The Thanksgiving is upon us, and a signal that the true holiday season is here. For me, it’s the time of year to slow-down from the chaos of the mundane life and concentrate on things that matter.

For me and the Mahalo team, we direct our hearts to gratitude, the core value of our brand.

Mahalo – the divine breath and blessing of gratitude

Not just a simple word. And certainly not a simple definition.

Mahalo is an ancient Hawaiian word, a sacred word, that is used when giving thanks or offering gratitude, however it brings with it a deeper meaning well beyond “thank you”. Behind the word is a divine blessing and prayer spoken only from within, offering a life-enhancing and life-transforming spiritual connection. Weaving through our body, mind and soul, lingering in the breath until that moment of release. Release of love and gratitude, appreciation and support, willingness and forgiveness, bringing balance to our inner and outer self.

Why our skin care brand is called Mahalo

Mahalo founder, Maryna intended the name to serve as a path of empowerment and healing to us, through her creations. Being inspired by the name that carries with it its spiritual powers and message of being in the presence of the Divine. “A call of the heart,” she says, “ and what better calling than offering the feeling of gratefulness and the breath of life to you, our family”. Mahalo products are created to express gratitude not only to the face and body, but to your whole self… mind and soul. While your body is thanking you for the pure form of nutrients it’s receiving, your mind and spirit are also moved by this purity. Thanking you for the scents, the feeling, the relaxed breath you take when you allow yourself that moment of a gratitude in your beauty ritual. Saying it, as well as exuding thoughts of Mahalo with intent and deep appreciation can change your way of life. It can bring you and others much meaning and gratitude which is our focus for this month.

So thank you… Mahalo for being a part of our journey

Thank you for being here at this moment and acknowledging gratitude. Gratitude to yourself, towards others, mother nature and your surroundings. I appreciate that you are reading these words. I really do. I share these words and thoughts in the hopes that they will bring you some form of light, positivity and knowledge through what I have gathered and learned from others. In turn, I am grateful for all the writers out there, putting their thoughts down on paper and sharing their feelings, emotions, ideas and stories with us.

Sisters, mothers, daughters…

For all our female followers and family, connecting with your feminine energy is to give gratitude to our ancestors. We offer gratitude for the passage our sacred female leaders have created for us, the opportunities they have allowed us to be a part of and to change. They have paved a road for us to follow as well as to lead on. They have given us the opportunity to make our own choices, with our lives, within our bodies and for our families. We are grateful for these strong, leading women who were brave enough to stand up to the man in this male dominated society and demand equality and justice.

It is now becoming ever so evident that their voices, tears and sweat is paying off. There is a strong and powerful movement of women today, in this day and age, waking up to their feminine power, to their sisterhood because of this. Let us connect together and be grateful for this awakening. Be grateful for your voice, your opinions, your thoughts and actions. Be grateful that we can share these with our sisters, for women didn’t always have the choice or opportunity to do so.

As women we tend to be compassionate and giving and develop a strong inner core for loving energy. But we have also learned how to turn that compassion and love into strength and meaningful power. We are grateful for these traits as we are goddesses who hold the power to spread and emit this positive energy to others. We are shaping the future for another generation of women and want them to look back with gratitude just as we are now with our ancestors. Let us stand together and give thanks and gratitude for being the bearers of life, for being healers and protectors and for creating peace and understanding when it was not there.

Practicing the art of gratitude brings endless benefits from enriching your life to bringing new meaning to “the little things”. Your spirit will lift and your days will feel good… better… fulfilled. Gratitude creates positive outcomes and helps us become unstuck, to see the good in a situation rather than the negative. And it can lessen our panic and open our mind to different ways to deal. We can be stuck in a situation which makes us feel weak, angry or confused, but by practicing the art of gratitude it can help us out of that pickle we may get in from time to time.

Practicing the Art of Gratitude

Be aware.
If you can open your mind even just the slightest bit more than you have already, you will really notice changes. Be aware of the little things that make you smile and flutter your heart and warm your soul, like the sun’s rays heating your face on a bitterly cold day.

Record your gratitude.
Keep a journal and write down your most simple and satisfying moments. Another way to keep track of your grateful moments is a gratitude jar. This works well if you find it hard to sit down with a journal and pencil like many of us do. A quick note on a piece of paper, thrown into the jar only to be opened on the forthcoming New Year’s Eve for a gratitude ceremony.

Introduce gratitude to others.
Including family and friends into your gratitude practice will not only bring forth conversations for the future but it will help to spread this amazing ritual and bring a light within each of those individuals. Before each meal, my children share what they are grateful for in that moment. I have heard comments such as; I’m grateful for the food we are about to eat, for the sunshine, my stuffies, my family, our bedroom, and many more “little things” that we take for granted, yet we really should be thankful for.

Extend your gratitude towards others.
Be grateful for others, not just for the actions in and around your life. When was the last time you thanked a teacher? Your children’s teachers, your mentors, your spiritual guides. All these amazing individuals who mold us and give us knowledge to go further in life. Show your gratitude for them, for they are willing and open to sharing their knowledge with you and others, as well as being grateful for your acceptance of their knowledge. See how easy it is to go both ways. And don’t just save gratitude for an occasion. Every minute of the day can be filled with gratitude. Allow your mind to open and accept. Welcome in the light and the love. Let it fill you with thankfulness for simply being.

My small moments of gratitude are always before a meal as I believe having food to eat at any given time is a privilege that we have taken for granted. Thanking your food may seem like a small and silly practice of gratitude however I guarantee that you will notice a difference in your daily attitude towards food with this simple act. I don’t go a day without feeling gratitude towards Mother Nature and all her beauty that she shares with each and everyone of us.

Gratitude is a form of practice. And we should practice the steps of gratitude by acknowledging what we are grateful for, appreciating and sharing. It doesn’t always come naturally to each of us and we do need to be reminded at times. But keep at it. We promise you, you will be grateful

What we here at MAHALO Skin Care are grateful for

And today we would like to share with you what we are grateful for at MAHALO Skin Care…… We are grateful for you! For your support, your questions, your thoughts, your criticism, your energy, your love, your kind words and your choice. Your choice to nourish your skin with health, purity and love which we infuse into each jar and bottle. We are grateful you chose us just as we are grateful to have chosen you. We are grateful that you are inviting Mahalo to be a part of your beauty rituals, and entrusting us to care and love your skin and spirit.

Choose gratitude. It will always end well.

Journal entry by Nenna Farsang

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