Once I left Hōkūle‘a, the voyaging canoe, on an airplane.
This was before the pandemic. Aunty and I were going to a neighbor island to do a Building the Beloved Community workshop with a partner organization. She had this amazing picture of Hōkūle‘a taken from the air, looking minuscule amongst a sea of deep, dark blue. The photo was blown up large on vinyl, a traveling lesson. I felt so clever that I had procured one of those tubes for Hōkūle‘a to travel in safely, like when an architect takes blueprints somewhere all rolled up and slung on their shoulder.
However, in all the hustle and bustle on our way home, I left her behind at the baggage claim. Note to self: don’t check your sailing canoe! You might accidentally leave her behind.
Even though her traveling tube was bright yellow, she never came back. I guess she sailed off to another horizon? I felt bad, but Aunty contacted the photographer, and was able to get a new copy.
This story feels somehow relevant this month because Hawai‘i is celebrating the 50th anniversary of Hōkūle‘a’s first launch. Last week with some friends I cooked a lot of food for our friends who took part in the celebration. Thinking of a canoe as an elder in our community, an ambassador, is heartening to me. The wa‘a contains the magic of making an ocean a highway, a way of connecting between islands, cultures, past, present, and future.
Aunty Pua liked to tell the story of Hōkūle‘a and the photo when introducing the practice of Vision Mapping. Here are some instructions from her on the practice–I don’t have permission to share the photo of Hōkūle’a, though I have another photo below. The directions here are from Aunty Pua, shared on June 17, 2020 with one of our cohorts:
Vision Mapping:
1. Please look at the photo of the Hokule’a attached. This photo was taken by Arna Johnson and has its own story that I will share with you when we are in circle.
2. When Papa Mau was teaching Nainoa Thompson how to navigate, one of the first lessons Papa Mau taught was, to be able to see the island you are going to., So for many days, they would go to the lookout near the blowhole (I think) and Papa Mau would ask Nainoa basically, “Can you see Tahiti? Unless you can see clearly the island you are going to, you will never be able to get there.” I think this is a hard concept to grasp and believe in, but it worked. This is what the process of drawing your Vision Map is about. So,
1. get a clean sheet of paper, a large one if it is available to you, colors, a quiet space and ask yourself, “Where am I going? What will it look like when I get there?”
Then draw what you see. Don’t overthink this, find your intuition and follow it, also remind yourself about what you said your gift was, and see how that gift fits into and supports your vision. Use colored pens if you have them. Each person will have up to 4 minutes to share your vision map.
“Seeing Tahiti” reminds me of my old friend Jojo Peter, who was an amazing advocate in the Chuukese community and the COFA migrant community at large, who sadly passed away in 2019. I used to work with him at my last job at KKV; we advocated with a diverse group of folks for healthcare for COFA migrants. Jojo, a beautiful human and philosopher described it this way: As a navigator, in order to reach your destination, you have to break the horizon. That’s how you know where you are going. That’s how you see what can’t be seen and you manifest it. More than premonition. The certainty of knowing.
Certainty can be hard to reach if our lives are full of…living. Hawai‘i is expensive, families are wonderful but they take time and energy, let alone work and community. This manifested in the practice; Aunty Pua said that after a while, Vision Mapping wasn’t enough. Folks would create their vision, but after a while they’d find themselves on another, more distant horizon, far from where they wanted to be. Things would get in the way, the vision would be stalled. How come?
It came to be that for instance, students might be the first in their family to go to college. The seminal story Aunty shared was of a young woman who wanted to be a doctor. However, her parents thought she wanted to be a teacher. She wanted to make them happy, so she never told them of her real dream—until Aunty Pua came along. Aunty saw a little squiggle off to the side of her vision map. “What’s that?” Aunty asked with curiosity. It turns out it was a stethoscope. “Do you want to be a doctor?” Aunty Pua asked kindly. The answer was yes.
Her parents were excited, but they admitted that what it takes to become a doctor is different than what it takes to be a teacher. Another level of preparation. She was the first in her family to go to college; the family had to rally, to learn together how to make it happen. Today, this woman is a doctor.
Resources and kuleana. Aunty began adding these layers to vision mapping to address what happened in the doctor’s story—if you don’t know where you’re going, and what might get in the way, you might have a harder time getting there. Mapping your kuleana, your responsibilities, helps you understand what might be competing for your time as you work towards your goals. If you’re a caregiver for your family, or a breadwinner, you might not be able to devote as much time to your goals as others, or unexpected things might come up that can get in your way. Mapping resources helps you know what and who can help along the way when unexpected things occur. If someone is working with you, like a guidance counselor, a lack of resources is a sign that extra support is needed; a great amount of kuleana may also inspire more connections or more support.
So I wonder…what elements would you put on your vision map? What’s on your horizon? What gifts do you have that will carry you? What is the important kuleana that you juggle as you reach towards your goals? And, what resources are available to you as you undertake the journey?
Mahalo,
Dawn
Photo taken from the air 12/7/17 off of Hanauma Bay