Aloha Alive: The Dawn O'Brien Podcast
Why Aloha? the whole world knows what aloha is--love in Hawai'i--but better to ask WHY ALOHA? the answer is as essential as breath & as fun as whistling, so LET'S GO!
Aloha Alive: The Dawn O'Brien Podcast
Ep. 3: Rediscovering Hawaii's Spiritual Compass thru ALOHA
Allen Cardinas, Jr. returns to complete ALOHA acrostic with the final "A" & explain why living these values is critical in today's challenging world. The complete framework provides a spiritual & relational compass for transforming relationships and communities through kindness, unity, respectful listening, humility & personal responsibility.
• Akahai (A): being kind by controlling yourself, not others
• Lōkahi (L): focusing on unity & building bridges, not walls
• 'Olu'olu (O): agreeing to disagree respectfully through skillful listening
• Ha'aha'a (H): practicing humility by seeking treasures in people, not trash
• Ahonui (A): taking extreme personal responsibility for your life & choices
• Cultural deconstruction happens when we lose the ALOHA "ti leaf" that holds society together
• Prioritize connection over correction & connection before perfection in relationships
• The goal of confrontation should be to manage yr own heart, not to control others
• Perfect love casts out fear, but fear can also cast out love if we're not mindful
• Living ALOHA means asking yourself: "If not I, then who? If not now, then when?"
Live Aloha, love Aloha, share Aloha & as we do that, the world will be a better place because of you. ALOHA!
IG @DawnOBrienHI
FB Dawn O'Brien HI
www.ChooseAloha.org
Welcome back. You know, pastor Alan Cardenas Jr from Nanakuli. We were having such a fast and fabulous conversation last time that we you are sharing the A-L-O-H-A acrostic, and the two poragie wannabes, the two talkative people on set, kind of forgot to go back to the last A in A-L-O-H-A. So can you recap for us? And you know, I love to say that that was Jesus genius, because we left them hanging. The suspense was building and now we have a part two with Pastor Alan Cardenas. Thanks for coming back, brother.
Speaker 2:Blessed to be here to talk about the most important thing in the world.
Speaker 1:Yes, and that is aloha.
Speaker 2:And so again, just brief recap, and then we can talk about why this is important. Again, it's in Hawaii, revised Statute 57.5. Thank you. The first A is Akahai to be kind. In order to be kind to other people, I have to learn how to control me, no matter what they do, because if I cannot control myself, then I'm out of control. Yes, and so I got to learn how to control myself, and I would never try to control or exploit other people.
Speaker 1:Akahai kindness and interesting that that's a major push and campaign in our schools today Most every elementary be kind, Right, right, Basic.
Speaker 2:So that's so important. So that's the A L stands for lo kahi or unity. That is, focus on the we, not the me. Wow, and learn how to build bridges, not blow them up. Learn how to build bridges and not walls. That's good, and we need to learn how to coexist. You know, this year we're celebrating 50 years of the Hokulea the voyage. Yes, and that is so important for us as a people because that symbolizes the voyage of rediscovery. Wow. Of a people and a place.
Speaker 1:Oh, wow, well, same thing with Aloha.
Speaker 2:It's a voyage of rediscovery of who we we are as a people, and we have to look at him and learn how to coexist together.
Speaker 1:Um, in spite of our differences, yeah and uh, because if not, the world's going to fall apart well, and a great pastor always teaches me about lokahi coming together as we put the unity in community and also to bless no blast.
Speaker 2:Oh wait, that was you on both counts, brother Alan and a good illustration of that for all the kanakas, all the hawaiians out there. You know, it's like the tea leaf that hold the laulao together. Okay, right, without the leaf the laulao gonna fall apart, dissipates.
Speaker 2:Well, aloha is like that tea leaf, oh wow without that without the lokahi, without the akahai, without aloha, everything will fall apart. So, lokahi, without the akahai, without aloha, everything will fall apart. So, lokahi, we have to learn how to coexist together, because the island is a canoe and a canoe is an island. We have to. If there's any place in the world that must demonstrate, that must perpetuate, that it is us as an island people lokahi.
