Hilo The Heart of Aloha In All The State Of Hawaii

You can visit all the islands of Hawaii, yet as soon you arrive to Hilo the vibe is different, kindness, smiles shining from the people in a different way. Simply because Hilo is the living heartbeat of Aloha in all the state of Hawaii. To understand how Hilo reached that level of peace, love, kindness, and welcoming by accepting everyone from all the walks of life, we need to dive into Hilo history.

The Hiloan’s of today are the children of the sugar can farmers, survivors of tsunamis, many earthquakes and volcanic lava flows. During a volcanic eruption, sulfur fill in, the air, itching the eyes and make it hard to breath. In Hilo, people just smile and keep on living no matter what, all this mix of survival challenges brought people together as a mix of people from all corners of earth and simply all choose to live at peace and in full aloha.

During my time living on the big island, in Hilo, for 7 years, I noticed than many explain Aloha from many perspective. Not even 2 people you will meet in Hilo explain Aloha the same, each person experience in life in a different way and the Aloha spirit is addictive and affect everyone especially in Hilo. 

If you think about it from a commonsense perspective, the first arrivers to the island of Hawaii where the Polynesians... with direction in hearth the unreachable islands sailing for thousands of miles in a open ocean, just following the stars in the sky, seeking haven on earth as an island… That’s how Hawaii became a habitat for mankind.

During this journey in the ocean on small boats, people get close to each other, working, joining forces as one hand and one heart just to survive the sailing trip. It's from where the Aloha spirit was born to shine to all the world after 1500 years the most from Hilo as smiles and kindness to the world. If there's no Aloha on a small sailing ship in the middle of the biggest ocean in the world the ship will drown and an a Aloha spirit between sailors was a must. 

Farming is another struggle from the past for Hiloan's, where feudals of the past as landowners were hard on farmers even brutal... When farmer from the past looked to future, all of them had a dream of a city full of love as aloha where kindness, everyone live at peace together, in full humanity and compassion... The children's of the Big Islands farmers achieved the dreams of there ancestors by building Hilo. 

Hilo was hit by many tsunamis in the past. It’s when the Hiloan’s moved together to higher ground building their new homes on Hilo hills forgiving the ocean with Aloha and continuing there love to the ocean stronger than before, with a respect to nature path. All these events mixed and sculptured Hilo the Aloha jewelry it is today. 

New arrivers to Hilo, at first can’t believe that a peaceful place as Hilo still exist on earth in this troubled time, directly after few months an appreciation rise and the journey of learning the concepts of the Aloha spirit from the people start which heal the invisible wounds of the heart... Everything move slow in Hawaii in a peaceful way, even everyone drive slow and just cruise in Hilo. 

To understand why I see Hilo the heart of Aloha in all the state of Hawaii, you should live at least few days during a volcanic eruption where magma flow toward homes taking one after the other… It’s when in a magical way all people of the big island come together as one hand and one heart to help each other, where Hilo will be the center of this humanitarian engine of survival for people living in Hawaii especially when faced by another natural disaster. The Aloha survival instinct of the sailors of the past trigger in. 

It is my personal opinion regarding Hilo, as an invitation for anyone reading this article to share with us where you live today and why you love the place where you live.

Written by Hawaii Web Pro Team – To contact the writer - hawaiiwebpro@gmail.com