Heal Yourself With Music and Aloha

Kanikapila jam group at Coffees of Hawaii. Photo by Ayda Ersoy

Community Contributed

By Ayda Ersoy

I am hugely grateful to be a part of the amazing Tuesday Kanikapila jam group up at Coffees of Hawaii. It had such an effect on me, seeing how much joy and aloha is shared by such a beautiful group of people just getting together to make music, that I had to write about it!

The group’s founders Waipa Purdy, Roy Horner and Bill Perdue kindly shared their interpretations of Aloha, and I wrote the article for my Huffington Post blog.

Here’s a short excerpt, you can read the full article online, and see photos and a short video of the group, at huffingtonpost.com/ayda-ersoy/. And of course come along and join Tuesdays at 10:30 a.m., everyone is welcome!

“Imagine every week you spend a couple hours sharing music and having fun. You meet old friends, and make new ones. There’s no plan beforehand what you’re going to play. There’s no commitment or expectation that everyone has to be there. And you don’t even have to be a musician – you’re just being yourself, and sharing aloha.

This is happening right now on the beautiful and powerful Hawaiian island of Molokai. It’s nicknamed The Friendly Isle, and this it totally true. People care about each other. When you’re on Molokai you’ll feel you’ve gone back in time, you’ll remember your childhood.

On Molokai, people of all ages come together every Tuesday morning outside the Coffees Of Hawaii shop. From the youngest generation to the elders, or kupuna, everyone comes to make music and dance the Hawaiian hula. Visitors are always welcome to join in, and of course it’s free to come and watch.

Some people may be having health problems, or going through personal struggles like anyone else. But music is a universal language and when the music starts you can just see the joy on everyone’s face and feel the aloha….”