Speaker 1:And to go back to your bridge analogy, we can't burn bridges on an island Because, as you said, if there's anywhere in the whole wide world that has to get the lokahi, it's us. We've got to maintain relationship.
Speaker 2:But then the question is but how do we deal with all these people, you know, with different opinions, different philosophies, a very divided nation Politics right. Well, that's where the O in Aloha comes in Olu Olu, nice. That is to agree, to disagree, or to listen skillfully, and I've been talking about that a whole lot more, because Olu Olu is the art of listening, listening respectfully to hear and to understand where the other person's coming from. Wow, and not agree.
Speaker 1:Yes To agree, to disagree, agreeably or respectfully.
Speaker 2:Right. So we need that, we need to learn the art of listening.
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 2:And I think some places like be like quick to listen, like slow to speak and slow to get angry, it's good.
Speaker 2:It's good right so that's the so when it comes to that, um, we have to break the lie that we have to agree on everything. No, we don't. No, we don't. Who said that we don't? Mari and I this year will be 30 years married in a row, for the record. In a row. Love you, honey, love you, um. And she reminded me in the community that, yep, I don't agree with Alan on 75 percent wow, I thought maybe five percent, yeah, 75 percent, wow.
Speaker 2:But we're able to the to stay married and and be in this relationship because we're learning the art of oluolu skillfully so good and understand, vital to keep, vital for the very survival, yeah, and existence for us as the aloha people, aloha State. So that's the O part, and then the H is humility, love it.
Speaker 2:You know, it's putting civility back in humility, back in civility, civilization, wow, and humbling ourself to look at other people better than us. Yeah, and it really is learning the art of being a treasure hunter, looking for treasures in people, places and problems, especially in people. We didn't vote for, we don't like, you know, because god so loved the world and we got to learn how to love the world the way god does. And he didn't send his son, j Jesus which is, by the way, the original Mr Aloha. Yeah, he didn't send his son into the world to judge, to punish, to condemn, but to pull out the treasures in them. It's good and people place it, but you can only do that from a position of humility, and that's ha'a, ha'a.
Speaker 1:Wow, to be a treasure hunter and not just see the trash and the opala everywhere.
Speaker 2:Yeah, because if you look for trash in people, that's all you're going to find, because you've been there done that, whether it's politics and relationships. No matter where you go, we need to start to look at the lens. You know, in order to see aloha, we need to put on the aloha lens. Wow, in such a way, oh my God, huh, you know, because if we no more Aloha, look at the world, people, places and problems from the lens of Aloha. All we're gonna see is trash.
Speaker 1:The darkness and how dark your world will be. It's good.
Speaker 2:That's the H. And then let's not forget, before we end this show. I know we have very little time and the reason why I am here today is because of the last A.
Speaker 1:Here it comes. Oh, he did it.
Speaker 2:Patience and perseverance, and part of that is learning how to be patient. And learning how to persevere is taking personal responsibility for you. Taking personal responsibility for you and going again, managing you, but more importantly is it's taking extreme responsibility. Yeah, your life is the way it is because of the choices that you made. Come on, stop blaming the white house, stop blaming the mayor's house, the governor's house. Notice, my life is this way because I'm reaping what I'm sowing and the decisions I made got me in this mess. So I need to learn how to persevere to this thing. So part of it is taking responsibility for your mess and clean up your own mess wow, that's almost a truth.
Speaker 1:That's so clear and a trumpet blasts loud. It's so clear to Alan when you say take responsibility for yourself. But the reason why it's so loud is we don't hear that kind of accountability in our world anymore, in our culture.
Speaker 2:And that's why this message, dawn, and what you're doing, is so important, and this is what we're working on. We're realizing, I'm realizing that the spiritual more and relational compass is broken, mm-hmm, very much so and we must define what that is.
Speaker 2:So I mean with government leaders, community leaders, and encouraging them that we must find a spiritual, relational, moral compass that points to north, that doesn't change every elections and that goes back. And I them I'm not trying to be preacher churchy here, but you know the Bible is the foundation on civilization, very much so. God created the Aina, the islands, and he gave us a set of rules and how to coexist. That's the Bible and the spirit of Aloha. So we must go back to that. So the last E Ahonu is so important because, in order for us to be patient and to persevere, we have to realize that my mess and what's going on out there in the world is because of what I have sown.
