One of my favorite murals I ever seen. Mural known as ‘“‘Onipa’a Wall”
Personally, the word ‘Onipa’a is not only one of the core values of The Aipa Project but also my life.
‘Onipa’a was the last command given by Queen Lili’uokalani to the Hawaiian people during the end of the monarchy. ‘Onipa’a means to hold steadfast during adversity and to hold on to your culture and progress forward.
During life we will all experience adversity, downfalls, failures, and have self-doubts. It’s part of life and human nature. It’s going to happen. The question you have to ask yourself, is what will you do during those times where you need to Ho’omau, persevere?
‘Onipa’a reminds us that during times of adversity, we must hold strong and not let down because as we push through those hard times we come out standing Ku, stronger and more confident.
Wealth stays with us a little moment if at all: only our characters are steadfast, not our gold
-Euripides
Onipa’a is an attitude. It’s a mindset that we must have in order to accomplish the things we want and do in our life.
Hold on to Culture and Progress Forward
I have a vision to open a training facility that faces the mountains, where people come to get stronger, healthier, more confident, and learn and feel the Hawaiian culture.
Learning more about your culture and where you come from gives you a stronger sense of who you are.
When I think of my Hawaiian culture, I feel proud. But, we all have our own way of holding onto our culture and progressing forward. Sometimes we can get so caught up in holding on to the culture that we forget that life goes on.
Instead of moving with the times, people resist.
Living in Hawaii, I know things will continue to change; more buildings will be built, more people will come in, more traffic, the cost of living will go up, and more. But amongst all the noise and chaos that happens in life, you must be ‘Onipa’a, hold on to your culture and character because those things can only change if you allow them to.
‘ONIPA’A
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Go back to Day 18