I love the Japanese. We are sitting outside Cafe Kona De Pele coffee cafe. As I relax looking out to the water of Kona Bay peacefully moving up and down, with the light dancing on the mirrored surface, I listen to conversations of other patrons. A group of Japanese women behind us are uncharacteristically laughing and smiling as they compare photos from their Hawaii vacation.

As far back as I can remember I have had a fascination with most things Japanese. Their written language is amazing. It is ideograms which are symbols representing an idea. The idea can mean many different things and thus the written word, like Shakespeare, can communicate many different things on many different levels depending on the interpretation. I have only learned a little spoken Japanese, but I pick up on a few words they are saying, “Kore wa…” and “Oishi.” The first translates to “This is…” the second translates to “Delicious.”

I love hearing the Japanese laugh so openly because most of the time they tend to be more reserved and quiet. As they collect themselves at the end of their meal and depart they have returned to their cultural norm of reserved and quite.

Maybe if we were in Japan I would see more emotion on a daily basis and their outwards expressions of joy and happiness would seem more normal. I believe there is something about vacations, especially vacations in Hawaii, which allows you to relax and be at peace and release your tensions. This of course allows your more joyous emotions to easily percolate up. This is part of what I call “The Hawaii Effect.” Relax, release, and let go. Be Happy.

So next time you are feeling stressed make a cup of your favorite Hawai’i coffee, play your favorite Hawaiian music on Pandora, smell your favorite plumeria lotion and relax to your own little de-stress break. Oh yeah, and laugh.

From the Beautiful Island of Hawaii,