Speaker 1:Wow.
Speaker 2:So I have to realize that I have to clean up my mess. I was with a retired police officer this morning and he reminded me, alan, if we have problems out there going bad, we have nobody but to blame but ourselves. Wow, and the Bible teaches us about that right. Exactly so, ahunui, is that I will take responsibility for the mess that I made and I will clean it up. Wow, I will clean up my family, I will clean up my community, I will clean up my home, havaiania. I will, I will, and it's that kind of passion, that kind of desire and I will. In persevering and having patience, I will honor the generations before me, but I will leave a legacy for those after me.
Speaker 1:So good Me yes, on me yes.
Speaker 2:Partnering God to be able to just live a little love, a little, share a little, that we can turn this culture and this world around. So that's the A. We got to it.
Speaker 1:High five brother, perseverance and patience. And that starts with me because, even like compassion, I go into schools, I teach compassion it's part of the Choose Love program. But compassion has to start again with the teachers, with me. Before I can teach something, I have to be practicing it. Or another Hawaiian mo'olelo or saying is the ulu doesn't fall far from the tree. On continent we might say the apple doesn't fall real far from the tree. I eat both ulu and apple, so I'm down either way. But it means that your child becomes like yourself. You can only reproduce what you are, you know, speaking to the extreme ownership and responsibility that you were saying. I think there's just so much goodness to that. And I say that fresh out of my own Bible devotions.
Speaker 1:This morning I was reading in the book of first Samuel, chapter two, and it was about you know, samuel's sons were stealing from the sacrifices at the altar and I was like, yeah, let's go, I'm going to start lynching. All these names were coming to me about pastors who take the sacrifice for themselves, as the sons were doing. And instead of that happening, I had it all written out, ready to start blasting, not blessing, and the Lord said now let's take a look at written out, ready to start blasting, not blessing, and the Lord said now let's take a look at how you, don O'Brien, have been taking the best of the sacrifices for yourself. Oh, and all of that fire I was going to start spitting at, let's say, the White House, the governor's house, the mayor's house, all of that fire I had for other preachers' houses, the Lord started turning back on me.
Speaker 1:And once I deal with my what, lord? What are you talking about? When have I stolen the best of the sacrifices? I live sacrificially? No, you have not. And then, when I turn back, it's kind of like what we say when you point at somebody else you got one finger pointing at them, but you got four on yourself. Now, when I look back to go help my brother, take the speck out of his eye I have true compassion because I took care of the log forest in my own eyes. Thank you for bringing that up timely word no, but you're bringing up something so important.
Speaker 2:Allah begins with me yeah allah begins with me. You can't give what you don't have. There it is, so it's an inside out. There it is again, and that's why, again, uh, for me, I'm a practitioner of practicing these things that we're talking about, and we need it for such a time as this. So that's where it starts.
Speaker 1:It starts with us, and if that was fresh for me, dob, this morning. It's got to be fresh for a lot of us, because it's our culture today to say no, no, no, everybody else needs to change. I'm just going to keep waiting and to go back to your hokulea comparison, or picture that, um, the hokuleas are our boat. It's how we came here in a canoe, but in a boat, you usually have six people right, you've got the person in front, the stroker, you've got the person in back, the steers person, and you've got four people paddling for your life. You are paddling to get to the finish line and often, often when I was paddling with Hui Nanu, I was like I'm going to be pulling my weight.
Speaker 1:But when I see somebody else cruising on what is meant to be a warship, because I'm fighting, this is war. If you're sitting there eating popcorn and bonbons and having the time of your life doing a tour of the Kaanapali coast, you out my boat Because now I have to pull my weight. I'm pulling the boat's weight and I'm pulling your weight, which means we have a problem. So I like that extreme ownership.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's the expectation and again, that's that's Aloha right. Yes, to be able to coexist together, and it takes teamwork to make the dream work.
