The Kuleana Collective
So much responsibility. I don’t even know where to start. How did I get myself into all these responsibilities anyway? Did it just happen 'to me' or was it a choice, conscious or otherwise? Children, family, relationships, work, dishes, laundry and my aging body, diet, exercise, ambitions, dreams. Am I really responsible for all of it? Where did all this responsibility come from? Is it really all mine or can I just take a vacation from it all? How about a sabbatical? That sounds even better. What if I take on more responsibility; more clothes, more relationships, more work, more friends, more food, and more possessions? Sometimes I can’t even look at it all; so, I run from it. Other times it feels like I am blessed and honored to have the opportunity in the first place. When I am truly able to show up for my responsibilities, there is nothing better. It is a feeling of reciprocation in nature that does not exist anywhere else. An exchange of energy through committed and unfettered daily service that fills our soul in a dimension far beyond the simple pleasures in the physical realm.
In order to fully acknowledge and accept all my responsibilities that I have assumed to date, I would need to choose a path of optimal health and wellness (mind, body, soul). A conscious path that puts my responsibility to my self first (i.e. self-care), and will also hold me fully accountable each and every day. Our “responsibility” is otherwise known as our “ability to respond”. Our ability to respond is in sync with the level of our health and wellness. So as our responsibilities grow, so must the level of our health and wellness. When our responsibility and well-being support each other in lock step, we experience joy, grace, love, and happiness in our life. 
But what happens when we start to drop some of the balls of responsibility we are juggling? Maybe not on purpose per se, but because we just have too many balls in the air and we can’t quite move fast enough to catch them all. It happens to the best of us. In fact, it happens to all of us. We have all these responsibilities, and even continue to take on more, but our self-care or health and wellness begins to falter. Maybe it was a late night out, poor food choice, or an argument that didn’t serve us. In any case, our commitment to our self may not always be as steadfast as we think it is when we sign up for all these responsibilities. So instead of joy, grace, love, and happiness, we begin to cultivate and experience negative thoughts and feelings of stress, anger, resentment, frustration, disrespect, and fear (to name a few). Could our physical, emotional, and mental health be so interrelated? And could it really be this simple? Cultivate health and wellness that is in a balanced relationship with our responsibilities and boom - joy, grace, love, and happiness. Alternatively, let our self-care practices go, and experience our responsibilities with overwhelming feelings of stress, frustration, resentment, and anger – yuck! And depending on the level of responsibilities, good luck to you when you decide to take that sabbatical.
The good news: it can be a choice! Be overwhelmed, stressed, and angry; or joyful, loving, and happy. Which one will it be? So we consciously commit to a life path of health and wellness. What does that even mean? For me, I diligently pursue such foundational life practices as high-quality nutrition, herbal medicine, mindfulness, breathwork, meditation, flexibility, dance, and yoga. I fully trust that such life practices will produce a stronger, more flexible, and more aligned me. A me that also has a greater ability to respond. This way, I can be more responsible, for myself and for all those around me. And as a byproduct of this balance between well-being and responsibilities, I do the work to cultivate joy, grace, love, and happiness within and all around me.
Kuleana [koo-lee-ah-nah] is a Hawaiian word roughly translated as “responsibility” and privilege. It refers to the idea that each person has both responsibility and privilege to care for and protect the land and the community to which they belong. This concept of Kuleana is a reciprocal relationship. For example, as Hawaiians care for the land, the land also provides for them. Each person would have a function. The community would work together to ensure everyone was cared for.
Kuleana is a privilege or honor. In other words, its an honor to have Kuleana or responsibility. For example, we know better than to say “we own this land”. Conversely, its our Kuleana or our honor to steward and care for the land we call Kauai Farmacy. Beyond the responsibility, Kuleana is all about the reciprocal relationship that becomes a gift from taking responsibility. A relationship that is built on love, trust, honor, and respect and just keeps giving.
We know that Kuleana begins with ourselves. As we have already discussed, if we cannot be responsible for our own life experience, then we certainly can not be responsible for others. Those who live the value of Kuleana know that it's an inside job. They choose how they react to circumstances, not let the circumstances determine how they feel. So your Kuleana is first to yourself - through self-care, self-awareness, and health and wellness practices that cultivate joy, love, compassion, and healthy boundaries within.
Kuleana is also all-encompassing. Meaning, its all our Kuleana. The air we breathe, the health of our neighbors, protecting our community, the water we drink, the health of the land, and our children’s education is all our Kuleana. Its not one or the other. Yes, it is our free will to choose which to prioritize, but in the end, the ultimate responsibility or Kuleana is to ensure everyone and everything in the community is cared for.
At Kauai Farmacy, our Kuleana is to grow and cultivate plant medicine to help heal ourselves, the land, as well as our community. The lemongrass, moringa, tulsi, spilanthes, turmeric, loquat, papaya and ashwagandha are all our Kuleana. The health of our soil is our Kuleana. The clear intention of our alchemy and how we craft our products is our Kuleana. The way we educate our people about plant medicine and well-being is our Kuleana. Our Kuleana begins within. As our team’s well-being thrives, we are able to take on more responsibility individually and collectively. As our gardens grow, our team grows, and our Kuleana grows. We are honored and humbled to serve all of you in this symbiotic reciprocal nature. We feel you healing as we heal. It feels so good! It is an honor to serve you in this Kuleana Collective.
