The Healer
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In many ways, islands are miniature versions of this world, but with magnified perspectives. Little worlds unto themselves where every actionβs reaction is felt more intensely due to size and scale. Perhaps no culture or communities understood this perspective better than Hawaiians, who thrived and maintained a balance in a chain of islands thousands of miles from any others for thousands of years.Β
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βAn island perspective is one that recognizes your resources,β says Clifford Kapono, Ph.D., a Hilo-born Native Hawaiian biochemist. βOn an island, thereβs an innate understanding that thereβs finite resources. You canβt survive in isolation on an island, but as a community, working together, you can. Native Hawaiians have so many cultural stories and systems that outline this way of lifeβof communities working together, everyone with a role to play.β
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βAs far as communities on islands go, the size of them keeps people honest and accountable,β Cliff explanis. βPeople take more responsibility and are accountable for the consequences of their actions. It makes people more intentional with how they act. So, island-thinking reinforces that in communities.β
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A filmmaker, writer, brand ambassador, pro surfer, and, at his core, a scientist, Cliff recently moved back to Hilo, Hawaiβi Island after a stint on the Mainland to continue his work and findings on coral health through a national grant. And that kind of island-thinking is certainly something Dr. Kapono recognizes in his work at homeβas in his work across the globeβhow on an island, oneβs actions within a community affect everyone, including the environment around them.Β So, itβs probably best if that effect is a positive one.Β
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βThereβs a difference between personal gains that we might seek, and then thereβs community gains. Being part of a community for me recognizes that even though I have personal desires and personal wants, in the long run, whatβs best for myself has to correspond with whatβs best for the people around me. At the end of the day, people should be contributing to a community in a positive way.β
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Beyond Cliffβs science work in the lab, he devotes his life to environmentalism, outdoor recreation, human-environmental interaction, and is a cultural ambassador for his community at home and abroad for eco-minded companies like Vissla, Hydro Flask, and OluKai. βItβs very cool to see that our way of life in Hawaiβi is valuable to the outside world and is such a special place, that people from across the planet want to understand it.βΒ
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βPeople believe in the perspective that weβre trying to share here,β Cliff says. βI hope that my work reminds others that our perspective has value, and hopefully, that empowers others not to be embarrassed just because they see the world in a certain way.β