Speaker 1:It's good and so forth. So that's so good, so good. I just thank you. We got the final. A yay, I feel, resolution, I feel completion next question, pastor um, what is the best way, with all of that said, now that we know the a, l, o, h, a and that each component really was prophetically determined, it was spoken and they all come together, coalesce so nicely, to be the tea leaf that wraps that lau lau, that keeps us together, how do we live aloha best today in this very hard and challenging, even desperate, world?
Speaker 2:You know, before I get into the how, if we can talk about the why quickly, that's good. Why? Why aloha is so important. I feel like there's a cultural deconstruction going on Because we don't have the aloha, the tea leaf, to hold it together. And people ask what is this culture deconstruction? You know, I've been hanging out with Danny Silk, a great man of God, and in his book called the Way of the Dragon Slayer, he talks about the cultural deconstruction. It's the deconstruction of men. Wow, the best version of men.
Speaker 1:Wow.
Speaker 2:Because their fathers are not around. They don't know the father. So you don't have the very best version of the man of Aloha. Wow, the best version, yeah Right. So you have the deconstruction of man. Now that guy gets married and you get the deconstruction of marriage, and then they make babies and you get the deconstruction of the family. And then now they go out there, they get involved in organizations, elite organizations and maybe a church or politics, whatever, and you got the deconstruction of the church and an organization and politics. And then now you got the deconstruction of the church and an organization and politics. And then now you got the deconstruction of family and everything is just unraveling.
Speaker 2:And now you have like in the book of Genesis shame blame fear, isolation, disconnection from God, from each other and the aina sister, and the deconstruction of culture leads to the destruction of culture, and this will continue to happen unless the people of Aloha rise up and push against the unravel and the destruction of culture.
Speaker 2:No more Aloha in man, no m'aloha in marriage, no m'aloha in family, no m'aloha in whatever organization and no m'aloha in a community. I shared this in a meeting with government officials a couple of weeks ago and one of the leaders a very influential leader stood up, said Pastor Allen is right and these are government officials and they know this right. People look at the fruit, but you got to look at the root come on so this whole deconstruction that's going on, that's the problem.
Speaker 2:So that's the why, why we need to learn how to live aloha, so we can shift from the worst version of men, marriage, family, community and so forth to the best version, and that is aloha. Apart from that, we're just making noise and there's a lot of noise going on there.
Speaker 1:Right, thank you. And if we don't deal with the root, we're going to keep getting the same fruit. It's like expecting something different every time but we're not changing because we didn't deal with the root issues Exactly. That's good. So we know the why. And even as you were saying that, Alan, I could hear just like the implosion or the explosion of buildings. You know, when you see them take down these buildings on the Vegas Strip or whatever it is, and they implode them down, I could hear the crumbling. Within one generation it happened the most ideal, mr Aloha man, that that happened In one generation. It happened the most ideal, mr Aloha man, that that happened. And then we see the fallout in the families with fatherless children and et cetera.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so that's good.
Speaker 2:So now that we know the why. Now the how comes easy. The how is become a practitioner, making Aloha our highest, absolute, highest priority, absolute, highest priority. There is nothing more important than defining the compass of Aloha and living Aloha. I always say live Aloha, love Aloha, share Aloha. Become a practitioner, and it doesn't take much.
Speaker 2:This morning, for the last couple of days there's been cigarette butts all over in the front of my home on my street where I live, and then I found out the neighbor next door smoked cigarettes, threw it out there. We got home this morning and I told Mari pray for me, I'm going to talk to my neighbor and I got a whole bunch of cigarette butts in a bag that I picked up as evidence. So I took it next door and Mari started praying and, excuse me, can we like be the best neighbors and take care of our place? I said I found all these cigarette butts. Apparently somebody that lives in his home is going right in the front and thrown out there in the road. Could you please help us out a bit? And the guy is very apologetic and stuff.
Speaker 2:So I went back. All right, what did you do? I went bless them and I blast them. Wow, I would practice all the stuff that I talk about, yeah. And she said, wow, I don't know if I would have been able to do it so eloquently and nicely as you did. And I said you know what? The greatest thing? It wasn't me, yeah, it was god in me. It's good, and so we have to submit, surrender and and rely and depend on. Greater is he who is in me than he who is out there in the world. Galatians 12.20 is one of my favorite verses when it comes to tough times. I have been crucified with Christ. I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. Right, excellent. So we have to be able to look at how can we live this out, not just on Sunday mornings.
