keeping #1, number one.

Just coming out of the Whiro (new moon) phases now and Hina will soon be gracing our skies once again.. if this is how you begin the moon cycle (some begin on the full moon, on the Tangaroa nights etc. do you), just in case you didn’t know… this is pretty much the last one before Matariki rises. Exciting!

I’ve been thinking a lot (surprise) and trying to take action to prepare myself as best as I can before the start of the new year.  There’s been a lot of reflection, a lot of experimenting and gathering data to analyse, a lot of stripping  away and unbecoming,

a lot of learning.

If there’s one thing I’m consistent with lol it’s learning and making sure those learning/growing opportunities have a clear path to find me. Intentionally and unintentionally.. Anyway, one kaupapa that’s been popping up a lot in wānanga (internalisations), is the importance of relationships.  Relationship with self, with others, with kai, with higher purpose.. we’ll be covering all of this over the next moon cycle, get ready to do that internal work.

First up, relationship with self, with #1. If you struggle with that concept, that you’re #1  in your life - your life is about you. Or it isn’t, either way you get to choose, do you. But I believe you becoming the best version of you that you can be, is your contribution to the world, jussst saying.*

So, how’s your relationship with yourself? Do you know yourself? What stage of growth are you at? Are you giving yourself what you need to thrive? How do you know?

Whoa Hana, what’s with the interrogation… chill…

Well, I care about you. Honestly I do, I mean how incredible are the chances that we’re all alive together at the same time, sharing space.. it trips me out and anyway, I think that’s pretty special. And how unfortunate would it be if we didn’t learn about ourselves, our potential, our limitations and the rest, in this lifetime?

Have you taken the time to reflect on the relationship you have with yourself at all? Or has there been a kind of automatic, default setting in place for most of your life and you haven’t reprogrammed it?

Our tupuna (ancestors) and te ira atua (the divine, gods) recreated themselves and adopted new names to symbolise their feats, achievements and transitions all the time.. we should too. But we can only do that truly, deeply and genuinely if we know ourselves at our core

- then it doesn’t matter which directions we might branch off to, because it’ll be an expression of our ‘true self’.

So, do you know yourself? Do you know why you do what you do? Do you trust yourself with the world, or do you keep parts of yourself hidden for no one else to see? Are you confident that you’re doing what you’re meant to do? How do you know?

Houmaitawhiti (Paramount chief of Ngāti Ohomairangi, later known as Te Arawa, also my tupuna) said to his people, ‘develop yourselves, master your craft and give back to your people - anything less in inadequate.’ It doesn’t even matter if you’re not Te Arawa - our tupuna detailed their aspirations for us in pūrākau (stories), in moteatea (chants), in karakia (incantations, rites), in everything!

And at the core of it was knowledge of self - which means knowledge of whakapapa and how everything connects to something else, how something impacts another, how we can affect a positive impact for the world by knowing ourselves intimately.

Tau ana,

Hana.

*If you disagree, please let me know! Share with me, I’d love to wānanga together.

FYI: wānanga also has other meanings, check them out here