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On a recent morning walk, we noticed a yard crew had wrapped up work on a parking lot by blowing their mess into the street. They were loading up their trailer in a nice clean lot and the road was covered with leaves and grass clippings. Not five minutes later, we passed by someone using a leaf blower to direct leaves and debris into a storm drain.
It was disappointing to witness such shortsightedness and selfishness. If the damage caused by our recent Kona storm taught us anything, it is that we need functioning drains and culverts. Blowing waste into storm drains is just as bad as pitching downed trees and yard clippings into gulches.
"Out of sight" does not mean the problem has gone away. In these cases, it has merely been passed along to somebody else, somebody downhill or downwind. What happens if folks uphill and upwind start doing the same thing?
Our father had a saying: "There is one way to do a job and that's the 'right' way." Passing the buck onto somebody else is not the right way to clean a parking lot and it is not the way to go through life. Taking personal responsibility, getting out the broom and dustpan and seeing the job through to the end is better for everybody.
On Maui, we are lucky to stand on the shoulders of so many people who made the good of all a top priority. Without them we would not have our parks, sports complexes or world-class venues like the Maui Arts & Cultural Center. From coaches and scout leaders to those who serve on boards and take time to read aloud in schools, volunteerism has long been an integral part in what makes this island tick. Generosity, caring and sharing, looking out for our kupuna and keiki, these are mainstays of our island culture. They are why Maui is sometimes called "no ka oi," the best.
Heading into a new year is a natural time to take stock of our place in the world and our hopes for the future. As the pandemic drags on, national political divisions widen and living on Maui gets more expensive and beyond the reach of those who grew up here, the future can seem like a minefield. It is easy to get so caught up in navigating the daily grind we lose touch with the fact that we are all in the same canoe together.
Many folks make New Year's resolutions. A few actually keep them. If only we could resolve to focus less on the "me" and more on the "we." How do our thoughts and actions affect the community and the environment? Do they help or are they clogging up the works?