Speaker 1:Right when you're preaching, but then to live up to what you just sermonized. And what's interesting to me is that you're going to live next to this neighbor for the conceivable near future, let's say at least for the until the end of the month. And so living in Aloha doesn't mean just being a doormat and saying, ah, no, worries, I love having cigarette butts in my front yard or on the sidewalk in front of our house. It's saying, hey brother, can we be the best neighbor? That was exceptional, because a lot of times I might feel uncomfortable confronting a friend or a neighbor or someone saying your dog barks all night long, Could you please help me out? Or you know, we have trash piling up or all these things where we're not. It's not confronting. It is confronting, but with aloha, right To speak the truth in love.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you know what we have to talk about confrontation, because we're living in a times of confrontation. Thank you All over. What is the goal of confrontation? Well, the goal of confrontation is I will manage my heart, no matter what you do, wow. The goal of confrontation is I will manage my heart, no matter what you do. Wow, I will manage my heart, no matter what you do, so I can cast out the fear that God's love is perfected. That's good. We have to cast out fear, because love and fear are mortal enemies, right? Yes, there's so much fear going on and all of us carry a bucket. One is a bucket of water. Number two is a bucket of gasoline. It's easy and so easy and so common for people to put gasoline on a situation and make it bigger what it is. Yeah, when you practice aloha, you put water in a situation, right?
Speaker 2:so go of confrontation I will manage me, no matter how this meeting goes. And, by the way, I'm not here to punish you, judge you, condemn you. I'm just here to love you. I'm just here to connect, no matter what. Can we just kind of talk this out, right?
Speaker 1:so we need to learn and get better at confronting, communicating healthy confrontation and I love that you said the number one goal of confrontation is I'm going to manage myself, which takes the extreme ownership of ahonui the last a and aloha, but I would have said resolution.
Speaker 1:When I heard your question, what is the number one goal of confrontation? Is we have a problem? There's a difference here. How are we going to come to a common resolution? But it is resolution. But before I can get to the resolution, I have to deal with myself, which is what you said, and it's either I'm going to pour the gas on it and make it really bad, like I'll lay up in my bed and just think about how I want to take out the neighbor's dog because it's barking, to the point where I finally walk over there and I'm starting to yell and say, brah, your dog barks all night long. I can't sleep. And now I'm pouring that gas on the fire and we've now escalated into right. And that's the game of war. Is we're both going to escalate?
Speaker 2:Yeah, escalated into right, and that's the game of war, is we're both going to escalate, yeah, so how do we?
Speaker 2:live Aloha. We have to prioritize connection over correction. Wow, wow. People want to correct, correct, correct and deal with the issue and all of that, but if there's no connection, the issue will always be there. Right, because at the heart of our problems is the problem of our heart and if we cannot control our heart to make connection the priority, we're never going to see wow and people said, but you know, old school, you got to correct them and all of that. And kelly boyd and have a good testimony and a video right about his anger and all of that. So what we have to do, I think, is we have to focus, make a highest priority connection before correction.
Speaker 2:Wow, and connection before perfection it's so good right now, people want to perfect their kids, perfect their spouse, perfect, perfect, perfect, perfect, perfect, perfect, and we don't know that we're pushing them away. So we're creating distance, not connection, absolutely. And we want to correct, correct, correct, correct, correct, but we're not connecting. So how do you live, aloha? Make connection, it's good, our number one priority, no matter what. Wow, build that Case in point I was. Well, we were. Our neighborhood security watch was honored at the state Capitol a couple weeks ago.
Speaker 1:Congratulations, I saw it. Nicely done to the whole team, right yeah?
