In 1785, the young ali’i, Kamehameha, cleansed and rebuilt a heiau in Laupahoehoe. He decided to go on a secret mission to Puna with his canoe to look for a man to sacrifice as an offering to the gods. As Kamehameha and his men approached the shores of Puna, the women on shore alerted the men of the oncoming canoe.
The men saw that it was a battle canoe and commanded all the people to flee. Kamehameha demanded his men to paddle faster and as they made it to shore, Kamehameha leaped and went ashore telling his men to wait. His steersman did felt uneasy letting Kamehameha go alone so he waited to before he followed.
During the chase, Kamehameha’s foot got lodged in between rocks and couldn’t move. Two of the fishermen quickly turned and took advantage of Kamehameha’s misfortune. In order to protect the child and the other villagers, one of the fisherman ensnared him with his net like a fish and struck Kamehameha on the head with a paddle. The strike was so hard that the paddle splintered. When they saw Kamehameha dazed, the other fisherman seized his spear and threw it at Kamehameha. Luckily, his steersman followed him and sprang in front of Kamehameha.
The two fishermen fled as Kamehameha’s steersman laid on the ground wounded. Kamehameha freed himself from the rocks and helped his steersman back to the canoe where they made their way back to Laupahoehoe.
As word crossed throughout Laupahoehoe of the event that took place in Puna, some of the other ali’i spoke of slaughtering the people of Puna for what they have done to Kamehameha. While everyone wanted to mend Kamehameha’s injury, he insisted them to tend to his best steersman first because if it wasn’t for the steersman, the young warrior king would have been killed. But the other ali’i were upset with the steersman and blamed him for the harm done to Kamehameha, so they disregarded Kamehameha’s command and allowed the steersman to die.
Kamehameha grew angry for the negligence of his prized steersman and reflected on his mission that caused this whole chain of events. After reflection, Kamehameha proclaimed the Ke Kānāwai Māmalahoe, or Law of the Splintered Paddle which states:
E nā kānaka,
E mālama ‘oukou i ke akua
A e mālama ho‘i ke kanaka nui a me kanaka iki;
E hele ka ‘elemakule, ka luahine, a me ke kama
A moe i ke ala
‘A‘ohe mea nāna e ho‘opilikia.Hewa nō, make.
Translated:Oh people,
Honor thy god;
respect alike people both great and humble;
May everyone, from the old men and women to the children
Be free to go forth and lie in the road
Without fear of harm.Break this law, and die.
HIDDEN POWER OF FORGIVENESS
Kamehameha realized that he had intentions of bringing some sort of harm to the people of Puna, and that the fishermen could have easily killed both him and the steersman. Instead, they spared Kamehameha. And because of his decision and the actions of the aliʻi not tending to his steersman, his best steersman, the man who saved his life, died.
Gandhi said, “The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.” It was said years later that the fisherman, Kaleleiki, who struck Kamehameha with the paddle was brought in front of the king. Fearing his life, Kamehameha forgave Kaleleiki for the encounter. He knew that Kaleleiki was only protecting his family and people.
THE EFFECTS OF FORGIVENESS
When you learn the power of forgiveness, you learn the strength of Aloha. Martin Luther King Jr said:
We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love. There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies.
Every aspect of life can use forgiveness. There are many benefits behind forgiveness. Actually, in a studies and research, results have shown that people who are forgiving have less stress, better relationships, fewer health problems such as depression, heart disease, and stroke. When looking for a reason, Fred Luskin, PhD, a health psychologist at Stanford University and author of Forgive for Good: A Proven Prescription for Health and Happiness said, “Because not forgiving—nursing a grudge—is so caustic. It raises your blood pressure, depletes immune function, makes you more depressed and causes enormous physical stress to the whole body.”
So let’s looks at a few places where you can use power of forgiveness:
Fitness. There are times when you get so caught up in your fitness goals and maybe you experience a little bump in the road. It could be a training session where you felt tired and weak, you didn’t get a PR on a lift, you gave into the donut at work, or maybe your training partner has been flaking out training. You can allow yourself to get frustrated, upset, and let it ruin you main goal. Or you can forgive and move on. The most important thing about forgiveness, is what you do after.
Relationships. Let’s be honest. There are some really shitty relationships out there. You want to make them work but it’s causing more harm than good. You may have a relationship with people who bring you down, or have hurt you in some way. Rather than continue to hold a grudge and resentment, or feel you have to be someone else when you are around them, it may be time to forgive and let go. You can forgive the person who hurt you, because holding onto the grudge is doing more harm to yourself than to them. And you can forgive those who bring negativity into your life and set them free. In order to do these things, you must be strong. You must be Kū.
Business. In business you can come across some really bad customers, employees, and other business. The way you handle each situation has a direct effect on how you handle your business. If you allow a customer to ruin your day, then every customer after them will experience how you are feeling. If an employee did something wrong and you can’t forgive and take care of it in a proper manner, then the rest of your staff will feel uneasy. And lastly, when you deal with business that is just bad for your business, sometimes you must forgive them and move on. Holding on to bad business for the sake of making more money will only take away energy from the businesses you could be making a bigger difference with.
DON’T TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE POWER OF FORGIVENESS
By constantly forgiving, you miss the whole purpose behind the power of forgiving. You forgive to learn from the situation or event. After you forgive you make sure you take appropriate measure to not experience the same situation again. So if you forgave and let go of a bad relationship, that doesn’t mean you move on to the same relationship just a difference person. Some people go from one jackass to another. You know what I’m talking about.
When it comes to fitness, maybe you gave into McDonald’s because it was the “only” thing available. That’s okay. But if the next day is Taco Bell, and the following day is Teddy’s Bigger Burger, then you don’t need to go on another detox, you need help!
ONLY THE STRONG FORGIVE
Kamehameha showed strength by forgiving Kaleleiki, the fisherman who could have easily ended the life of the young warrior king who later became the King of all the islands. Every person and situation, small or big, can have a huge impact on the life you live.
Choose the route that Kamehameha took.
Be stronger than what others expect and make sure to move forward with strength, rather than fester in other people’s crap.[Tweet this]
Keep it Kū!
Daniel Aipa
