One of the visual treats of Hawai`i is the approach to the islands by air. After flying for so long over blue ocean, you come back to earth in the shape of eight islands. Lower and slower, your plane carries you on the introductory tour, east to west, Hawai`i to Kaua`i.

Flying into Rhode Island is just as beautiful. I dare you to compare! From one place, little pieces of land in the middle of the sea, to the other, a state with the sea in the middle of it. And yes, an island, Aquidneck.

These lands are different, with different beauty, different ugliness, different people and cultures. The sea is, in some sense, the same. The character of the ocean, the color of the waters, the types of seaweed--sure, there are differences between the tropical Pacific and the North Atlantic. But the voice of the sea is the same. Incessant, insistent.

The sea purifies and equalizes. It does not care who you are or where you came from. It's never the same and always the same.

It was with these thoughts in mind that I chose to name the Hula Workshop blog Ka Leo o Ke Kai. E ho`olohe...listen.