The concept of balance comes up frequently in Hawaiian thought and is pivotal to it. The English word does not fully describe the Hawaiian idea of Pono, in which all is right with the world and all aspects of life are working harmoniously together. For optimum life, balance was considered necessary, first of all, among parts of nature–humans, animals, birds, plants, weather, water, land, and sky; among the female and male polarities; among the gods, demigods, and spirits, greater and lesser, and the humans who interacted with them; and finally, among the members of the extended family, the community, and the various strata of society.

The Hawaiian view also held that a healthy life maintained balance between the material and spiritual realms, and these were not to be separate from one another.