Speaker 2:yeah. And so you know, I was there reluctantly but I was obedient to show up. And what was amazing is that with a number of these legislators, you know, I have stood against the policies that they had recommended and voted for fiercely, yeah, fiercely. And sharing why this is not good for our kids and our community yeah. Sharing why this is not good for our kids in our community, yeah. But when we were there like that, when we were honored that day, 40, close to 50 legislators out there come up, they pass out like, oh you representative Whoa and I said you know what?
Speaker 2:Wow, that's what I love about the people in the place here that we're not gonna have to agree on all these things and we're gonna deal with the issue and the policy, but we're going to love each other so we're not going to act like the other 49 because we're the people in a place of alarm. Yeah, so that's how we deal with things. We deal with things in a respectful way, in a kind way, in a way that we can look he quits together and olu olu right you know we agree to disagree.
Speaker 2:You know I heard what you said. I I don't really understand. I'm trying to understand but you know, at the end of the day I get, I'm against this.
Speaker 1:Yes, I'm against this Right.
Speaker 2:You know, love you, love you, thank you and the family, and that's it, that's really it.
Speaker 1:Huge. Like you said, it's the connection and then the correction can come. And what I extra appreciate about you, Alan, is that you even were very forthright and in the front about this when you said so-and-so senator representative, you know I'm going to come hard against, let's say, sports gambling. I'm going to come hard against this issue, but you know my heart is with you. I love you. At the end of the day, we're going to hug, we're going to be one community, but on the issue of, let's say, sports gambling or some of the other things that have come up, I'm going to go so hard, but it's about the issue, not about the person. I am not against the person. At the end of the day, we all get to be neighbors and friends. Awesome job.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean, I do that when I look at the bills. Who introduced the bills? Who's champion? And if I ever, you know, I I do my best to reach out to them, but especially if I have a relationship with them, right, a courtesy, a personal professional, call a heads up. I noticed that you're in support of this. I don't know, I don't understand why. I'm sure you got good reasons, but, FYI, I love you first of all, and that's what we have to communicate.
Speaker 1:I love you, right, I just so love you and that takes the onus of the burden off of that person where it's like this is a personal attack, and then it puts it on the issue. We're going to deal with the problem. It's not a problem. The person is not the problem. Yeah, I love that. Okay, curveball Stock market just dropped the last two days thousands of points right.
Speaker 1:Then I see Young Brothers is raising their rates 20% and that would be on every single thing that's coming into the state of Hawaii. We also hear about a lot of wars and the threats of wars. We really look like we're living in the last days that were predicted in the Bible and many other places. What would you say to anyone who's watching this now, today, right in that seat where they're sitting? That might need a word of hope, because things are getting really tough in the state of Hawaii. We know we have viewers in other places around the nation and around the world. What would you say to all of us who are walking through some desperate times? How do we live? Aloha?
Speaker 2:Yeah, if you're out there and you need hope to cope, hope to float, there's one way is Jesus Christ. To be honest with you, put your hope in Jesus, why? Because he's the original Mr Aloha, so put your faith and trust in him. Number two remember who you are. I don't know if you saw the movie the Lion King when Simba lost his dad and Mufasa showed up in the water. It's my favorite. Remember who you are. In times like this, remember we are the people and the place of Aloha. That's good. No matter how things go out there, the only person you can control on a good day is yourself. So if you need help, jesus Christ is the way that you can life, manage you, practice what we've been talking about. This end times thing comes up a lot. It has been With the economy, has been the economy, especially with the economy, right, uh, wars, rumors of wars and so forth and end times, end times, end times and so forth.
Speaker 2:Let's talk about end times. You know the scripture, joe 228. We talked about this in the last days god will pour out his spirit upon all flesh. Come on, and people will be able to have dreams and visions and prophesy. That's so powerful because in the end days, let's look for God pouring out His Spirit upon all flesh. Well, pastor, what do you need to have this Spirit? You need flesh. All you need. Read the Bible, job 2.28. God will pour out His Spirit upon all flesh. What's the qualification? Flesh.28,. God will pour out His Spirit upon all flesh. What's the qualification? Flesh, god. There's a lot of flesh out there right now. So our natural needs God's super and together we can go supernatural. Listen, in the end days, why be a natural person when you can be a supernatural one? Come on, that's what Elohim is all about. Why have a normal marriage when you can have a supernatural marriage? Yeah, you is all about. Why have a normal marriage when you can have a supernatural marriage?
