

"River, river mouth; pool near mouth of a stream, as behind a sand bar, enlarge by ocean water left there by high tide; estuary." - Hawaiian Dictionary, Pukui & Elbert

"Ke welina mai nei. I wanted to spend a few moments with you before you dip into the muliwai--where sea water meets fresh; where theory meets practice. There is life there. As with the ideas you are about to read. They serve as threshold into which I am now entering--a new seeing of the world that is wider than ever imagined. It began by listening to our people." Foreword Ho'oulu: Our Time of Awakening, Manulani Aluli Meyer

The first time I heard the word muli was when a father was introducing his three children. He began with his eldest, a girl; then named his son who sat next to his sister on the stage; and last was "The muli" his youngest. He said it with such affection and joy spreading it like honey over his daughter who lit up with love in front of the many behind her and with the audience who watched from their seats at the Waikiki Shell on O'ahu. Thanks to the ever-present availability of YOUTUBE I have access to knowledge like this; knowledge that might otherwise been lost to me still.

Oh yes, the messages come from all sources: powerful yet gauzy in my dreams; riding the wind my brother is always actively informing; the colors and small insights stimulate the 'ike. I am grateful they are always there. But. They are also courageous and inventive, so the use of technology affords me fruitful research. I mahalo the many ways to get through the trails of my evolving life.

Separated now by an ocean of miles, the island where I live today must be fed anew. Like a last born, the muli, I learn from the past (my siblings, my parents, my elders, my land, my everything else). With the present of today though, I have the newness of teachers and technology and they challenge me to climb the trail. I am an old woman still eager to climb, yet, the mind and body? They need the stick to not only dig for meaning, but, to support me as I attempt new territory.

Ke welina mai nei. Welcome, come. Our time of awakening, can be a kakou thing -- an inclusive we experience. As we get to the threshold and open the space called HO'OMOKU picture the multi-faceted possibilities of being brand new, and awake, and making an island where that which feeds us starts with kakou (all us guys!).