If Only We’re Brave Enough To Be It

“The Hill We Climb When day comes, we ask ourselves: Where can we find light in this never-ending shade?… …When day comes, we step out of the shade, Aflame and unafraid. The new dawn blooms as we free it, For there is always light, If only we’re brave enough to see it, If only we’re brave enough to be it.”
— Amanda Gorman

I was transfixed listening to Amanda Gorman as she read her poem at President Joe Biden’s inauguration. Her voice was full of hope, empathy, inspiration and love. Tears sprang to my eyes as I bathed in her words so full of aloha, love and beauty.

She acknowledged the shade, the fear, the differences and went on to encourage us to keep going, to be brave enough to see and be the light. My spirit drank it in like I had been lost in a desert for a long time.

Hula and meditation have helped me tremendously during these times of great unrest and uncertainty. My hula students have been studying and dancing together to the beautiful song, Kaiona, written by Puakea Nogelmeier. Kaiona is the goddess of the lost who helps people find their way.

Puakea says that the song crystalized the thought that “One doesn’t get lost through ignorance, but by the distraction of beauty that lies beyond the path.” He wrote it when he was completely overwhelmed with research for his PhD. He says, “I called on Kaiona - not to directly lead me, but to remind me of where the actual path could be found. “

In Zen, we say the way or the path is reality as it is and not what we would like it to be. Seeing that makes all the difference.

It’s wonderful to embody Kaiona's story through hula. We have been dancing about being lost and then finding ourselves. The lyrics speak of wandering astray in the highlands through the tangled forest deep. We’re dancing how we get lost through so many distractions - so many shiny things: social media, Netflix, news - all there to capture our attention. Or we get lost ruminating thoughts over and over again. Such is the nature of our heart/minds.

We can get so invested in our own worlds and who we think we are that we take things far too personally in our sometimes clumsy human interactions. The song, Kaiona, says the going can be slippery and uncertain - such are the entanglements of our hearts. As we understand ourselves better, we start to cultivate an empathy and compassion towards ourselves. This naturally then extends to others.

When a storm comes and confusion or strong emotions arises we lose our way. With practice we have the presence of mind to pause and reflect. We dance asking Kaiona for help, for insight to point out the pathway. We practice patience through sitting or dancing and we find that we are the flower most fragrant right before a storm. We sense a deep stirring of courage and love within. We see that our sparkle, our light, has always been here, and we have always been it.

Malama pono (take care of body, mind and heart),

June Kaililani Ryushin Tanoue Sensei, Kumu Hula Here's a link to a dharma talk Sensei gave recently entitled "How Lost Am I?" There's a Part 2 which includes a part of the hula, Kaiona, danced by her hula students at the end of the talk.

More of Sensei’s writing about Kaiona in The Writer's Republik.