Friday, December 12, 2008

The Heavens Weep

Aunty Nona Beamer recently died in West Maui, Hawaii. Her achievements in music, Hawaiian cultural advocacy and spiritual inspiration are legendary. But the words used to describe her passing were simple: “Ue ka lani—the heavens weep—as we mourn the loss of our hulu kupuna, beloved Hawaiian treasure,” said a long-time friend. Aunty was the matriarch of the famous Beamer musical family, and she played her magical ukulele until the end. Her departure has caused much weeping in the Islands, as well the heavens.

Hawaii is not a perfect place. It has its share of greed and prejudice. But there is a special spirit here which deserves consideration. Aunty’s survivors included three sons and one daughter. Two of her sons were by blood; one son and her daughter are ‘hanai.’ Hanai means an unrelated child or adult who is so loved that they are ‘spiritually adopted’ into the family. Whereas adoption in the legal sense often has the result of distinguishing adoptees from birth children, my observation has been that hanai sons and daughters are not distinguished, at least in the way they are loved and treated, from other siblings.

On this year’s ‘American Idol Gives Back’ TV fundraiser, a famous actor and his wife looked on in disbelief as three African children lay down to sleep on a narrow dirty pad in a corner of their hut. These orphans, along with tens of thousands of others, live in hopeless desperation. While we complain of high gas prices and falling home values, many potential hanai brothers and sisters around the world live in abject poverty and helplessness. The actor and his wife wiped away real tears as they left the village.

If our inspirational leaders today turn out to be singers, actors and sports stars, so be it. Bono may be more relevant than Bush. Musicians, dramatists and athletes have inspired people throughout history to rise up in compassionate unity with others. The Greek tragedies brought people together as they recognized the universality of suffering. The ‘Battle Hymn of the Republic’ inspired a majority to break apart the institutions of slavery. A victorious black athlete named Jesse Owens at the ‘Hitler Olympics’ in 1936 predisposed the world to eventually reject the lies and deception of the Fuhrer.

It has become obvious that the political leaders and governments of the world are not up to the challenges of the 21st century. Not nearly. As always, hope lies with us—we the people. It lives within those of us who have the metaphysical vision to see that, spiritually, we are all hanai in relation to every man, woman and child on this planet. Can we save everyone from sadness, poverty and starvation? No. But we may be able to save one child, one brother or one sister.

Nona Beamer, the embodiment of aloha, is gone. Let us who remain wipe away our tears, and reach out a hand to our spiritual world family, hanai relatives of every race, creed, culture and country.