Speaker 2:yeah, why raise normal children when we can raise supernatural let's go why do a a normal uh organization?
Speaker 2:we can have a supernatural. Why go natural when we can go supernatural, come on. So god wants to pour out his spirit upon all flesh in the days that we're living on, and I want to encourage you keep your eyes on the Father. I can tell you what your future is going to look like. Show me your daddy, I'll show you your future. Oh, we're going to go there. Show me your daddy, I'll show you your future, because God is the God of the Lord.
Speaker 1:Oh wow, God is in control of who? Yes, sir, yes, come on.
Speaker 2:God is in control of. Who is in control. Let's not depend on the government for provisions, resource and protection, but let's depend on the God the great. I am the alpha, the Omega, the God that created this universe. And let's be good stewards and ask God for supernatural wisdom, supernatural provisions, supernatural steps moving forward, and ask him to pour out your soup on my natural so that with you, I can be a people and a place of aloha. Wow. So all eyes on the Father for me in these days, I'm not freaking out because God's love is being perfected in me. I understand what's going on, but I'm not reading the stuff. I mean, I look at that, but I look at the Father. Amen, what the Father is doing. So all eyes on the Father.
Speaker 1:Yes, sir, I love that. And you even mentioned the two most powerful. Uh well, the, the ultimate powers on earth that we know is love. And then the opposite of love is fear. And you're either operating under love, and we are children made in the image of God. God is love. So you're either operating in your full power, optimal state, or you're operating in fear.
Speaker 1:And, I'll be honest, it's real easy for me to slip into the doom scrolling, right. I'm like, oh my gosh, 2,200 points and stock futures and this and that, but I'm supposed to set my face like a flint to the cross and I'm supposed to keep my eyes on Jesus because he's working all things together for good. And I love how you said forgive me, but I got to bring it back up you said, if God is pouring forth his spirit on all flesh I got a lot of flesh right here, right, but it's making sure I stay in the love lane, because the other lane is fear. And when I start doing that doom scrolling or I start looking at those heavy hitting headlines and nuclear war and preparation in Europe and China, taiwan, I mean my gosh, I could lose it real fast.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and that's why, again, as you're talking, 1 John 4, 8 pops up for me that perfect love casts out all fear. Come on Right, there's no fear in love, there's no fear in love. The Bible says that. And the same way that perfect love can cast out fear, if we're not careful, fear can cast out love. Yes, immediately, and that's what's happening.
Speaker 1:Yes, and even to the strongest and the best of us who are in our Bible daily. And we start looking at that other stuff and I'm like, oh my gosh, oh my gosh. I got to start prepping, I got to start getting gold. I got to start prepping, I got to start getting gold. I got to start and it's I just let go of my Jesus, I just let go of the love of the Lord, I let go of his hand and I've started grabbing into the things of this world. Is that not exactly what happens to all of us on the daily, on the momentarily, on the kinny popo? Thank you for saying that, pastor. So we are to live with hope because we have love and he cannot be shaken.
Speaker 2:And what sets us apart from the world right. We should be different.
Speaker 1:We are called to be a peculiar people, a holy nation, a royal priesthood. You're set apart.
Speaker 2:Right. So darkness is not the problem in the world. Lack of light is, and that's what Elohim is. Wow, elohim is light, elohim is life and Aloha is love.
Speaker 1:Absolutely so. That's a good word for us. Now, I love when you're preaching, pastor Allen. I love when you drop good word because it's so relevant and it's so simple as a pimple, as some people like to say. Now, who are your Aloha heroes? Just to bring it up to that level who do you look to when you think about, when you're having a bad day, how do you get yourself out of that funk? Or who do you look up to as your Aloha heroes?
Speaker 2:So many people. We would have to take the next couple of years to point them all out. But top of mind. Top of mind, gene Ward. Representative Gene Ward.
Speaker 1:Who, as of this filming just passed away, was it two days ago. Last week Friday? Yeah, a few days.
