Needless to say, doing the right thing is one of the cornerstones of living a good life, and it’s easy enough to identify “the right thing” in our personal relationships, day by day. In business relations, however, it can get a little tricky. As much as we’d like to think of ourselves as people who are generous and kind, we are not always inclined to extend a helping hand to our business associates simply for the sake of being helpful, i.e. without expecting anything in return for our assistance.
I recently vacationed in Hawaii, and learned of a legend involving Pele, the Goddess of Volcanoes, and how performing an act of kindness and expecting nothing in return had a miraculous result.
Hawaii is made up of a chain of volcanic islands in the middle of the Pacific, and Pele is one of a pantheon of deities in ancient Hawaiian culture. Pele is said to live on the Big Island of Hawaii deep in the center of the crater of Kīlauea which is known for being one of the most active volcanoes in the world. For eons, volcanoes like this have poured hot lava out of cracks on the ocean floor resulting in accumulated mounds (known as shield volcanoes), sometimes growing higher than 14,000 feet above the ocean. Embodying all of the brilliance, power, and fury associated with this primordial force is Pele, the Hawaiian Goddess of Volcanoes.
In 1960, the area known as Kapoho experienced a huge lava flow from the belching crater of Kilauea. Everything within the swath of devastation was leveled for miles around, including small towns, villages, crops, and hundreds of homes. As legend has it, on the eve of the disaster, an elderly woman made her way to the Kumkahi Lighthouse, a lonely sentinel on the Eastern-most tip of the big island. She arrived exhausted and hungry from her journey, and the lighthouse keeper kindly greeted her and took her into his home, offering her a meal. The woman thanked him profusely and rested briefly before heading back down the road…at which point, she mysteriously disappeared.
Over the next few weeks, devastation rocked the area as sugarcane fields and hundreds of homes were laid waste by the super-heated violence of a huge lava flow, engulfing everything in its path. As the slow-moving torrent of destruction finally made its way to the sea, there was only one thing left in its path. As if by some supernatural force, the lava flow had parted, creating a sanctuary from the carnage, miraculously leaving the lighthouse unscathed. Lava piled up 20 feet in every direction and flowed for miles except for a little oasis where the lighthouse stands to this day.
Legend has it that the old woman who mysteriously disappeared was, in fact, a manifestation of Pele, who was disguised and testing the kindness of the lighthouse keeper; and in finding him worthy, had allowed the lighthouse and his home to be spared.
When I visited the site a few weeks ago, the lighthouse had since been replaced by a metal tower, and the region is notably barren with an other-worldly feeling about it for miles all around. The picture is a photo I took of the tower, and you can see a little patch, only 75 yards wide, where there’s no evidence of lava flow. Was the legend true?
No one knows for sure, but the lesson I learned was profound.
The lighthouse keeper performed an act of kindness without expecting anything in return. He had no knowledge of things to come, nor did he want anything from the elderly lady. He simply did the right thing. He had a reputation for being a person of high integrity, and this act of kindness was simply an example of his doing the right thing. Perhaps, in return for his generosity, he’d been granted a huge gift–his home and livelihood being spared.
Do you remember a time, professionally or personally, when someone extended a helping hand without wanting anything in return? What kind of impression was made? If it was in a professional setting, what was your inclination in terms continuing to do business together?
Imagine if your natural way of approaching all your endeavors was to be genuinely helpful to others without expecting anything in return. What effect might that have on your life, professionally and personally?
