Aloha everyone,
This weekend I’m helping a partner organization do their strategic plan. They do amazing work in the community on one of our neighbor islands, and have a heart-felt mission that developed from a burning passion to support their community through a particularly challenging time.
We have worked with them on and off for over ten years. It’s remarkable to see how they’ve grown in that time, how their impact has reached across their community. It’s also remarkable the challenges that all non-profits face, ubiquitous and almost even stale or cliche, yet still so important. Board development. Fund development. Living wages. Staffing, succession planning. Burnout. All important issues that our folks face.
At a critical juncture in their org’s timeline, maybe eleven years ago, they were introduced to Aunty Pua. Having achieved a bit of their original mission and arriving at certain milestones, they wondered: do we continue on? Some folks had left. They were on the cusp of growth or a culmination.
Aunty Pua met with the team in her signature style. She listened carefully and told them something that stuck: three or five. Something like—you can have five things on your plate, but you can do only three of them well. What will you choose? And knowing that, how much will you heap onto your plate?
She also told them something that has become the theme for the current strategic planning process. She used the metaphor of the wa‘a, the canoe. “If you’re going to make it work, she said, “everyone needs to get in the wa‘a.” I think of how Aunty does vision mapping and unfurls the photo of Hōkūle‘a on the vast ocean. Perspective.
I’m so grateful to be able to witness the work of our partners at my work over the last decade, and how they pull hard towards the shore of their distant horizon. How their missions and hearts support the wellbeing of children and families across Hawai‘i. It’s not an easy lift, and most are doing it under-resourced, seeking and building abundance one relationship at a time. This stems from the strength of the foundation laid by their kūpuna and often generational kuleana, their hard work, their commitment and dedication. These are the folks making a better Hawai‘i and a better world for all of us.
We need to find ways to support the critical aunties and uncles holding it down in our community orgs, and the future aunties and uncles coming up. The needs in our community are so much greater these days, and folks are taking huge burdens to make sure our people stay fed, safe, and sane throughout all of this. And people reading this are probably some of those folks, so mahalo nui loa iā ‘oe!
Who is in your wa‘a? What are the three and the five that you struggle with as you balance your daily kuleana? Are you grappling with some of the existential challenges of our time, and how do you move through them?
Below is one of Aunty Pua’s favorite poets, John O’Donohue. I grew to love him through her, and I’m grateful for the medicine of his poetry. Here’s one for you.
May The Light Of Your Soul Guide You
May the light of your soul guide you.
May the light of your soul bless the work
You do with the secret love and warmth of your heart.
May you see in what you do the beauty of your own soul.
May the sacredness of your work bring healing, light and renewal to those
Who work with you and to those who see and receive your work.
May your work never weary you.
May it release within you wellsprings of refreshment, inspiration and excitement.
May you be present in what you do.
May you never become lost in the bland absences.
May the day never burden you.
May dawn find you awake and alert, approaching your new day with dreams,
Possibilities and promises.
May evening find you gracious and fulfilled.
May you go into the night blessed, sheltered and protected.
May your soul calm, console and renew you.
Photo taken June 9, 2024 at Nu‘alolo, Kaua‘i. This photo is unrelated to my post, but I always include one, so here you go!