To Live Pono: Staying home when sick

No small space of time has transpired since my last post in this series I am calling "To Live Pono," not because of a lack of suggestions about living life more righteously but for the timeliness of such posts.

This morning at Mass I could not help but notice the great number of people who spent a good deal of their time at Mass coughing and blowing their noses.  Clearly, they are ill.  To be sure, they do not have the flu, but neither are they well.

Much of living pono involves a respect for other people.  The phrase, "To live pono," might well be replaced with Jesus' great teaching: "Do to others whatever you would have them to do to you" (Matthew 7:12).  This teaching applies equally to those who are well and to those who are not.

Please, when you are sick with a cold, and especially with the flu, remember that there are people around you who have weak immune systems.  The cold that you might fight for only a few days might well take someone else two or three weeks to fight off.  When you are ill, if you do not have to be out and about, please stay home, get well, and help those of us with weak immune systems stay healthy.

This little bit of pono will be greatly appreciated.  Mahalo for your kindness!