Happy May Day everyone! May Day is Lei Day in Hawaii, a holiday commemorating the tradition of lei making and a day when everyone wears Aloha attire and leis to school or work.  When I was growing up, I remember picking buckets of plumerias from our yard and stringing dozens of leis for family and friends for May Day and other occasions. This week, the symbolism for the beautiful circular necklace of flowers brings us toward Aloha Friday, our day of connection.  Stringing or making a flower lei is a mindful meditation. One sits alone or with others listening to Hawaiian music, the lilting slack key guitar in the background, the intense aroma of beautiful flowers in a rainbow of colors all around you. You are totally engrossed in this mindful activity. I have incorporated an imagery exercise for this beautiful tradition.   One by one, each flower is strung to make a circle of wholeness, incorporating all the attributes you have or would like to have to create optimal wellness.  One flower may be symbolic for the warmth of the sun, one the earth, one food that nourishes your body, one for family or specific loved ones, one for gratitude, one for healing and whatever connects and manifests your lei of  wholeness.  This weekend there will be May Day festivities in towns and cities across the globe where we celebrate Spring, at long last! Dancing, flowers and parades will express the joy we all feel after a long cold winter.  This Lei Day, string a lei of flowers from your yard even if it is dandelions.  Let each flower speak to you as you celebrate your own joy, make your circle of wholeness of body, mind and spirit and wear it around your neck or as your crown. Let it be the symbol of the health of your entire being and the connection to your Aloha spirit.  Have a fabulous celebratory week! Aloha, Ceseli