Hawaiian Word of the Week: Nai'a

Nai’a [nye-ah]  are one of the creatures that are always such a joy to see when in Hawaii. Many times if you are taking a boat tour, you will get to see pods of dolphins playing around the ocean and in some cases, coming up very near your boat. Nai’a, we know, are incredibly intelligent creatures but it made me wonder on my last trip as I felt this enormous joy watching them in the ocean: How can I be more like nai’a? 

There is something very majestic and incredibly special when you see nai’a in their natural habitat. Nai’a are known to sleep with half of their brain turned off, with one eye open. Why? This is so they can watch out for their group. And they are incredibly social beings…very chatty if you have ever been near a dolphin. And they are playful…with each other and sometimes even with those of us watching them from afar. Nai’a frequently come up to a boat because they are used to riding swells or riding the waves from the boat. I always thought they just wanted to come and say hello!

In our day-to-day tasks in life, we find ourselves being incredibly busy and much too serious. It has been a very long time since I have been able to be ‘playful’ as part of my normal day. Thanks to the pandemic, we realized more so than ever that like nai’a, we are also incredibly social beings. We need each other to help feed our souls. But in order to be a social creature, we need to ‘sleep with one eye open’ and look out for each other. And finally, the one I’m really going to focus on, is learning how to better ‘ride the wave’. As someone who plans and prefers to be in control, learning to ‘ride the wave’ can help to relieve some of the tension that my body constantly feels.

How are you like nai’a? We would love to hear it! Tell us below.