Speaker 2:And why? Because he personifies what we've been talking about. He's a statesman Providing leadership for the greater good of all people, regardless of their denomination, political affiliation, ethnicity, economic status and so forth. He was an ambassador of Aloha.
Speaker 1:A pillar in our community, a champion for the people.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and another one is Tamalani. No, I just gave her a buzz. Sister Tamalani Just to remind her she was very instrumental in the beginning days of transforming Nanakuli.
Speaker 2:Yes and so forth along with Tukaiona. So there's so many people. I'm super grateful for all those people that saw something in me that I didn't see. They saw potential in me that I didn't see. You know, they saw potential in me, they believed in me, they gave me platforms and just set me up for the people that I am today. But I thank my Lord and Savior, jesus Christ. I thank my wife, mari, my kids, people like you that just see the importance of the Spirit of Allah.
Speaker 2:You're definitely one of my heroes Dawn, and that's why I'm here today.
Speaker 1:Thank you brother. You get two Hilo girls Mari, your wife, and then your sister from another mister who doesn't let you go, Thank you.
Speaker 1:So, as we begin to bring this in for a landing, I got a couple, just two last questions. This is the Aloha Alive podcast. By the way, thank you for my Aloha card, which Pastor Alan and Duke Iona put out together and it's got on, as many of you know. On one side it's the side of light. I have the original, the OG, here, and it comes in this little. It has the A-L-O-H-A acrostic and then on one side it's the side of darkness.
Speaker 1:When you choose things like unforgiving spirit, you're going to get the fruit of that seed. The fruit is disunity when I'm unforgiving, and then the harvest is bitterness. And let me tell you I don't like the dark side because I've had the dark side. But then there's the side of light. When I'm seeding forgiveness that's the opposite of unforgiveness I get the seed of unity in my life, lo kahi, and then the harvest of joy. Thank you for this and we want to seed into this seed that you've been spreading. So we're going to give you that aloha later for more aloha cards to be going out across the state. But what is your favorite part of our aloha culture, whether it's a flavor, a smell. Today I gave you the puaini Kenilei and you, of course, love that smell. What's one thing you love about that? We celebrate in our Aloha culture.
Speaker 2:You know, if I had to summarize it in one word, it would be Ohana, wow, family right. Good, I mean like the theologian Lilo and Stitch right. Yes, nobody gets left behind when you look around families on the beaches, families just loving together, multi-generations, the kupunas right, the keiki. You know that, food and family here in the islands, food and family, I just love that.
Speaker 1:What's your favorite food?
Speaker 2:Hawaiian food. Where do you start? You know all of it. I love Hawaiian food.
Speaker 1:Know right, the left side of the menu and the right side.
Speaker 2:Bring it, bring it all yeah, yeah, just local people, local food that's good, ellen.
Speaker 1:Last word, as you um, you know, I know you're out there. You've got to go from here to the state capitol. You've got a number of things you're shaking and baking on. You're also a pastor of nanai Kapono Protestant Church, which is in Nanakuli, your hometown, where you grew up, born and bred. Last word you want to give the people, before you rip on out to all the other things. He's also part of the Aloha Minded, which puts out things like this. So many different organizations you're part of. You're also doing as you said. You're walking the communities and doing neighborhood safety. There's so many things, but what is one thing? You want to leave the people watching Aloha Alive podcast as you go out.
Speaker 2:You know. For all of you. Again, thank you for tuning in and continue to stay connected. Dawn and this message of Aloha again, is one of the most important things in the world. Remember, we have the responsibility to perpetuate the values of this place Because if not you, then who? If not now, then when? If not here, then where? It's important for all of us to lokahi alaulima together, because we are the people and the place of aloha. So, as we leave here together, again thank you for joining this podcast. Live Aloha, love Aloha, share Aloha, and as we do that, the world will be a better place because of you. So thank you for checking us out Until we meet again malama pono a hui hou.
Speaker 2:God bless.
Speaker 1:Aloha. Thank you, pastor Alan Cardenas. And as our little cakey singing the schools A-L-O-H-A, and today you got the final A in Aloha with Pastor Alan. Thank you again, aloha.
Speaker 2:Aloha.