Organising Cultural Immersion Retreats is a hana aloha, labour of love always for me.
There are the obvious aspects of accommodation and transport. There’s the months of connecting with, building and ho’omalama (nurturing) aloha and pono relationships with various Kumu and Kupuna.
There’s the hilina’I (trust) that the schedule and the people will come together in perfection with the guidance of Na Kupuna. There’s the happy dancing, deep HA breaths out and a fist pump or two when it all comes together I ka pono mea 😉
No two retreats are ever the same and no experiences can ever be repeated.
This trip kept unfolding with extraordinary opportunities, even whilst we were there. Those who chose to pick up a paddle and stayed in the wa’a for this trip, have certainly had life-changing experiences. And what an extraordinary crew of paddlers they were!
With that being said, I find it deeply profound, thought-provoking and insightful for the experiences and reflections of the Cultural Immersion to be shared through their eyes, hearts and voices. Following are the varied sharings of the ‘paddling crew’ of the Cultural Immersion Retreat 2017. I trust their words and mana will have some ‘aha’ moments, insights, learnings, deeper layers of understanding and connections for you as you read. Perhaps they will ignite a spark within you for your journey.. ….enjoy 🙂
