‘Ohana Means Family

by Coach Mike

Last time we explored Kaizen and how it symbolized our team’s core value of mental toughness. This time we are delving into our second core value of family. When thinking of this the first thing that popped into my mind was the Disney movie Lilo & Stitch and its famous quote from the movie

“ ‘Ohana means family, family means nobody gets left behind or forgotten.”

I had an opportunity to experience Hawaii years ago and the culture really brought this to life. Right off the plane I felt a sense of belonging, a sense of ‘ohana. This is what the essence of our team’s core value of family is all about!

‘Ohana extends beyond your core family to include both blood and other people such as friends, co-workers, teammates, classmates, teachers, etc…basically your informally adopted kin. Being part of an ‘ohana comes with the responsibility to act with integrity and to bring honor to them.

Responsibilities of ‘Ohana...

Being a part of the BLUE WAVE Swim Team makes you a part of the BLUE WAVE ‘ohana. In turn we share in the responsibilities of our ‘ohana and some of these responsibilities include: care for, relate to, lead, direct, build relationships, plan, organize, teach, mentor or be a role model. It means being accountable for the consequences of the choices we make.

When you are a part of an ‘ohana, it includes everyone in that family: those accepted into the family, those of the past, and those of the future. The people who make up our ‘ohana are bound together by genuine compassion, culture, support, loyalty, and love for each other. These relationships cultivate growth with an eye toward the future. At BLUE WAVE we want to see relationships grow, sustained for the long haul. For this reason, we are focused on community. There’s a saying: “Prepare for the seven generations ahead.” That means do your work so that those seven generations from now, will also benefit.

Preparing the Seven Generations Ahead…

We each have the responsibility to mentor and cultivate the next generation of team members. Therefore, knowing and sharing the team’s values of family (‘ohana), dedication (tabono) and mental toughness (kaizen) is so important for the next generation of youth. We all have a responsibility to share and teach these cultural values which prepares for the “seven generation ahead”.

Cultivating Our ‘Ohana…

Being mindful of our ‘ohana we look outward and include others. There is a strong desire within to find connection with others. We are all interconnected and once the connection is found there is acceptance. BLUE WAVE Swim Team is full of unique individuals that are bound together by the common desire to swim. From there we can make powerful waves of positive encouragement, support and love—all aspects found in ‘ohana.

Now how do we symbolize this very powerful word?

Of course, I went to Google. Many symbols came up for “symbols for ‘ohana”, but something that was used quite often was the honu or Hawaiian green sea turtle. Turtles are one of the oldest creatures on earth. The honu symbolizes good luck, endurance and long life. This really spoke to me and felt this encompassed the meaning of our BLUE WAVE ‘ohana.

I’m looking forward to delving into the symbol of dedication the next time and unveiling the combined symbol of our team’s core values.

We are all in this together, so let’s make it great! Although our swims are individual, our team ‘ohana helps push us along to reach new levels of personal achievement. The growth within each of us creates a powerful ripple effect that can reach far beyond the pool. Personally, I think the world could use more ‘ohanas and that everyone should know the comfort and support with being a part of one. Who is part of your ‘ohana? Everyone on the BLUE WAVE Swim Team is mine!