Grateful for Your Comments

Photo: Credit Alisa Matthews via Unsplash

Here comes another detour from a typical Editor’s Page to share a few of the comments I received after reflecting in May on my journey from being an ambitious, driven journalist, who grew up in Hawai‘i and couldn’t wait to leave and join the “big leagues” of media, to a single mother who returned to Honolulu desperate for the connections and comforts of home.

Over Facebook, LinkedIn, emails, texts and in-person conversations, several dozen people (most from Hawai‘i, but many not) told me the essay resonated with them, and they too had come to important life realizations. I cherished every comment. It made me realize the beauty of personal growth, but also how deeply connected we can be when we’re being honest about the messy, wondrous paths we’re all trying to navigate. Here are excerpts from letters I received.

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I’m 71 years old and this is maybe my second or third letter to the editor. I’m writing to thank you for your recent Editor’s Page story about the journey to find your path to gratitude for living here in Honolulu. I found it inspiring as it resonated with me. I wake up every morning with gratitude for my life, my family and for living in Hawai‘i. It puts me in a positive state of mind that helps build resilience against the challenges life presents.

I had a different and much shorter path to the same state of mind. I went to school in Lafayette, Indiana, not far from Evanston. The bitter Midwest winters and conservative thinking were a physical and cultural shock and raised my level of awareness about how different life in Hawai‘i is from the rest of the world. I returned to Hawai‘i with a much higher level of awareness of the natural beauty, the aloha culture and my desire to live and raise my future children here.

My career as an engineer for the U.S. Navy took me all over the world and while I got to see and experience many wonderful sites and cultures, no place came close to pulling me away from Hawai‘i. Mundane things like the cashiers at Longs talking to my granddaughter as if she were one of theirs bring me joy for living in this special place where somehow we have learned to respect those different from ourselves and share the common bond of island-style living, where our very existence depends on the kindness and support of others.

—Byrnes Yamashita

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Actually, there is no particular reason for this email but after reading your write-up in the latest Editor’s Page of HONOLULU Magazine, I simply felt like sending this to you. I’m 80 years old and not even a subscriber of the magazine but I happened to look at my son’s magazine and really liked what you wrote. I just wanted you to know that I enjoyed and felt touched by your article. Also, I wish that more younger people could read it. Just maybe, they might learn something from your experiences, or at least gain some insights and think about what’s really important as they live their lives.

—Dan Michibata