what's in a life?

Do you remember when you were little and a year felt like the loooooongest ever.. and now, ten, twenty years later - the years are passing by like nobody’s business? Like it might be time for Māui to come back again and slow Tamanui down… right?! Side note, when you’re five, one year is 1/5 of your life - when you’re 30, one year is 1/30 of your life.. something to think about, anyway….

Take a second to reflect on your life for a bit. From when you were little, as far back as you can remember - to now. What you were like as a kid, school, activities, defining moments etc. think of how your life has lead to right now.

Our lives are the sum of our thoughts, experiences and decisions (process/whakapapa). Each of these moments, decisions are independent experiences that come together, to create the life we live.

Each experience is like a stream flowing into the moana (ocean).

A strand, woven together with the ones before it to create the fabric that is, your life…. I dunno about you but that sentence right there was pretty majestic and aspirational hahaha anyway, so when you think about the whakapapa of your decisions, the processes you’ve been through to become who you are now - what do you see?

Where do the streams flow from? Is it a solid foundation of values and belief systems - unmoving and uncompromising? Do they flow through into your behaviour and actions? Does that have a positive affect on the people you engage with?

Read that again, but now - keep your pepeha in mind.

Your maunga: solid foundation. Awa: experiences. Whenua: behaviour and actions. Hapū, Iwi: the people you impact and the kaupapa you contribute to.

And your marae and whare tupuna are the legacy you create to house generations to come, and help guide them as they step out into the unknown, unchartered territories they’re about to discover.

Something to think about..

Tēnā tātou,

Hana.

pic: Qiane Matata-Sipu for Nuku.