Ahonui: Patience with Perseverance

Community Contributed

Opinion by Rick Baptiste

We are on the last and fifth phase of our joint efforts in renewing the “Aloha Spirit” in our community so we all can live blessed lives on Molokai.  In my last article “h,” from the acronym ALOHA stood for Ha`aha`a, the quality of humility.  Humility is a great quality to possess as we launch into deeper waters with the last “a” in ALOHA. “A” stands for Ahonui, which is patience expressed with perseverance.

Have you ever noticed when you are impatient that whatever you are waiting on seems to take longer and leads to frustration and anger?  How did that work out for you?  When you are frustrated or angry do you make the best decisions or respond in the best fashion?  Google says that patience is “the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset.” So, be patient, expand your capacity to accept what you cannot change and instead, choose to live aloha.

When you try to look through the filters of impatience, it is hard to see the good that comes our way.  The good then flows to the patient one that is living aloha.  When you live in Ahonui, you are not focusing on what you are missing, but are in position now to focus on other good things that are coming your way, while you are waiting. I like how the Bible speaks of patience in James 1:4 amp, “But let endurance and steadfastness and patience have full play and do a thorough work, so that you may be [people] perfectly and fully developed [with no defects], lacking in nothing.”

I like the definitions in the 1828 Webster’s Dictionary.  In particular the definition of perseverance: Continuance in a state of grace until it is succeeded by a state of glory.  So you can put it this way: Ahonui is the quality to wait, in the spirit of aloha, until what you are waiting for arrives.   Think of it this way — you cannot stand up and sit down at the same time.  So, if you are living aloha then you are not complaining, explaining, gossiping, etc.

So bless Molokai because when you are blessing, you are not stressing.   Molokai, I declare and proclaim, you are too blessed to be stressed.